In a earlier article on “Trichology” I stated that in a later article I would explain how various chemicals used in Cosmetology worked.  In this article we will cover Hair Relaxing. In follow up articles we will explain Cold Wave (curly perms)  Press & Curl and permanent hair color, and and how these products work differently on Afro hair then on Caucasian Hair.

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In order to really understand this concept, cialis sale you must first understand what changes the hair underwent when it was relaxed.

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Relaxers using Sodium Hydroxide (and to a lesser degree calcium & lithium “no lye”) as their active ingredient will destroy from 1/4 to 1/3 of the hair shaft.  Do not become alarmed by this fact because hair can withstand that much destruction and still remain healthy, providing it is properly cared for.

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When relaxer is applied to the hair, it must penetrate the Cuticle layer (which is made up of the same substance as the fingernail “Keratin Protein”).  As you work the relaxer into the hair, you actually scrape away as much as 1/3 of the Cuticle scales.  This is why the Curly Perm will not take on Relaxed hair, because the Curl actually forms on the cuticle, and with much of the cuticle gone, little or no curl will form.  This will be covered in more detail in next months article on “How Curly Perms Work”.  The relaxer next penetrates the Cortex and may lift some natural color.  This is why if your patron requests both a color and relaxer treatment, you apply the relaxer first, then the color at the next appointment. (see how & why in future articles in this series)  The next area of the hair shaft affected by the relaxer is the Medulla.  As you work with the relaxer, you stretch the hair shaft by removing a large degree of its elasticity and it remains that way by elongating the Sulfite Bonds and squeezing out about 25% of the natural oils that they contain.

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Cystien Links that connect the bonds are broken from their criss cross, up-down, every-which-way configuration and reformed into a straight up and down pattern, reconnecting the reformed bonds in that manner.  The changing of the Cystien Links is the main factor for hair being permanently straight as a result of the relaxer treatment.  This is also the reason we cannot reconstruct relaxed hair 100%, because changing the Cystien Links is one part of hair relaxing that is not reversible.

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The preceding information is not designed to heighten your anxiety about the use of sodium or calcium (no lye) hydroxide relaxes, but to allow you to have more respect for there use by pointing out the pros and cons of there use, so that if something goes wrong or out of control during the process, you will have a better understanding of what happened and how to correct it.

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