Say Goodbye to Bad Hair(color) Days! Blackcurrant Dye is Here!
Amongst the Egyptian civilisation, there existed hairdressers in the community as early as 5000 BC, further, the craft of hair dyeing with vegetable dyes has well understood at this time. The first synthetic dye was synthesized in lab in the year 1856, with permanent hair colorants being in commercial use for more than 100 years now.
Hair dye poisoning continues to emerge as one of the critical causes of intentional self injury. Hair dyes include paraphenylene-diamine and a plethora of other compounds which could lead to rhabdomyolysis, laryngeal edema, acute metabolic acidosis and acute renal failure.
Natural dyes extracted from blackcurrant waste generated throughout Ribena production have for the first time, been now used in successful fresh hair dyeing technologies developed in the University of Leeds.
Colour chemist Dr Richard Blackburn and organic chemist Professor Chris Rayner, University of Leeds, worked in tandem to identify and isolate naturally-occurring alternatives – as well as a sustainable process to produce them these dyes discussed above.
Dr Blackburn, who heads the Sustainable Materials Research Group in the School of Design, said: “Because of issues and concerns around conventional dyes, we wanted to develop biodegradable alternatives that minimise potential risks to health and offer consumers a different option.”
Professor Rayner, from Leeds’ School of Chemistry, said: “We’ve made it possible to have great hair colour, and to get it from nature in the most sustainable way possible.”
Approximately 90 percent of the grown blackcurrants in the united kingdom- 12,000 tons yearly- are utilized by the manufacturers of fruit beverage and tens of thousands of tons of blackcurrant waste is left out when the fruit is being processed.
The team combined their respective expertise in extraction technology, hair science, coloration, and natural products chemistry to develop a new technology to extract anthocyanins from blackcurrant fruit waste. “Anthocyanins are pigments that provide colour to most berries, flowers, and many other fruits and vegetables,” Dr Blackburn explained. “They are non-toxic, water-soluble and responsible for pink, red, purple, violet, and blue colours and are widely used as natural food colorants all over the world.
“We knew they bound strongly with proteins – hair is a protein – so we thought if we could find an appropriate source of these natural colours, we might be able to dye hair.”
Professor Rayner said: “After being pressed, the skins remain as a waste product. They have very high concentrations of anthocyanins, and represent a sustainable supply of raw material because of how much blackcurrant cordial we drink.
“The extraction technology is based on sustainable concepts – the colour is extracted using a water-based process and special filters collect the anthocyanins that we want. We believe that if we are extracting natural and food-grade products, we should not use any toxic or hazardous chemicals to get them.”
Coming to the hair dye itself, this technology that’s been developed supplies intense reds, purples and blues on hair which, when coupled with a natural yellowish, could offer a broad assortment of colors – like glow.
Now, the researchers are furthering their work through the commercialization of their patented technology through a University of Leeds spinout- Keracol Limited under the brand Dr Craft. If everything goes by the plan, the blackcurrant-based dyes should be on sale this summer.
“We’ve also just made the first natural purple shampoo,” Dr Blackburn added. “The blackcurrant extract is used in our Natural Purple Berry Brightening Serum to counteract brassy tones in blonde and grey hair. The anthocyanins work just as well as the synthetic dyes they are replacing.”
