protein layering (for even strength)

HAIR HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Like my first legit infographic? Protein layering is a method, or rather a concept, still stapled to my hair regimen. It has helped my suffering ends with the transitioning from lye relaxers to Japanese straightening. Since sharing this idea, the method has been coined 'protein layering', but technically you don't have to layer protein product in your hair to do it. As shown in the illustration in the link above, I have mostly been doing it by protein deep conditioning my ends one week, then half my hair the next protein wash day, then my whole head the next protein wash day.  

Because all heads of hair has this natural protein hierarchy, protein layering is something everyone can benefit from. Relaxed and fighting a line of demarcation. Natural and afraid of doing full on protein treatments too often. Lye relaxed transitioning to Japanese straightening. Or just wanting even strength throughout your hair length. Protein Layering is also beneficial to individuals that have dry ends who find methods like baggying doesn't work. Such a case would mean that even with the added moisture, the ends have nothing to retain it because of the protein loss.

Below are links to other bloggers that do protein layering. Visit their posts to see examples of the different ways protein layering can be done.

HOW IT'S DONE

Lesley from Fresh Lengths incorporates protein layering into her regimen by doing a protein deep conditioning solely to the bottom half of her hair between normal washes.

KLP from Saving Our Strands uses the concept of protein layering in her protein conditioning by applying a moisture conditioner only to her roots and then using a protein conditioner from the line of demarcation down.

Nadege from Relaxed Hair Health really follows the concept, applying a heavy protein conditioning mix to her ends and then leaving it in for about 15 mins. She then proceeds to dilute her mix and apply it to the rest of her hair.

Petra from Black Hair Information suggests a number of ways to incorporate protein layering into your regimen depending on what your hair needs.

the 4 types of relaxers

Mentioned in my last post, there are 4 types of relaxers, and today I'll be breaking them all down. Before I dive into a chemistry lesson, let's recap on what I have explained before. In my Hair Patterns post I explained how perming allows us to permanently alter the wave pattern of our hair -because the chemical processes break and reform the disulfide bonds in the cortex. There are three essential bonds within our hair cuticle, and the disulfide bonds are the most important. They are the strongest of the 3 and account for 1/3 of the hairs' overall strength. Keep this in mind as I breakdown the different relaxer options. It can help aid your choice if you plan on relaxing in the near future.

It was only recently I found out there was a fourth, individual type of relaxer -ammonium besulfite. I knew of it before, but thought it was another form of ammonium thioglycolate (the active ingredient in Japanese straightening). I wouldn't have looked more into it if it wasn't for the Hair IB incident, and am glad I learned the difference -another healthier solution for those that want to straighten their hair permanently. Take note that there are a few other solutions that can be used to rearrange hair wave patterns, like monothioglycolate, but those are only in curly perms. In relaxing, which means removing curl in cosmetology, there are 4 main types of reducing agents. I can confidently say that after doing quite a bit of research.

Now, let's go to my handy dandy notebook!

COSMETIC CHEMISTRY NOTEBOOK

Overview

• Hydroxide
• pH 9 - 14
• exothermic
• high pH relaxer
• goes through process of lanthionization and weakens hair 
• can relax coarse, thick, and resistant hair
• Ammonium Thioglycolate 
• pH 8 - 10
• exothermic
• neutral pH relaxer
• less damaging to hair
• can relax coarse, thick, and resistant hair
• compatible with soft curl perms
• Ammonium Bisulfite 
• pH 6.5 - 8.5
• enthothermic
• low pH relaxer
• less damaging to hair, a better option for very unhealthy and porous hair
• does not sufficiently relax extremely curly hair ( weak on afro hair )
• is also weak at curling hair 

✂

Perms

• soften & swell the hair - meaning they raise the cuticle, which allows the solution to penetrate into the cortex and rinse out of the cortex easier
• go through a chemical reaction called reduction - when in the cortex the solution breaks the disulfide bonds with either the addition of hydrogen or the removal of oxygen. Once the disulfide bond is broken, the polypeptide chains are able to slip into their new curled or straightened shape.
• can be categorized as exothermic (cold/ alkaline perm) or endothermic (warm/ acid perm)

