General usage Hair relaxing, or lanthionization, can be performed by a professional cosmetologist in a salon, or at home with relaxer kits purchased from discount stores and pharmacies. As with hair dye, the treated portion of the hair moves away from the scalp as the new growth of untreated hair sprouts up from the roots, requiring periodic retreatment (about every 6–8 weeks) to maintain a consistent appearance.
The relaxer is applied to the roots of the hair and remains in place for a "cooking" interval, during which it alters the hair's texture by a process of controlled damage to the protein structure. The hair can be significantly weakened by the physical overlap of excessive applications or by a single excessive one, leading to brittleness, breakage, or even widespread alopecia. When the relaxer has worked to the desired degree, the hair is rinsed clean. Regardless of formula, relaxers are always alkaline to some degree, so it is prudent to neutralize or even slightly acidify the hair with a suitable shampoo immediately afterward. The prompt use of hair conditioner is also important in order to replace some of the natural oils that were stripped away by the process. [edit] Types of hair relaxers [edit] Alkaline and Lye relaxers Alkaline relaxers were informally discovered in the United States during the 19th century when Garrett Augustus Morgan, an African-American, observed that it is possible to change the basic structure of the hair shaft when certain chemicals penetrate the cortical layer. Hair relaxing products often require washing and combing with soap which had been made with excess lye. A lye relaxer consists of sodium hydroxide (also known as NaOH or lye) mixed with water, petroleum jelly, mineral oil, and emulsifiers to create a creamy consistency. On application, the caustic "lye cream" permeates the protein structure of the hair and weakens its internal bonds, causing the natural curls to loosen out as the entire fiber swells open. No special deactivation step is required after washing the lye cream out, other than the routine pH adjustment and hair-conditioning. Manufacturers vary the sodium hydroxide content of the solution from 5% to 10% and the pH factor between 10 and 14. [edit] "Base" and "no base" formulas Entirely distinct from the chemical concept of base as a wider definition for "alkaline", lye relaxers may be labelled as "base" or "no base". In this instance, the "base" refers to a preliminary coating of petroleum jelly onto the scalp to protect it from being irritated or burned by the lye cream. "No base" creams have a lower concentration of lye and may be applied directly to the hair roots without requiring the protective "base" layer, although these weaker products may still irritate the skin of some people who must therefore coat their scalps beforehand anyway. [edit] "No lye" relaxers Due to increasing awareness concerning the potential dangers of sodium hydroxide found in traditional relaxer formulas, many women have begun abandoning them.[1] "No-lye" relaxers have become the preferred formula for those unwilling to give up relaxers completely. "No-lye" relaxers are of three main types. One type operates on the same general principle as lye relaxers but uses a slightly weaker alkaline agent, such as potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, or guanidine hydroxide. The last of these is not pre-formulated, but rather is generated at the time of use by combining a cream containing calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) with an "activating solution" of guanidine carbonate. Another type of "no-lye" relaxer uses ammonium thioglycolate, which is also known as perm salt for its use in permanent waves. Perm salt is a chemical reducing agent which selectively weakens the hair's cystine bonds instead of disrupting the entire protein, but strips out the natural oils even more thoroughly than the alkali hydroxide products. Afterward, the thioglycolate must be oxidized with a special solution of hydrogen peroxide or sodium bromate. Lastly, in most relaxers sold for home use, the active agents are ammonium sulfite and ammonium bisulfite (the two compounds are interchangeable, depending on the surrounding pH). These also selectively reduce the cystine bonds, but are much weaker and work more slowly. Nevertheless, their mild action minimizes (but does not entirely eliminate) collateral irritation to the skin. [edit] Commercial sale Early in the 1900s hair relaxing products emerged, such as "G.A. Morgan's Hair Refiner Cream." Sale of "lye relaxers" began in 1971 by companies such as Proline. Proline also produced the first commercial "no lye relaxer" using potassium hydroxide in 1973. [edit] See also [edit] References
0 Comments
How To Grow Long, Healthy Hair and Keep It That Way It’s the dirty little secret shampoo companies don’t want you to know—when you wash your hair with one of those nutrient-rich shampoos, most of the nutrients and active ingredients in the product don’t actually end up in your hair, they wind up down the drain… along with all the money you spent on the shampoo.
Why does this happen? Because the shampoo molecules they contain are too large to penetrate the cells of hair and more importantly the tiny hair follicles where our hair actually grows. They sit atop the follicle until we wash them away. Why is that a problem? Think about it this way—if you wanted to fertilize a plant, where would you pour the fertilizer? On the leaves? Of course not! You’d pour the fertilizer on the root and the soil where it’s needed most. Our hair works basically the same way—if you want to treat your hair right, you need to treat the roots. But if regular shampoo can’t penetrate the hair follicles where our roots grow, what are we supposed to do? Fortunately, a California company called Kronos decided to tackle this problem. Their team of researchers designed a more-effective shampoo—one that contains tiny microscopic spheres so small that they penetrate hair follicles and deliver nutrients to where they’re needed most. They call it “T-Sfere Technology”. Once they had solved the delivery method dilemma, they turned their attention to formulating ingredients that targetted the 5 most significant signs of damaged hair:
Already, Kronos has quickly become one of the most talked about hair care systems out there. It was recently featured on the Today show and was rated the #1 Overnight Hair Treatment product by The Good Housekeeping Institute. Currently, Kronos is not available at retail stores but is being exclusively distributed on DermStore.com, America’s #1 destination for skin care and beauty. DermStore.com carries over 15,000 products from over 500 top brands and offers useful information from doctors, estheticians, and customers. Since Kronos is still relatively new, DermStore.com is offering a limited amount of highly discounted Kronos Shampoo and Conditioner kits to new customers only, so people can see the results for themselves before deciding whether or not they want to purchase Kronos products at full price. The special trial is offered for a limited time only. To learn just how much you can currently save, click here to visit the Kronos products page at Dermstore.com. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|