how do relaxers work?

HISTORY

relaxers were invented by Garrett Morgan in 1910. you might now Mr. Morgan better as the inventer of traffic lights. and like many inventions of the time, relaxers were created by accident. Mr. Morgan was trying to create a new lubricating liquid. taking a break from his hard work, he wiped the liqiud off his hand using a wool rag, but came back to see that the rag's texture turned smooth. the first chemical straightener, "G.A. Morgan's Hair Refining Cream," was created!

SOME SCIENCE


there are two types of relaxers: lye and no-lye. lye relaxers are made up of the chemical sodium hydroxide, which has a high ph ranging from 10-14, usually 14. no-lye relaxers use calcium hydroxide instead of sodium. this chemical has a slightly lower, but still high ph of 9-11. so which one is better? that depends on you. even though lye is higher it makes the hair straighter, if that's the style your looking for. and it doesn't strip the protein and moisture balance in your hair as much as no-lye. but it's unhealthy for the scalp and again has a very high ph. no lye is milder on the scalp and has a lower ph. but it doesn't straighten the hair as well and leaves mineral deposits in your hair. it's wise to follow up with a clarifying shampoo after neutralizing out a no-lye relaxer.

MORE SCIENCE


relaxers work by penetrating the cortex of the hair and breaking the disulfide bonds. this relaxes the curl, resulting in straighter textures. disulfide bonds are two sulfur atoms that are connected to each other. straight hair, which has a rounded cuticle, has disulfide bonds that are aligned and scarce throughout the cuticle. curlier hair has more oval, half moon shaped cuticles and more dissulfide bonds that are arranged in a more slanting pattern. so relaxers work by reducing the amount of disulfide bonds in the hair. likewise, curly perms work by adding more dissulfide bonds into the stand.