Exothermic perms

• produce heat
• create an exothermic chemical reaction that heats up the solution & speeds up the processing
• strength is determined by the concentration of the reducing agent and degree of alkalinity 
• Reducing agent - stronger perms have a higher concentration, impacting the reduction process, and therefore more disulfide bonds are broken
• Alkalinity - second factor in overall strength of perm solution, pH ( alkalinity ) of the perm solution should correspond to the resistance, strength, and porosity of the cuticle layer
• example of reducing agents: Ammonium Thioglycolate, Hydroxide

Endothermic perms

• absorb heat from its surroundings 
• are activated by an outside heat source, will not process properly at room temperature  
• example of a reducing agent: Ammonium Bisulfide

✂

Reducing/ Relaxing

Hydroxide

• Commonly referred to as lye
• The reduction reaction is undergone through a process called lanthionization
• -where the hydroxide solution breaks the disulfide bonds by removing one atom of sulfur from the disulfide bond, thereby converting it into a lanthionine bond. 
• When a hydroxide relaxer breaks a disulfide bond the bond is permanently broken and can never be reformed ( -weakening 1/3 of the hairs' overall strength ).
• Has a high pH, therefore hydroxide is able to swell the hair and penetrate the cortex without the addition of an alkalizing agent

Thioglycolic acid 

• Commonly referred to as thio 
• Provides the hydrogen that causes the reduction reaction in perm solutions 
• Thioglycolic acid alone does not swell the hair or penetrate into the cortex 
• -so manufacturers add an alkalizing agent 
• Ammonia is added and produces a new chemical called ammonium thioglycolate ( the active ingredient in Japanese straightening )

Ammonium Bisulfide

• Better known as an acid perm/ relaxer
• There is minimal swelling and few bonds broken during the reduction process
• Endothermic perms rely on heat to open up the cuticle so that they can penetrate the cortex

✂

Neutralizing/ Oxidating

For Thioglycolate & Acid relaxers 

• neutralization has three functions: 
• to lower the pH of the hair
• to shrink the swollen hair shaft
• and to restores the disulfide bonds
• the chemical process that removes the hydrogen atoms and reforms the disulfide bonds is called oxidation. Oxidation can result in the lightening of the hair color especially if a strong thio compound was used – and this is why the hair should be rinsed carefully and blotted thoroughly before applying the neutralizer. 

For Hydroxide relaxers 

• neutralization does not involve oxidation or rebuilding disulfide bonds
• The pH remains extremely high even after a thorough rinsing
• the function of neutralization is to normalize any remaining hydroxide ions to lower the pH of the hair and scalp

how to start a healthy hair care journey

I've been working on this post little by little for months, I'm so glad to finally be able to put it up! The point of me creating this blog was my desire to help girls with my hair conditions take better care of their hair. But I realized most of the stuff I talk about is more for those that already have an idea of what they're doing. Every now and then I'd get messages from girls that wanted to start a hair care journey but had no idea where to start. Instead of rewriting the basics to them again and again, I decided to just publicly write it all here. I probably should have done this a long time ago. 

The basic components of a hair care regimen.

BASIC PRODUCTS

gentle shampoo or cleanser 

oil

moisture conditioner

protein conditioner

leave-in

wide tooth comb

✂

BASIC REGIMEN

prepoo (optional, but highly recommended)

Short for pre-shampoo. This is where you coat your hair in heated oil, like a hot oil treatment, for at least a half hour before washing. Sometimes people use conditioner or an oil-conditioner mix instead. This protects your hair from sulfates and the harsh effects of shampooing. It also helps hinder the tangling that occurs during washing and gives the hair more shine after the wash. 

✂

wash 

Shampoo should be done no more than once a week for us afro textured and relaxed girls, because using shampoo or any other cleansing product more than that could dry out our hair. A proper wash should start with thoroughly rinsing your hair and scalp. Then when shampooing, it's important to focus on the scalp and only let the suds rinse throughout the length of the hair, not applying the shampoo directly on the ends of the hair. Again, that would cause unnecessary dryness. The key to healthy hair is a clean scalp and a moisturized mane, not the other way around. For this reason, I would also recommend going no longer than two weeks between washes, because you don't want build up on your scalp either. The only time shampoo should be applied on the entire hair is when clarifying (deep cleansing) or when washing something (like chlorine) out.

