News Release
December 17, 2015

Development of Formulation Technology for Heightening Care
Effects on New Growth Hair~ Use of an Ionic Surfactant to Increase Sorption of CMADK into New Growth Hair in the Acidic Region ~Milbon Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Ryuji Sato) has, through research making use of CMADK*1,
developed formulation technology that uses an ionic surfactant to disperse the CMADK that normally
precipitates when in the acidic region. Furthermore, this technology has been successfully used to createa solution that can enhance the sorption*2 of CMADK at the root section of hair (new growth hair) that has
not yet suffered damage from chemical processes etc. We have announced part of these research results
externally as shown below and also intend to make use of them in our future products, starting with thosehair care products to be released in spring next year.
[External Release]
Released At: The 66th Divisional Meeting on Colloid & Interface Chemistry (Held by the Division of Colloid
and Surface Chemistry, Chemical Society of Japan)
Release Title: Stabilization of CMADK acid solution by ionic surfactant and effects on hair
Released By: Yohei Matsumoto, Atsushi Baba, Naoto Matsumoto, Hajime Kazumori
Released On: September 12, 2015
[Research Background]
Milbon has already successfully industrialized CMADK, which has the effects of preventing damage tohair while heightening its elasticity and internal density, and makes use of CMADK in a series of products.
While sorption of CMADK occurs easily into hair that has already been damaged by such factors as
chemical processes, sorption does not occur easily at the undamaged root section of hair (new growthhair). It has been determined that in order to prevent damage to hair and heighten its elasticity, whichdecreases with advancing age, care for new growth hair is also required, and the development of atechnology that would increase the sorption of CMADK into new growth hair has therefore been an
ongoing challenge.
CMADK is a keratin exactly like the proteins that are found inside hair. In the acidic region, heightening
the forces that act between the molecules of the keratin proteins, the sorption of CMADK into hair isenhanced, which can be expected to not only help resolve the issue of sorption into new growth hair but
also offer further protection from damage and increase in elasticity. However, CMADK suffers fromreduced solubility in the acidic region, caused it to precipitate and making it difficult to achieve a stable-1-News Release
distribution of CMADK within a liquid with an acidic pH. Milbon therefore initiated formulation research,seeking dispersion technology that would allow CMADK to be stabilized in the acidic region.
[Research Results]~ Formulation Technology to Disperse CMADK in the Acidic Region ~In the acidic region, between pH 2.5 and pH 5.5, CMADK suffers from reduced dispersibility, leading toturbidity and precipitation in formulation. As a result of investigations into the dispersal of CMADK that has
precipitated in the acidic region, it was discovered that the addition of a certain volume or more of a
specific ionic surfactant was effective. This process has been used to successfully formulate a solution
with a pH in the acidic region but with CMADK completely dispersed (Fig.1).
~ Confirmation of CMADK Sorption by New Growth Hair ~In order to confirm the sorption of CMADK by new hair growth, a chemically treated cross-section ofhair was observed using a fluorescence microscope. As a result of confirming the effects of different typesof ionic surfactants, it was determined that a CMADK formulation including a specific anionic surfactant
had the effect of increasing sorption of CMADK by new growth hair (Fig. 2).
The results of this research will be linked into the creation of products with heightened CMADK careeffects in regard to new growth hair.
<Reference Materials>

Precipitate

TurbidPrecipitate

Dispersed

TurbidDispersed

Fig. 1 Appearance of an acidic solution in which CMADK has precipitated after the addition of surfactant
CMADK / Anionic Surfactant (wt%/wt%) = (A) 1.0/1.5, (B) 1.0/3.5, (C) 1.0/9.0
CMADK / Cationic Surfactant (wt%/wt%) = (D) 1.0/1.0, (E) 1.0/1.5, (F) 1.0/4.0
The addition of a certain volume or more of specific anionic or cationic surfactants allows CMADK to be
successfully dispersed in the acidic region-2-News Release

Fig. 2 Fluorescence microscope images of a cross section of new growth hair processed by a formulation
containing florescent labeled*3 CMADK.
(a) Existing formulation, (b) Formulation in the acidic region that uses specific cationic surfactant todisperse CMADK, (c) Formulation in the acidic region that uses specific anionic surfactant to disperse
CMADKA formulation that uses a specific anionic surfactant to disperse CMADK in the acidic region is confirmed
to enhance the sorption of CMADK by new growth hair.
<Terminology>*1 CMADK (S-carboxymethyl alanyl disulfide keratin protein)
Also known as carboxymethyl disulfide keratin, this is a new soluble keratin protein with a disulfide bond(two covalently-bonded sulfur (S) atoms found in hair). The properties of these disulfide bonds cause
CMADK to bond tightly with the protein found in hair, and expectations for CMADK are high as a material
that retains its properties even after repeated washing.
*2 Sorption
When a solid comes into contact with a gas or a liquid, the gas or liquid either adhere to the solid or areabsorbed by it. In the case of porous mediums with an extremely small internal surface, however, such as
hair, the distinction between the boundary surface and the interior is unclear, and no real distinction canbe made between adhesion and absorption. Phenomena that include both adhesion and absorption, or inwhich the two cannot be told apart, are called overall as “sorption.”*3 Fluorescent labeling
The processing of labeling certain molecules by attaching florescent molecules to them. In thisexperiment linking florescent molecules to the CMADK allows the use of a fluorescence microscope tothen see where the CMADK is located inside the hair.
■Inquiries relating to the press release
Public Relations Unit, 2-3-35 Zengenji-cho, Miyakojima-ku, OsakaPhone: +81-6-6928-2331, Fax: +81-6-6925-2301
Milbon Co., Ltd. / Head Office Miyakojima-ku, Osaka; Ryuji Sato, President & CEO; Securities Code 4919, First Section of the Tokyo Stock
Exchange-3-