Melanin hair dye with thickeners

Abstract

Included herein are methods and materials for nontoxic, biocompatible, optionally metal-free, tunable, and long-lasting coloration of human hair. More particularly, provided herein are methods, and associated formulations, for efficient formation and deposition of synthetic melanin to human hair, thereby coloration of hair, whereby the hair treatment formulation is viscous enough for treatment of hair without substantially loss of the formulation which further allows an easier application process that includes exposing the hair to the treatment formulation for an extended amount of time. For example, the hair treatment formulation, or viscous solution, can be applied and left on the hair, such as if it were a cream or gel, without requiring soaking the hair in a bath. Different colors can be achieved by tuning reaction conditions such as temperature and solution phase composition. These methods, and associated materials, can be used in salons and at home, for example, without degradation of the resulting colored hair and safety of the user of the present materials and methods.