Many healthy hair journey girls try to find shampoo without sulfates, sometimes completely discontinuing the use of shampoo for healthier alternatives. This is because shampoo often contains sulfates, a synthetic cleaning ingredient that is too harsh on the hair. It washes out not only dirt and excess oil, but also strips away our natural oils and moisture. Prepooing can combat this to a degree, but it's better to try to avoid sulfates or use them to a minimal degree. Also, when using other types of hair cleansing alternatives, the proper 'shampooing' techniques explained before should still be kept in mind.

cowash (optional between washes)

Between normal washes, you can try cowashing. Cowashing is short for conditioner washing, and like the name says, it’s where you use conditioner to clean your hair instead of shampoo. Rinsing your hair with water alone cleans it to a degree, and on top of that, conditioner has a gentle cleansing effect. Don't believe me? A while back JC from The Natural Haven conducted a little experiment to see how well cowashing really cleansed hair. Her findings showed that about 90 percent of excess oil is removed.

Cowashing, however, should not be used as a total substitute for shampoo or alternative hair cleansing products. Though it gently cleans the hair, whether it cleans the scalp is questionable. When cowashing, some girls will massage the conditioner into their scalp like shampoo. I would think that would not work on the scalp as it does the hair and would instead create buildup. Even Gina Rivera from Hairs Talent had cautioned me when I first told her I cowashed. She told me she had to do scalp only cleansing treatments to many of her natural clients, because many of them cowashed, going a month between normal washing. Though their hair was fine, these clients had scalp buildup. Click here to view a video where she talks a little on this subject. In conclusion, cowashing gently cleanses your hair, moisturizes it, and makes wash days easier, but it should not be overused.

✂

protein conditioner 

Protein treatments strengthen and bring structure back into the hair strand. They are more optional for natural girls, but are important for relaxed girls, or girls who do any kind of chemical treatment or heat styling. Hair is made up of about 90 percent protein. Doing a protein treatment ‘patches up’ the damage from chemical processes to daily wear and tear. One should be cautious, however, with the amount of protein they use in their regimen. Protein has gotten a bad rep because girls sometimes use too much and end up getting protein overload. I was one of them. One of the most important keys to healthy hair, if not the most important, is the hair’s moisture and protein balance. A MizzSlick from BHM shared an extensive explanation on this balance and other essential information on the forum. (I think she mistakenly said "Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature" when she meant 90 percent. And rather then wet assessment, I recommend an elasticity test for more accuracy.)  How often you should do protein treatments and the strength of it depend on this balance. Lastly, when doing protein treatments, it’s also important to know that you have to follow up with a moisturizing conditioner that matches its strength. If it’s a heavy protein deep conditioner you have to follow with a heavy moisture deep conditioner, or your hair can become hard.

moisture deep conditioner 

For us girls with hair on the dry side, moisture conditioning is your best friend. Unless you’re cowashing, moisture deep conditioning should be done every time you wash. Something to watch out for, moisture conditioners will often contain a little protein ingredient or two in them. It’s kind of hard to find a conditioner that is completely protein free. This is fine, but it is something you shouldn't forget to calculate in when considering the amount of protein in your regimen and keeping your hair’s moisture-protein balance stable.

✂

moisturize & seal

A good leave-in is one that moisturizes your hair without making it greasy or too weighed down. After washing, rinsing out your deep conditioner, and drying your hair a little, a leave-in is best applied while your hair is still on the damp side. This is the best time because the still damp strands creates a more even application. At the same time, the strands are not still too wet for the leave-in to penetrate. Moisturizing should light-handedly be followed by an oil to ‘seal’ in the moisture. Oils do not moisturize, they seal the moisture already in the hair. I like to think of it like a cup with water and oil on top. Sealing makes it harder for moisture to leave the hair. One should re-moisturize & seal throughout the week, whenever your hair starts feeling dry again.

✂

drying 

The best way to dry your hair after washing is to first, dry it with a giant t-shirt instead of a towel. A towel if rigid and rough and was really made for our body, not our hair. When towel-shirt drying you also shouldn’t ruffle up your hair in the towel, simply squeeze and pat. Second, when drying it is healthiest to air dry your hair with oil, or to blow dry it with cool air. Air drying is the option most healthy hair journey girls go for, it creates little to no damage and the hair strands do not lose as much water. Plus it’s the lazier option. If your hair is wet for too long, however, it can cause your hair strands to swell, disturbing its structure. So if you know your hair takes a long time to dry, you should either use oil on wash day or blow dry on cool when your hair is about 70 percent dry. Using oil is something you should already be doing on wash day, when you prepoo and seal. Coconut oil in specific is known to be good at preventing hygral fatigue (swelling and contracting of the hair strand).

