At first glance, hair care and outer space don't seem to connect, but delve further and Farouk Systems has much in common with NASA. According to Dr. Dennis Morrison, former NASA researcher and current Senior Vice President of Technology Farouk Systems, "Environmental safety has been the cornerstone of the manned space program and aligns with the mission statement of Farouk Systems: Environment, Education and Ethics." He continues, "NASA has searched for safer disinfectants to control microbial growth inside the manned spacecraft since we cannot use bleach, ammonia, nor other noxious chemicals within a closed space cabin atmosphere. Farouk's main objective for many product lines has been to make new hair and beauty products that are safer for the cosmetologist and for the client."

In 1986 Farouk Systems developed the first ammonia free hair lightening system with SunGlitz, followed by low EMF CHI professional hair dryers, and this year introduces a safer hair smoothing system, CHI Enviro American Smoothing Treatment. This safe alternative to Brazilian Keratin Treatments does not emit toxic fumes during the heat application, eliminates up to 95 percent of frizz and makes curly hair manageable.

Dr. Morrison's past NASA research involved pharmaceuticals, radiation protection, and development of the Biotechnology Research program: "It is fortunate that many lessons learned from space biotechnology research, drug delivery and environmentally safe products now could be applied to Farouk Systems' development of new products for hair and skin care.

We have applied concepts from my anti-microbial research to the use of nano-silver particles in the handles of styling tools and in CHI Nails nail-polish as a passive disinfectant to kill microbes upon contact.

In the Space Shuttle, a liquid solution called "PRO-SANA" (Microcide Co.) has used in as disinfectant for food-borne bacteria (E. coli, & species of Salmonella, Cholera, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus) as an alternative to hydrogen peroxide and chlorine. At Farouk Systems we are exploring use of safer water-based disinfectants, ozone generators, and Middle-Ultraviolet light from LED devices to be used as disinfectants, in place of steam sterilizers to comply with Safe Hygiene Regulations in salons and spas.

We have studied the mechanisms of skin sensitivity, inflammation, and wound healing in space, and Farouk Systems now is using many of those concepts to help design new beauty products that reduce irritation and promote tissue repair."

For the final shuttle mission, Dr. Morrison will be the co-investigator with Farouk Shami, founder and chairman of Farouk Systems, and their science team to design, prepare and load the Farouk Systems experiments at the Kennedy Space Center. They will be the mentors for the development of the "CHI Stars" Student experiments (a co-op between Lone Star College-North Harris, CHI School of Cosmetology in Houston, TX and Farouk Systems) and will take the student to KSC for the experiment/payload operations and launch of Atlantis. After landing, they will be responsible for the unloading and post-flight analysis of the experiment samples and helping the CHI Stars Student Investigator decipher the results. The top three essayists and "CHI Stars" are: third place winner, Alyssa Martinez, second place winner, Sugey Perez; and first place winner, Meagan Flesch.

The CHI Stars experiments on STS-135 will study the efficiency of microencapsulation of three antioxidants using Dr. Morrison's methods that have been patented by NASA and that were flown previously on the STS-107 flight and recovered from the same experiment apparatus that was found in Texas after the destruction of the Shuttle Columbia.

"This is a banner year for Farouk Systems," says Mr. Shami. "We're celebrating 25 years of ammonia free color, launching a new, safer smoothing treatment with CHI Enviro, we appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice and now having experiments in outer space. Hair is the final frontier."