Development of a range of hair growth promoting products and preliminary design of their manufacturing process

Abstract

Current market trends show the preference to use cosmetic products of natural origin. It is known by consumers that the use of the medicinal properties of plants brings in some cases positive results in the treatment of diseases or for specific purposes. Specifically, this project has focused on hair loss or its poor growth. Therefore, it has been decided to develop a range of hair growth stimulating products formulated mainly by natural ingredients that have been traditionally used for this purpose and that have been shown to be effective in scientific evidence. To carry out a product range development process, firstly a market survey was carried out to determine the format of products to be developed; then, with the information obtained, it was decided to develop a shampoo and a hair serum. Prior to the formulation process of the two products, the functional parameters that these products had to meet and what quality factors demonstrated the effectiveness of these parameters were determined. The shampoo to be developed is a product that washes the scalp and contains ingredients that stimulate hair growth and can be removed after a few minutes with water, while the serum is a product that hydrates the scalp and stimulates hair growth, without leaving an oily sensation and without the need to be rinsed. A proposal was also made for the design of the containers, which have a capacity of 0.7 L for shampoo and 0.1L for serum in HDP (High-Density Polyethylene) plastic bottles. This process was the conceptualization of the product range. When the products were conceptualized, a literature search was carried out on ingredients that could stimulate hair growth and that were of natural origin. For the shampoo, the Allium Cepa Bulb Extract and caffeine were decided to be used as active ingredients, and for the serum development Rosmarinus officinalis oil and sulphated castor oil were chosen in this project. The additives and excipients required for each product were also specified. Also, the concentrations of each basic ingredient in magisterial formulations, patents, or articles on cosmetic formulas were determined. The two products have been formulated to target both a dry and oily scalp population since on one way the shampoo was formulated with ingredients that gently cleanse the hair to avoid irritation, and on the other way, the serum was an oil emulsion in water (O/W) that quickly penetrates the scalp avoiding an oily sensation. Finally, an industrial manufacturing proposal for the two products has been developed to annually produce 210 tons of shampoo and 8 tons of hair serum. The production has been carried out in batches of 500 kg, during 3 campaigns for the manufacture of shampoo and 1 campaign for the serum. The equipment will be integrated into a plant that makes other types of similar cosmetic and personal hygiene products, so the rest of the year can be spent on other manufacturing processes. The manufacturing process has been reflected in a diagram that specifies the order of addition of the ingredients, their volume or weight and the main equipment to be used. Regarding the manufacture of shampoo, a premixing of the detergent phase is proposed, composed of the surfactants and separately, another aqueous phase that contains the active principles and additives, later they would be mixed between them. On the other hand, for the manufacture of the serum a premixing of the oily phase is proposed that will contain the oils as active principles and separately a premixing of the aqueous phase with the additives and excipients, likewise, later they would be mixed between them. It was decided to use the same equipment for the manufacture of the two products, using the supplier brands INOXPA ®, SILVERSON® and EQUITEK.