Direct heat like normal blow-drying and flat ironing isn’t something you want to keep in your routine when you start a healthy hair journey. Direct heat usage should be a maximum of at least two weeks apart, and a minimum of never. Too much blow drying on a hot setting can cause the water in wet hair strands to boil, which is worse for your strands’ structure than swelling. Flat-ironing can burn your hair, and takes away moisture and protein. If you can’t see yourself living without heat, opt for healthier options like roller setting and going under a hooded dryer.

combing

Combing should start from the ends on your hair to the root. Starting from the roots you're trying to pull through tangles which causes breakage. Hair is its easiest to comb in the shower, but at the time hair is weakest when wet. So if you're relaxed, combing in the shower is something you might want to avoid. If you're natural, combing in the shower is something you should probably practice. Opt for a seamless wide tooth comb, as both technique and the tools involved are important. 

Another thing that it good to practice is finger detangling instead of taking out the comb every time. And that goes with more emphasis to girls stretching their touch-ups and have blooming new growth. Your line of demarcation will thank you.  

hair length charts

LENGTH LABELS

Today, lets talk about describing hair length! Most of us know those basic labels: neck length, shoulder length, bra strap length, etc. It sounds simple and straight forward, but people do often get confused when trying to figure out what length they should currently claim. This is especially true as your hair gets longer, because the labels get more vague. For example, where exactly does your waist and hip start? And with some people, like me, waist and hip length are only an inch away from each other. So I'm going to break it down further, giving these labels more detailed descriptions.

• ear length - From touching your ears to above your chin, a boyish cut.
• chin length - Starts at your chin, this length is usually a bob. 
• neck length - Starts in the middle of your neck.
• shoulder length - Not just above your shoulders and not just pass your shoulders, it starts where your hair touches your shoulders. You might be thinking this one is straight forward, starts at your shoulders, but I see a lot of unsure people ask about this one.
• arm pit length - Starts at the top of your, er, armpit's crease.
• bra strap length - Now this one gets questioned a lot, too. Bra strap length starts on the top of your strap. Who and why someone came up with using a bra as an indicator instead of a body part is beyond me.
• mid back length - Is usually right below a standard bra strap. It more accurately starts in the middle of your back. To be accurate, measure your back from your shoulders to tailbone, then take away the bottom half.
• waist length - Starts at the smallest part of your waist, this can be very varying from person to person.
• hip length - Hip length starts at the hip bone, but many don't know where the hip bone is and it's hard to describe. It's kinda where it looks like your legs start. Here's a slightly erotic picture to get a better idea.
  
• tail bone length - This one also confuses people. It's usually located around the middle of your hips. If humans had tails, this is where they'd grow out of. More specifically this location is located... well, right above our butt... cracks...
• classic length- This length is half your height, so measure yourself, subtract the bottom half, and this is where your classic length starts.
• mid thigh length - You can usually tell by just looking, but if you want to be accurate, bend your leg, measure your thigh, again subtract the half from below, and that is where it starts.
• knee length - Where your hair starts to touch your knee
• calf length - Starts in the middle of your calf, just like thigh length.
• ankle (fairytale) length - Where your hair starts to touch your ankles.
• floor length - Starts on the floor. (I get the mental image of your hair becoming like a broom.)

 CHART COMPARISON

Some people have their slightly different definitions, but I find these to be the accurate ones that must girls agree upon. You can even see the mix up in hair length labels from looking at charts. Test yourself! See if you can tell why each chart is right or wrong.

(Very accurate!)

(A little misleading.)

(Wrong...)

When talking about hair labels, it's always important to keep in mind everyone has different body proportions. Just because you have the same length label with someone doesn't mean you have the same length in measurement.

JHS (touch-up) before & after care

 BEFORE

There are a set of rules one should follow before getting their hair Japanese straightened.

