Nature’s Protector from Hayashibara - For Skin and Hair Protection

Trehalose from Hayashibara is nature’s protector. Trehalose is a naturally occurring saccharide present in a wide variety of plant and animal life, enabling survival in the harshest climatic conditions.

The presence of trehalose in plants is one of the reasons why a barren desert blooms after a rain. A good example of this protection is represented in the “Resurrection plant” – selaginella lepidophylla. Natural trehalose protects the
plant when it is dehydrated, allowing it to “come back to life” when the plant comes in contact with water.



We can make use of this natural function of trehalose to help protect against human skin and hair damage caused by exposure to harsh and changing environments.

High stability
Trehalose from Hayashibara is a white crystalline powder. Trehalose consists of two glucose molecules bonded by a α,α−1,1 glycosidic linkage. As such it is a non-reducing sugar, and is very stable over extremes of pH and temperature.



Readily soluble
Trehalose is readily soluble and provides moisture retention and protein protection when used in skin and hair care products.

Because of its molecular structure, trehalose is highly stable during the manufacture of products.
Trehalose can also improve product shelf-life, due to its ability to inhibit the formation of any volatile aldehydes caused by the breakdown of fatty acids.

For Skin and Hair Protection
Trehalose from Hayashibara protects skin fibroblasts from dehydration because it replaces water in tissues helping to retain the natural structure of skin and hair. Thus it can be used as an effective moisturiser affording protection from potentially damaging climatic conditions.

This is because trehalose replaces water in tissue and reduces the damage from dryness, heat and cold – retaining the natural structure of the skin and hair.

This has been demonstrated under laboratory conditions in which human skin fibroblasts were cultured with or without trehalose or maltose.

Trehalose provided the greatest protection.




For Odour Suppression
As previously stated, trehalose can suppress the formation of volatile aldehydes caused by the breakdown of fatty acids. While this property may be used to increase the shelf-life of some oil based products, it can also be used to suppress body odours – specifically those associated with the elderly.

Suppressing the Production of the Unpleasant Odour of Plant Oil
Fatty acids are present in many cosmetic products and their natural breakdown can result in the production of undesirable odours and colours. Trehalose can reduce this breakdown, extending product shelf-life.

This effect is demonstrated in the following study in which trehalose suppressed aldehyde formation compared with other saccharides.

Suppressing the Production of Aging Odour
Trehalose can be effectively used in deodorant products formulated for the elderly.

Older people tend to produce a fatty acid called palmitoleic acid in higher amounts than younger individuals.

When palmitoleic acid decomposes, it is transformed into volatile aldehydes, causing a characteristic odour. The percentage of production of palmitoleic acid dramatically increases at approximately 55 years of age, as demonstrated in the study below.



Trehalose can suppress the formation of this volatile aldehyde when used as an after bath spray, as shown below.



Method: Eight subjects greater than 55 years of age were sprayed with a solution containing 2% of trehalose after taking a bath or shower. They then dressed in a cotton shirt for 20 hr. Volatile aldehydes were collected from the shirts and measured.