How emotional stress affects your hair and how Prunizen helps

Prunizen is a very innovative concept that offers an anti-hair loss solution specifically for stress-related hair loss. We thus have, if you will, a feel-good or stress-free solution against increased hair loss.

In the area of stress, we specifically focus on psycho-emotional stress with Prunizen, as this feeling of tension or mental pressure is difficult to identify. At the same time, this can be a very intense form of stress and classic triggers of psychoemotional stress are financial worries, work pressure or even family problems.

But what actually happens when we are stressed?

The classic reaction is an increased release of cortisol, which is why cortisol is often referred to as the stress hormone. The release of cortisol is controlled by the brain and when we are stressed, the hormone is released by the adrenal glands. Unfortunately, most of the body's cells have cortisol receptors, which makes us very susceptible to stress in this regard.

Now let's look a little more specifically at the effects on the scalp and hair and here psychoemotional stress causes itching, inflammation, increased desquamation, hair loss, tempted graying, lack of vitality or thinning hair. So, in summary, it can be said that psychoemotional stress is very harmful to our hair and scalp.

Unfortunately, stress is becoming a more and more faithful companion in our lives and within the framework of a very extensive survey, 70% of the respondents stated to be stressed or very stressed. When we looked deeper, we found that a negative impact on appearance (skin & hair) is already in third place among the negative consequences of stress, which means that there is a very clear connection here for consumers as well.

Let's take a closer look at the most important factors for a healthy scalp and hair now. On the one hand, we have the dermal papilla, which contains hair cells of the dermal papilla and thus supports the growth phase of the hair. The next key player is the dermal sheath, which is essential for the regeneration of the dermal papilla. The most important factor for hair growth is probably the hair matrix, because there we have rapidly multiplying cells that support the growth of the follicle. The last important factor we want to focus on in hair is the outer root sheath, which contains hair follicle stem cells and is therefore very important for the initiation of new growth phases and the formation of a new follicle.

A very central element for our scalp are nerves and neurons, because they have receptors that respond very specifically to stimulation. Unfortunately, our scalp and follicle are very populated in this regard, making this region particularly susceptible to stress.  

But how exactly do the mind and our scalp and follicle interact?

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the effects of stress on the scalp

As seen previously, stress provides an increased cortisol release, but in order for this to occur it first needs increased cortisone levels and cortisone is subsequently converted to cortisol with the help of the enzyme 11β -HSD1. This increased level of cortisol then provides an inhibition of hair proliferation, giving us an entrained transition from the anagen to the catagen phase. As a result of this, our hair becomes thinner and there is increased hair loss. Furthermore, cortisol activates the sensitive neurons of our scalp. This activation causes a degranulation of the mast cells, which also causes an induction of the catagenic phase. Additionally, the degranulation results in an increased release of histamine, causing discomfort and itching. Other consequences of increased cortisol are premature graying due to a reduction in melanin synthesis and scalp damage.   

An illustration of the mode of action is also shown in Clariant's product video on Prunizen:

With Prunizen we now have an active ingredient based on the Braunelle (Prunella Vulgaris) and the Braunelle is an edible plant which is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of wounds or burns. The ingredients of the Braunelle are particularly characterized by antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and the plant is primarily cultivated in Europe and Asia.

In case of Prunizen, the biomass originating from Korea is deliberately used and the raw material is characterized by its high content of polyphenols.

Experimentally, the influence of psychoemotional stress on hair growth, the structure of the dermal papilla, hair pigmentation and cell proliferation and apoptosis was first investigated with Prunizen. It was found that increased cortisol levels significantly reduced the hair growth compared to the control. By adding Prunizen, on the other hand, we are able to completely counteract this negative effect and even increase the hair growth compared to the unstressed control.

Also the structure of the dermal papilla shows the negative influence of stress very clearly and we have a strong damage of the follicle structure by cortisol. Here, too, it is possible to protect the structure of the follicle from the negative influence of stress by adding Prunizen.

With the melanin synthesis, we also see very clearly how stress reduces the melanin content, resulting in a seduced graying. By adding Prunizen, on the other hand, we can protect the follicular pigmentation and prevent graying.

Finally, in the case of cell vitality, we see how stress significantly promotes cell death, whereas by adding Prunizen we can actually increase the cell proliferation in the hair matrix compared to the control.

However, Prunizen can not only prevent the consequences of stress, it was also shown In-Vitro that Prunizen reduces the expression and enzymatic activity of the enzyme 11β-HSD1 and thus we can prevent the generation of cortisol in the presence of stress.

Even in the case of neuronal stimulation, Prunizen is able to prevent it and here even detached from whether it is due to stress or allergy related stimulation. The degranulation of the mast cells can also be reduced by Prunizen, which results in a lower histamine release from the outset.

Last but not least, Prunizen increases the expression of the "love hormone" oxytocin, which allows us to promote the well-being of the scalp and hair even in the presence of stress.

The schematic mode of action of the Prunizen is shown below:

Figure 2: Mode of action of Prunizen

Of course, the active ingredient was also clinically tested and for this purpose a formulation containing 2% was applied daily for 84 days.

First of all, the stress level of the test persons was determined with the help of a questionnaire and then only test persons were selected who were affected by an increased stress level and increased hair loss.

In the clinical examination, the influence on hair growth and hair loss was investigated. It was shown that Prunizen increased hair length by 21.3% during the test period, while the placebo decreased hair growth by 10.8%.

Furthermore, Prunizen provides an increased content of hair in the anagen phase and a significant decrease in the content of hair in the telogen phase. With the placebo, the results were exactly the opposite, which is why we can improve the anagen/telogen ratio by over 20% with Prunizen, while there was a 23.5% decrease with the placebo.

Finally, Prunizen provided an improvement in the hair density, a reduction in the post-shave irritation and a significant improvement in the hair volume and quality.

It is therefore no surprise that 100% of the test persons, when questioned, confirmed that Prunizen improves hair vitality and reduces hair loss after combing.

Technically, Prunizen is a Prunella Vulgaris extract based on a solvent mixture of glycerin in water. The active ingredient is China listed and even suitable for natural cosmetics. Due to the solvents Prunizen is suitable for emulsions, surfactant system or gels without any problems, but due to the darker color it may cause a slight discoloration. As we have polyphenols as leading substance, high temperatures should be avoided during processing and the raw material must be stored protected from light.

In summary, with Prunizen we can now offer you an adopatogenic and herbal active ingredient, which inhibits the negative influences of psychoemotional stress and cortisol on our scalp and hair. Thus, a stress-related reduction in hair growth can be prevented, the scalp is soothed and the well-being is increased.