• do not swim for 72 hours
• do not drink caffeine for at least a few hours before the service (not sure why)
• do not exercise or wear a style that creates tension on the scalp for 12-24 hours. 
• do not use any oily conditioners for 2-3 days

Most of these rules are easy, but for drier haired girls like me that last rule can be pretty hard to follow, especially when dealing with at least 3 inches of new growth. The reason it's recommended you refrain from applying anything oily in your hair is because oils will prevent the Japanese straightening solution from penetrating your strand, which can result in under processing. If you're looking to use Japanese straightening as a texturizer, feel free to ignore this rule. Most of us afro textured girls moisturize our hair every or every other day. Keep in mind, it's the parts of the hair that's going to be treated that can't be moisturized, not the already chemically treated hair. Before I would just give my new growth a thorough moisturizing the last day I could, and endure not doing anything to it for 2-3 days.

Are there any conditioners without an oil out there? I couldn't think of one. it was only after this recent touch up it came to me: aloe vera juice! I moisturized my new growth with it until the day of the touch-up and my japanese straightening took fine. I finally found an exception to the rule.

An extra thing I do to prep for a touch-up is to do a henna gloss on my already chemically-treated hair to prevent over processing. Henna makes it harder for the Japanese straightener solution to penetrate the hair strand and adds strength. When I found out I'd be doing a JBS treatment instead of a JHS, I got kinda nervous because I had already did my henna gloss. Was a 9ish day gap between a henna and a brazilian keratin going to cause protein overload? I started doing thorough moisture cowashes in between and my hair loved it. Everything turned out fine.

AND AFTER

There is also a longer set of follow-up rules for after Japanese straightening.

• for 48-72 hours avoid humid environments, keep the hair down (no clips, tying, behind ears), do not wet hair, try not to sleep on sides of head, don't sweat, avoid hats and scarves. 
• for 7 days continue to keep hair down, avoid hats and scarves, avoid sea or chlorine water. 
• for two weeks, just avoid sea and chlorine water. 
• always avoid sulfur shampoos and water that is too hot or too cold.

After you get your touch-up at the salon, the Japanese straightening process is still taking place. Many of us know that it's a myth that hair can revert after a relaxer, when the process is done at the salon it's done. With Japanese straightening the hair is absorbing oxygen and still taking in its new shape, this is why there are more, stricter follow-up instructions. If you clip your just treated hair, a dent from the clip will be left behind when you remove it. If you sleep on the side of your head, in the morning you might find that your hair has take the shape of your ear. If any mistakes do occur, you must quickly flat-iron the part that's been misshapen.

Different hair dressers will give you different time restrictions for doing this and that. For example, one stylist might say you can wet your hair after 3 days, another will say 7 days. The rule of thumb is that the longer you wait the better the results. So this time, that's a plus for those who don't have oily scalps or hair and can easily go 1-2 weeks without washing. The down side is that not being able to wet your hair means no moisturizer again, and this time aloe vera isn't an exception to the rule. Your now straightened hair probably won't feel like it needs anything, but then again, it depends on your hair's condition and your stylist's Japanese straightening technique. You can now, however, use oils. In fact, using oil is very beneficial, smoothing the hair, and helping the japanese straightener takes in it's shape. I like to use penetrating oils on my just processed hair, like coconut and olive oil.

Extra things I usually do following a touch-up includes the split-ender. The split-ender only works on straight hair, not relaxer straight hair. The only times the ends of my hair get flat-ironed is touch-up day. So it's really the only time I can use my split-ender. Maybe that's why I have yet to be wowed by it? Now that my hair has also been Brazilian Keratin straightened, I should be able to use it more often. Another thing I do my first wash following a touch-up is a porosity treatment, Roux Ph Corrector and an apple cider vinegar rinse.

hair patterns ( the difference between textures )

 

What determines hair texture? What's the structural differences between straight hair and curly hair? Truthfully science doesn't have all the answers to this subject yet. For example, why does hair texture change in some individuals as they get older? When I was younger, I think I had a looser curl pattern than the one I have now. A common guess to why hair texture changes is the changes in our hormones, but this is just an educated guess. There are several known factors that contribute to different hair textures: follicle shape, disulfide bonds, and sebum flow.

