Beauty ingredient innovator Croda has dropped some impressive new clinical data about their KeraBio K31 product, and it’s turning heads in the hair care world.
This next-generation ingredient is being called a game-changer for damaged hair, and the trial numbers back it up. KeraBio K31 works at incredibly low concentrations, delivering full efficacy at just 0.05% active inclusion. This will allow brands to create powerful products using fewer active ingredients - in effect, doing more with less.
What Makes It Special?
KeraBio K31’s innovative biotechnology allows it to function as a vegan keratin alternative, repairing bonds within the hair structure. The result is hair that’s 100% stronger than the leading bond builder on the market (looking at you, Olaplex and K18). Hair health increases with continued use, and can essentially reset hair to look and act like healthy virgin hair.
“KeraBio K31 continues to redefine what’s possible in hair repair,” said Stephanie Neplaz, who heads up Croda Beauty’s hair category. She emphasized how the ingredient’s high potency gives formulators the flexibility to create top-performing products while keeping active ingredient levels low.
Recognition on the Horizon
The industry is clearly taking notice. KeraBio K31 was shortlisted for the Product Innovation Award at the BBIA Demeter Awards 2025, which recognizes leadership in sustainable, bio-based technologies. KeraBio K13 was announced as the winner of the Laura Marshall Award for Technology and Disruption at London’s Royal Society of Chemistry in November.
Neplaz noted that the ingredient represents a new benchmark in biomimetic bond-building technology, signaling a significant step forward for what the company can offer brand formulators seeking to elevate both hair health and sustainability in their formulations.
#MyTwoCents
For an industry increasingly focused on sustainable, vegan solutions, KeraBio K31 seems to be checking all the boxes.
Do you think this new technology has the power to upset the dominance of Olaplex and K18 in the hair bonding category?