ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07280676Updated Apr 30, 2026

The Effect of Cosmetic Formulations on the Appearance of Grey Hair.

An interventional study of U82 and Z63 in Hair Graying, sponsored by Unilever R&D. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 25 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-30.

Sponsored by Unilever R&D (part of Unilever) · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Dec 2025; still recruiting 10 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
380
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
25 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study is a 6-month (180 days) single-center, double blind study designed to explore the effect of two cosmetic products on the appearance of gray hair.

Read the detailed description

This is a randomised, double blind, whole head study designed to evaluate the effect of two cosmetic leave on treatments on the appearance of gray hair. This study will accept up to 190 participants per cell (380 participants overall) who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria to ensure that at least 150 participants per cell complete the study. Participants will be randomised to receive one of the two cosmetic hair products. The products will be applied to the whole scalp using a defined protocol.

If accepted onto the study, participants will be provided with marketed shampoo and conditioner products for use throughout the study.

Visual and instrumental assessments of hair color will be conducted throughout the duration of the study (6 months/180 days). Non-invasive skin surface samples will be collected at baseline, day 90 and day 180 for evaluation of target proteins and untargeted proteomic analysis of scalp and hair health.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hair Graying

Keywords

  • Hair appearance
  • Hair graying
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Unilever R&D is the lead sponsor of 71 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
25 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy Female or Male between the ages of 25 and 60 years old, both inclusive at the time of consent.
  • Of any race and ethnicity.
  • Able to read and understand all study instructions and any other relevant study documents and understand the test procedures (in English) and able to provide a free decision about participating in the study.
  • Has 15 - 35% naturally gray hair
  • Available to come to all study visits.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with any relevant past or present medical history which may affect the study results or may lead to increased risk to the participant in the judgement of the Investigator or designee, including a history of cancer, insulin-dependent diabetes, acute or chronic renal insufficiency, chronic inflammatory disorders (arthritis, osteoarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, etc.), asthma (not including exercise-induced asthma), epilepsy, uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, or uncontrolled hypothyroidism. Participants who have well controlled hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism (stable medication for greater than 6 months) will be permitted.
  • Pattern hair loss (Savin ≥ 2 for females, or Hamilton-Norwood ≥IV \& excluding vertex hair loss for males) or any history of hair loss for medical reasons, including, but not limited to, alopecia areata, alopecia universalis, alopecia totalis or telogen effluvium.
  • Individuals that are sensitive/allergic to any of the ingredients in any of the test products adhesives, tattoo pigments/ink, or metals used in needles (i.e., chromium or nickel).
  • Individuals with an immunological disorder or bloodborne disease (e.g. , HBC, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis) or currently using oral or systemic medications and biologics (e.g., azathioprine, belimumab, Cimzia®, Cosentyx®, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, Enbrel®, Humira®, Imuran®, Kineret®, mycophenolate mofetil, methotrexate, Orencia®, prednisone, Remicade®, Rituxan®, Siliq™, Simponi®, Stelara®, Taltz®) and/or undergoing radiation or chemotherapy as determined by study documentation.
  • Individuals having started a long-term medication within the last 6 months or have changed brand, manufacture, or dosage of a long-term medication.
  • Individuals currently using or having regularly used (known as steroids), systemically or topically, topically anywhere on the body, except nasal, and/or ocular use is acceptable within the past 4 weeks (including but not limited to betamethasone, clobetasol, desoximetasone, diflorasone, fluocinonide, fluticasone, mometasone, halcinonide, and halobetasol) (see list in Appendix 8)
  • Individuals currently taking any other medications which, in the opinion of the Investigator or designee, may interfere with the study (e.g. prescription anti-inflammatory drugs, anticoagulants, etc.).
  • Individuals with hemophilia, anemia, or any other blood clotting disorder.
  • Individuals who have a history of systemic granulomatous diseases, active or inactive, (e.g., sarcoidosis, Wegener's granulomatosis, tuberculosis) or connective tissue diseases (e.g., lupus, dermatomyositis).
  • Individuals who are involved in any aspect of administration or an employee of Sponsor or testing facility.
  • Individuals currently used/taking or have used/taken within the last 3 months any topical or ingestible anti-gray hair or hair growth supplements/treatments (examples: Arey: Not Today, Anti-gray hair supplements, Heyhair: Gray Escape Advanced Anti-Gray Hair Growth Supplements, Vegamour: GRO Ageless Gray Delay Hair Supplements, Elon Essentials, R3 Extra Strength etc.).

The Investigator may exclude participants for other conditions, factors, or medications that they believe may affect the response of the skin or the interpretation of the test results.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
380 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Cosmetic product U82

    Cosmetic scalp leave on product to be used once daily on the whole scalp for 6 months.

    Other: U82

  • Experimental
    Cosmetic product Z63

    Cosmetic scalp leave on product to be used once daily on the whole scalp for 6 months.

    Other: Z63

Interventions

  • OtherU82

    Cosmetic scalp leave on product

  • OtherZ63

    Cosmetic scalp leave on product

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Visual assessment of percent gray hair

    Percent gray hair assessed over the whole head by expert assessor

    Time frame: 0 - 6 months

  2. Image analysis of appearance of gray hair

    Image analysis of global photographs of the head

    Time frame: 0 - 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Image analysis of individual hair fibre color

    Image analysis of macro photographs of selected areas of the scalp

    Time frame: 0 - 6 months

  2. Consumer perception of scalp and hair condition and hair grayness

    Questionnaires

    Time frame: 0 - 6 months

Other outcomes

  1. Proteomic analysis of scalp surface proteins associated with scalp and hair health

    Time frame: 0 - 6 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Dec 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2026, 10 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 1, 2025
First posted
Dec 12, 2025
StartActual
Dec 15, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Oct 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 2026
Last update
Apr 30, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 30, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07280676
Lead sponsor
Unilever R&D
Collaborators
Comprehensive Research Group, Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 12, 2025
Start date
Dec 15, 2025
Primary completion
Oct 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 30, 2026

Study contacts

Sarah Paterson
Contact
sarah.paterson@unilever.com
+447775031771

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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