SHAPES

The shape of our hair cuticles are a result of the shape of our scalp's follicles. Hair that grows out of round follicles will have a rounded cuticle, thus straighter hair. Hair the grows out of crescent moon shaped follicles will take on a more oval shape, thus curlier hair. A good metaphor I read that paints a good picture is to think of it like the type of ribbon you use as a balloon tail. When you pass a scissor blade pass one side of the ribbon it curls up. This is the same concept as a hair strand passes through the half moon shaped follicle.

BONDS

As stated before in how do relaxers work, "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 disulfide bonds that are arranged in a more slanting, zigzag pattern."

Hair is comprised of almost 90 percent keratin protein and 3 percent moisture. Hair is also made up of 4 different chemical bonds: peptide, disulfide, salt, and hydrogen. Getting into some chemistry, disulfide bonds are the second strongest chemical bonds in the hair, and are also called sulfur bonds. Polypeptide bonds form the keratin proteins found in hair, are the strongest bonds, and are also called keratin bonds. A disulfide bond is created when two sulfur atoms from two neighboring polypeptide bonds connect.  Flatter, oval shaped cuticles are able to hold more cysteines, which is an amino acid containing sulfur, and allow them to come in contact with one another. And so with more sulfur atoms coming into contact, more disulfide bonds are able to be created, stabilizing the curly hair structure. A hair cuticle with a rounded structure, on the other hand, has less sulfur atoms and so allows less disulfide bonds.

Unlike two of the other hair bonds mentioned, disulfides bonds are not broken by heat or water. Disulfide bonds, being one of the strongest bonds, is one of the reasons why our hair reverts back to out normal texture after straightening with heat or saturating our hair with water. It's what stabilizes our hair structure. Disulfide bonds can only be altered by chemical processes. It is why once we chemically treat our hair with relaxers and perms the change in texture is permanent.

Sodium hydroxide relaxers work by replacing the original disulfide bonds with a bond called a lanthionine bond, which only has one sulfur bond. Curly perms, on the other hand, work on the hair by forming new disulfide bonds with two sulfur atoms. Japanese straighteners (aka thio relaxers) use the same chemical as curly perms, but is able to straighten the hair. This is something I'm doing more research on.

AND FLOW

This is a topic where much more research still needs to be done. Our hair follicles contain sebaceous glands, which are glands that produce sebum (our natural oil) to lubricate our skin and hair and keep it supple. Our body's natural oil traveling from our scalp to the ends of our hair is commonly known as sebum flow. It's harder for sebum to flow through curlier hair, however, which makes sense because the oil has to slide around a spiral rather than a straight line. It makes me think of a kid trying to use a playground spiral slide, but you know how sometimes you found you had to slide yourself on those things? This is why curlier hair tends to be less oily than straighter hair. And then this is why curly hair tends to have a higher porosity than straight hair, because there is not as much oil to slick down the cuticle. The lack of sebum laying down the hair is why curly hair has more volume and frizz. The laying down of the hair strands also adds weight to the hair, which can result in a slightly looser hair texture.

There are healthy hair journey girls that take silica supplements for better hair growth and health notice that their hair texture becomes looser. There hasn't been much research for why, but an educated guess I have is that maybe there's an increase in sebum. Many of these girls that report a different hair texture also report that their hair feelings more nourished, which would be a result of sebum. I will also be trying out silica in the near future. Probably within a month.





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.

healthy vs. damaged hair

"Relaxed hair is just damaged hair."

This is the message the media has been sending nowadays, so having healthy relaxed hair might seem like an oxymoron. In reality, all hair is damaged to a certain degree, so just saying "healthy hair" is an oxymoron. Damaged literally means 'harmed' and 'impaired value of normal function'. Hair products work by fixing the damages in our hair -if our hair was in perfect condition, hair products would not work on it. Ever notice how soft and nice a new born baby's hair is? They're the only ones how can really claim to have healthy hair, as their hair has not been exposed to the damaging conditions of the sun, wind, clothing, etc. So truthfully everyone has damaged hair, and damage can be fixed by treating it with products (not to perfect condition though.)

What healthy and damaged really means in hair language is how it looks cosmetically. Healthy hair is hair that does not break easily, has a good amount of elasticity, has a proper balance of moisture and protein, and has a low or medium porosity. The more things you do not have from this list, the more damaged your hair is. Processes like perming, dying, relaxing, and bleaching damage the hair to a bigger degree than that of outside elements (sun, wind...), but that does not mean the hair will forever be damaged. That's like saying dry natural hair can never by soft and moisturized.

