Can I purchase and use Darkenyl hair pigmentation treatment?
Question:
Slm. Hope you are well. This is not a hair color but it works to stimulate the hair follicle to produce melatonin to get the original hair color, is this allowed?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We have reviewed the pharmaceutical product in reference “Darkenyl”. Darykenyl has been defined by the Givaudan Beauty Company as the manufacturer as follows:
Darkenyl™ is a smart combination of taxifolin glucoside (a stabilised antioxidant, acting as a stimulator of stem cells proliferation and maintenance) and N-acetyl-tyrosine (a precursor of melanin). Darkenyl™ fights against white hair through the following mechanism: ▶ Protects hair follicles from oxidation (ROS). ▶ Stimulates hair follicle stem cells to create new melanocytes. ▶ Activates the melanogenesis to increase melanin production (https://cdn.competec.ch/documents2/5/6/0/51892065/51892065.pdf, sourced and accessed on 26 September 2021.)
Your question refers.
In principle, Islam is not opposed to medical treatment as long it does not entail human biological mutilation and distortion of the human body (Taghyeer al-Khalq and Tamtheel).
The darkenyl product entails the stimulation in vitro of human hair follicle stem cells among others. The darkenyl product treats hair greying or canitie due to ageing.
We understand according to medicinal biology that a human hair consists of a shaft and a root. The root of every strand of hair is surrounded by a tube of tissue under the skin that is called the hair follicle. Each hair follicle contains a certain number of pigment cells. These pigment cells continuously produce a chemical called melanin that gives the growing shaft of hair its color of brown, etc. Melanin is a chemical that provides the color of the hair. As a person grows older, the pigment cells die in the human follicles as the amount of melanin gradually diminishes.
If the loss of hair pigmentation is natural due to ageing and general human biological circumstances, then such a medical procedure will be impermissible as no genuine medical need has been established. However if the loss of hair pigmentation was due to unnatural causes and an expert dermatologist has established a genuine medical need, then such a medical procedure would be permitted.
We would advise one to seek expert medical advice from an experienced dermatologist to seek a suitable alternative in the event of a genuine established medical need. It has come to our attention that certain pharmaceutical products have adverse medical side effects and may not be as effective as touted by the pharmaceutical manufacturer.
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
(Mufti) Ismail Desai
Chairman of Shariah Board and Fatwa Committee
Darul Iftaa, Durban, South Africa
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