Effects of oxidative treatments on human hair keratin films.

The effects of hydrogen peroxide and commercial bleach on hair and human hair keratin films were examined by protein solubility, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), immunofluorescence microscopy, immunoblotting, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Protein solubility in solutions containing urea decreased when the keratin films were treated with hydrogen peroxide or bleach. Oxidative treatments promoted the urea-dependent morphological change by turning films from opaque to transparent in appearance. Immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting showed that the oxidation of amino acids and proteins occurred due to the oxidative treatments, and such occurrence was more evident in the bleach-treated films than in the hydrogen peroxide-treated films. Compared with hair samples, the formation of cysteic acid was more clearly observed in the keratin films after the oxidative treatments.