Understanding this, you will understand why saying, "I don't care how healthy your hair looks, it's unhealthy," to a relaxed head doesn't make sense.



hair porosity

I know this has been explained before, but I thought I'd explain it in detail since it seems some people are confused about it. first of all, I see some people saying their hair is unhealthy because it has low porosity. that is incorrect. hair that has low and normal porosity are healthy. hair that is high in porosity is unhealthy. another thing that I find girls teaching, which isn't exactly true, is that low porosity hair and protein overload go hand in hand. they are two different things because hair can have protein overload and a high porosity at the same time. just doing protein treatments can help smooth the cuticle, but it won't bring high porosity hair to low porosity hair by itself. so just remember: protein helps porosity, porosity doesn't help protein. also, not all proteins help porosity, you have to look for specific kinds of proteins. I was confused about this once, too.

low porosity - hair that isn't very porous has smooth cuticles that water doesn't enter in easily. but when moisture does gets into the cuticle, it will be shut in resulting in long lasting moisture. this kind of hair is usually shiny, but it is resistant to chemical treatments like dye and relaxers. low porosity hair does not need cones or much protein either, you can get protein overload easily. low porosity hair will benefit from natural high ph products, like Castile Soap, Baking Soda, and Bentonite Clay. many low porosity haired girls have also have had success with Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Moisturizer.

normal porosity - this kind of hair can be thought of as being balanced. it can absorb a fraction of water, but is not overly porous. moisture can get in the hair strands and last. unlike low porosity hair, it can take chemical treatments okay, but you should keep it mind that over time the hair will become more porous by doing so.

high porosity - think of chemically processed hair that isn't being properly taken care of. this hair is damaged and has lots of holes in the hair shaft. these holes are like a sponge and absorb water easily, but this does NOT mean it's better for moisturizing. just as quick as the moisture comes the moisture goes. think of the hair strand as a house made of doors. with high porosity hair all the doors are open, making it unsafe for the cortex and insides of the cuticle. this type of hair does take in chemicals better, but it's not suggested because you'll just end up with even more damaged hair.

relaxed and chemically treated hair has a natural high porosity, but regular use of products such as Roux Ph Control, Aloe Vera Juice, and Apple Cider Vinegar will combat this and restore hair to normal porosity. proteins that coat the cuticle and oils will also help. note that oils help smooth the cuticle, but this is not due to ph. oils are not water soluble so they do not have a ph.

now that we understand the levels of porosity lets talk about the test. many of us hair fanatics know about this test. you divide your hair in four sections and take a shed strand of hair from each. this is because one section of hair might be healthier then another section. then you put the strands of hair in a tall cup or bowl and see if it floats. if it floats for a while it's healthy. here's what you should do for more clear results. see if your hair floats for at least 15 minutes. if it does then your hair is alright. if it doesn't it has high porosity and you have to up on your ph correctors. if you come back in an hour (with occasional checks in between the hour) and it's still floating, congratulations! your hair is in very good condition. now push down the strands and if they float back up (be patient!) your hair has low porosity.
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here is an article that further discusses the science of hair porosity:
The "Other Path" to Moisture, by Joe Parker
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here are some of the tips for low porosity hair that's explained in the article:

• If a product will hydrate your fingers then it will moisturize low porosity hair. 
• Adding a tiny amount of castile soap to your deep conditioner will boost it because it will lower the overall surface energy of the water system. 
• To boost your leave-in or rinsable conditioner, heat it up and apply it to your hair at an elevated temperature: 30 to 40 C. 
• Hydrolyzed rice, silk and wheat proteins have a molecular weight, making them better for low porosity hair.

ph higher than water equals higher porosity, and ph lower than hair equals low porosity. so to finish it all off, here are some recorded ph levels of hair related things:

