A new approach for hair treatment through coating with nanotubes loaded with drugs or dyes for coloring is suggested. This coating is produced by nanotube self-assembly, resulting in stable 2–3 µm thick layers. For medical treatment such formulations allow for sustained long-lasting drug delivery directly on the hair surface, also enhanced in the cuticle openings. For coloring, this process allows avoiding a direct hair contact with dye encased inside the clay nanotubes and provides a possibility to load water insoluble dyes from an organic solvent, store the formulation for a long time in dried form, and then apply to hair as an aqueous nanotube suspension. The described technique works with human and other mammal hairs and halloysite nanoclay coating is resilient against multiple shampoo washing. The most promising, halloysite tubule clay, is a biocompatible natural material which may be loaded with basic red, blue, and yellow dyes for optimized hair color, and also with drugs (e.g., antilice care-permethrin) to enhance the treatment efficiency with sustained release. This functionalized nanotube coating may have applications in human medical and beauty formulations, as well as veterinary applications.

Topical administration of drugs is required for the treatment of parasitic diseases and insect infestations; therefore, fabrication of nanoscale drug carriers for effective insecticide topical delivery is needed. Here we report the enhanced immobilization of halloysite tubule nanoclay onto semiaquatic capybaras which have hydrophobic hair surfaces as compared to their close relatives, land-dwelling guinea pigs, and other agricultural livestock. The hair surface of mammals varies in hydrophobicity having a cortex surrounded by cuticles. Spontaneous 1–2 µm thick halloysite hair coverages on the semi-aquatic rodent capybara, non-aquatic rodent guinea pig, and farm goats were compared. The best coating was found for capybara due to the elevated 5 wt% wax content. As a result, we suggest hair pretreatment with diluted wax for enhanced nanoclay adsorption. The formation of a stable goat hair coverage with a 2–3 µm halloysite layer loaded with permethrin insecticide allowed for long-lasting anti-parasitic protection, enduring multiple rain wettings and washings. We expect that our technology will find applications in animal parasitosis protection and may be extended to prolonged human anti-lice treatment.