News Release
November 9, 2015

Discover of a New Approach for Hair Lying Down from the Roots~ Confirming Molecular Level Recovery of the Dual Structure of Protein Density inside Hair ~The Milbon Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Ryuji Sato) has confirmed that in the hair of women that has
started to lie down from the roots due to age, application of CMADK*1 (S-carboxymethyl alanyl disulfide
keratin protein) and a specific polyphenol*2 allows the dual structure of protein density inside the hair torecover at the molecular level. It was already confirmed that one of the reasons for hair starting to lie
down from the roots due to advancing age is the uneven breakdown of the dual structure of protein
density inside the hair, but an effective way to help that dual structure recover was yet to be found.
Milbon intends to apply this discovery concerning the recovery of the dual structure to hair careproducts to be released in spring next year. We have announced these research results externally asfollows.
[External Release]
Released At: The Society of Fiber Science and Technology Fall Research Symposium 2015
Release Title: “Investigation into components distribution in hair using an infrared microscope”
Released By: Kosuke Watanabe, Ryosuke Yamanaka, Kazuyuki Suzuta, Takaaki Maeda, Len Ito
Released On: October 22, 2015
Released At: The 67th Annual Meeting for the Society of Biotechnology, Japan
Release Title: "Age-related change of components distribution in Japanese woman’s hair using
infrared microscope”
Released By: Kosuke Watanabe, Ryosuke Yamanaka, Kazuyuki Suzuta, Takaaki Maeda, Len Ito
Released On: October 26, 2015
[Research Background]
Milbon had already confirmed an uneven breakdown of the dual structure of protein density inside
women’s hair that has started to lie down from the roots due to age, and that this is one of the reasons
why hair starts to lie down, (http://www.milbon.co.jp/ir/pdf/20150914_dual-structure-of-protein-density.pdf).
However, the relationship been the dual structure of protein density and the physical properties of the hairremained unknown, and its effects on the phenomena of hair starting to lie down at the root was also
unknown. Furthermore, technology or an approach to prevent this phenomena was yet to be discovered.
Milbon’s new research has not only discovered the relationship been the dual structure of protein density
and the physical properties of hair, but also establishes an approach to resolving the issues of women’s
hair lying down from the root by aiding the recovery of its dual structure of protein density.
-1-[Research Results]~ The Relationship between the Dual Structure of Protein Density and Elasticity of Hair ~When a successive twists test was used to assess the elasticity of hair, it was discovered that hair thatstill stands up at the root and has a complete dual structure of protein density has higher elasticity thanhair that has started to lie down at the root and in which the dual structure of protein density has started tobreak down (Fig. 1). These results have confirmed that the dual structure of protein density is related tothe elasticity of hair. The breakdown of the dual structure of protein density lowers the elasticity of hair at
the root, which in turn is thought to lead to the hair starting to lie down from the root.
~ Recovery of the Dual Structure of Protein Density via CMADK and Polyphenol ~In order to prevent hair starting to lie down from the root, Milbon has investigated components that
could recover the dual structure of protein density in hair. When the recovery of the dual structure ofprotein density was examined using the SPring-8 Synchrotron Radiation Facility*3 and the microscopic
FT-IR method*4, it was discovered that application of the keratin protein CMADK developed by Milbon anda specific polyphenol led to the effective recovery of the dual structure of protein density in hair, (Fig. 2).
Furthermore, when a successive twists test was performed on hair with a dual structure of protein densitythat had been recovered in this way, it was confirmed that the elasticity of the hair had also improved, (Fig.
3).
The above results suggest that the combination of CMADK and a specific polyphenol can restore thedual structure of protein density in hair, enhancing its elasticity and leading to a reduction in the hairstarting to lie down from the root.

HighElasticity of Hair

◆Hair with a clear dual structure■Hair with a dual structure that hasLow

broken down

No. of Successive Twists

Fig.1 Dual Structure of Protein Density and Elasticity of Hair
When the dual structure of protein density starts to break down, the elasticity of hair decreases.

-2-Dual structure of protein

Dual structure of protein

density has broken down

density has recovered

Untreated Hair

Hair Treated with CMADKand Polyphenol

Image of Amide III Band*5 peak strength rendered in 3D
through analysis of SPring-8 microscopic FT-IR data
Fig. 2 Dual Structure of Protein Density via CMADK and Polyphenol
Use of CMADK and a specific polyphenol restored the dual structure of protein density.

HighElasticity of Hair

◆Untreated hair
■Hair treated with CMADK and polyphenol

Low

No. of Successive Twists

Fig. 3 Increase in Hair Elasticity due to CMADK and Polyphenol
Use of CMADK and a specific polyphenol increased the elasticity of hair.

Part of this experiment uses results from the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute(SPring-8/JASRI) industrial use general research 2015A1654.
-3-<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(a bond found in hair that is shared by two sulfur (S) atoms). The properties of these disulfide bonds
cause CMADK to bond tightly with the protein found in hair, and expectations for CMADK are high as amaterial that retains its properties even after repeated washing.
*2 Polyphenol

Polyphenol is found in the large majority of plants. It is a pigment that is generated via photosynthesis
and can provide an astringent or bitter flavor. There are over 5,000 different varieties of polyphenol, it isknown as a material with potent antioxidative effects, and it is widely used in food and cosmetics products.
*3 SPring-8 Synchrotron Radiation Facility

A Riken managed facility capable of producing the highest levels of synchrotron radiation in the world,
located in the Harima Science Park City, Hyogo Prefecture. There are only two comparable facilities in theworld, one in America and one in Europe. The name SPring-8 is taken from the full name of the facility, theSuper Photon ring-8 GeV. Synchrotron radiation is the name given to the powerful electromagnetic waves
generated when electrons are accelerated to almost the speed of light and then their direction of travel isaltered using magnets. At SPring-8, this synchrotron radiation is used in a wide range of research,
including into nanotechnology, bio-technology and manufacturing.
*4 Microscopic FT-IR Method

The “microscopic FT-IR method” refers to the “microscopic Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy
method,” an analytical device that is used to determine the composition of compounds. Molecules areexposed to infrared rays, during which the vibrational energy between the atoms comprising thosemolecules absorbs a certain amount of those rays. Measuring the volume absorbed therefore allows thecomposition of the compound to be established. The microscopic FT-IR method is an especially effectivemeans of performing analysis in the microdomain, a scale at which the normal FT-IR method cannot
obtain any measurements. This procedure is applied in a variety of different fields, including quality
control of a range of industrial products, scientific investigation and biomedical composition analysis.
*5 Amide III Band

From among the peaks acquired from hair using infrared spectroscopy, the Amide III Band is the peakin the vicinity of 1240 cm-1 that expresses the C-N stretching vibration (inside the red circle on thediagram below) and the N-H bending vibration (inside the blue circle on the diagram below) of the peptide
bonds found inside protein.

Peptide Bond
■Inquiries relating to the press release
Public Relations Unit, 2-3-35 Zengenji-cho, Miyakojima-ku, Osaka
Phone: +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-4-