• 14 sodium hydroxide (lye) 
• 13 bleach
• 9-11 calcium hydroxide & guanidine hydroxide (no lye)  
• 9-11 permanent dye 
• 8.9 castile soap
• 8-9 bentonite clay
• 8-9 ammonium thioglycolate (chemical used in perms)
• 8-9 semi permanent dye                       
• 8-9 baking soda 
• 8 sea water
• 7 pure tap water
• 6 milk
• 5-6 tea
• 5 soft drinking water
• 5 hair 
• 4-5 coffee
• 4.25-5 apple cider vinegar 
• 4.5 roux porosity control
• 3-5 aloe vera juice 
• 2 lemon juice

hair symptons

Conquering protein overload has provided me with more understanding and hair experience... but it also left me with a lot of broken strands. When I first began experiencing protein overload, I could not properly evaluate my hair, resulting in me worsening my overload. On hair care forums, I now see that other people also getting confused when trying to figure out what was wrong with their hair. So now I'm going to list a clear description of the symptoms that associate protein overload, moisture overload, low porosity, and high porosity. Everyone's symptoms can be a little different since everyone's hair is different, or their problems can be slightly different. I can only describe from my experience and knowledge, but at the same time the characteristics of each problem would still be relatively the same, just might not hit the bull's eye.
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you might also want to read about
hair porosity
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PROTEIN OVERLOAD is characterized by dry and hard hair. When moisturizing and conditioning, your hair will feel very soft and moist. It will take a while for your hair to dry, but once it dries it becomes very hard. In my experience, the outer cuticle layer is what felt dry and hard, but the inner layer still felt somewhat moisturized. With breakage, the hair snaps rather then stretches out, due to the small amounts of elasticity in the hair. A good way to tell the amount of elasticity in your hair is by doing the elasticity test. This is when you wet a broken hair strand, tie each end around your index fingers, and slowly stretch the strand and observe how it snaps. ( Does it stretch 50 percent and snap? Or does it just snap right away? ) The hair also gets harder to detangle because the strands tend to stick to each other. It's caused when too much protein in their hair. Once your hair health is stable, completely avoiding protein products forever isn't the answer. Just remember protein treatments are something you only really have to do when you notice you hair is getting too soft or when you notice extra breakage.

 MOISTURE OVERLOAD is characterized by very moist hair that stretches too much, resulting in breakage. The hair will feel too soft and mushy. Evaluating this is the easiest because it's symptoms is not like the other hair issues. Also, moisture overload is suppose to be very easy to fix, needing only one or two protein treatments to correct. It's caused when someone is doing too much conditioning to their hair without using protein to balance it.

LOW POROSITY is associated with smooth cuticles that shine, but where water can not enter easily. Depending how much water the strands absorbed determines how long it'll take for the hair to dry. When water is absorbed properly the hair will take a long time to dry. If water isn't absorbed properly the hair will dry fast. And when moisturizing the hair, product has a hard time entering, usually resulting in cream laying on the strands. Hair can naturally be low porosity or low porosity can be obtained from using ph correcting products too often. This one doesn't mean your hair is un-healthy, it means you have to adjust your practices to accommodate for your hair condition.

 HIGH POROSITY acts like a sponge. moisture can easily enter, but easily exits. When the hair dries it dries, and quickly. Hair cuticles will feel dry and also feel rigid, not smooth. A good way to figure out porosity is to do the porosity test ( see how long a strand of your hair floats in water, see link above for details). Hair that is very high porosity is usually malnourished. High porosity hair is the natural structure of her that has been chemically treated. How much the cuticle's 'scales' have lifted depends on how high on the ph scale the chemical used is. Relaxers are probably the highest, being made from a chemical with a ph of 14. Regular use of ph correcting products must be used to combat this.

MY EXPERIENCE

When I first began experiencing protein overload, I thought I was suffering from low porosity symptoms from using Roux Porosity too often, so I stopped using it. I also did the porosity test, which told me my hair's porosity was low. I began changing my regimen in order to combat this. I was clarifying with baking soda to lift my hair cuticles, over moisturizing my hair with baggying and steaming to try to force the moisture in, and avoiding my protein products. For a while my hair felt like it was slowly getting better, but then that stopped and it was getting worse again! I did another porosity test and my hair had gone from low porosity to high porosity! But why was my hair still suffering and acting strange? That's when I realized I had protein overload. That explained why my hair had little elasticity. ^ ^'

The reason my changed regimen was kinda working for me was because I was doing more clarifying, deep conditioning, and avoiding protein ingredients. Things that combat protein overload. From this I also realized that many moisturizing products have some protein ingredients in them. When you have protein overload you want products with no protein at all. This was probably why my hair was still started getting worse.