MINERAL EVALUATION AND HIERARCHICAL CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF ESSENTIAL OIL AS ACTIVE INGREDIENTS FOR PREMIUM HAIR CREAM FORMULATION

ABSTRACT Essential oils are useful to hair due to their distinct mineral contents which may impact positively on hair appearance, quality and nourishment. Twenty four samples of essential were obtained from popular markets in Minna were collected, Niger state. The mineral content was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Flame Emission Spectrophotometer. The 2014 Microsoft Excel for windows and SOLOLAB/PLS_Toolbox were used for statistics and Chemometrics analysis. The mineral contents obtained were in the range of Ca (0.02-0.18), Zn (0.40-1.91), Fe (2.71-3.98) and K (14.60-98.20). Results indicate that K (98.20) has the highest mineral content in castor oil making it premium and superior in regulating moisture balance, blood circulation to the scalp and also help address problems like dryness and brittleness of hair, Ca (0.18) also highest mineral content in castor oil making it ideal essential oil for proper functioning of hair follicle, regulation of hair follicle cycles. Zn (1.91) has highest mineral content in wheat germ oil making it ideal essential oil in accelerating hair follicle recovery as well as a potent inhibitor in hair follicle regression, Fe (3.98) has highest mineral content in argan oil making it ideal in preventing hair thinning and loss. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of the mineral content of essential oils revealed co-equivalent essential oil pairs: coconut oil and grape seed oil, as well as argan oil and olive oil. This result implies that in cases of unavailability or scarcity of one of the pairs, the use of the other for premium hair cream formulation for hair issues will give equivalent mineral contents.