Abstract

Spectroscopic assays that were previouslydeveloped to address the impact of various cosmetictreatments on exogenous drug incorporation will now bediscussed in terms of changes in structural integrity of hairas a function of cosmetic treatment and ethnicity.Diffusion of the cationic dyes Rhodamine 6G and N,Ndimethyl-4,4’-azodianiline (DMADA); into donated hairsamples encompassing various ethnic groups, hairtreatments, and gender was followed through changesin fluorescence emission (in the former study) andchanges in absorbance maxima (in the latter study)when buffered at pH 5.6. Structural changes will bediscussed in relation to the physico-chemical propertiesof the aforementioned charged dyes and their ability tobind and intercalate into the various hair types includedin this study.