To Lye or Not to Lye... That Is The Question!

For all of us ladies who have relaxed hair or are thinking of relaxing... There are things that need to be known about the relaxer of choice. Yes they have chemicals but there are ALL different.

LYE RELAXERS:

Lye relaxers are made with the active ingredient being sodium hydroxide. It raises your hair pH into the range of 10-14. It can be very damaging, like any chemical treatment, if no in correctly. When the relaxer cream is applied to the hair is penetrates the shaft of the hair and breaks down the protein bonds. The weakening of these bonds is what allows the curls to straighten out. After this procedure is finished, a neutralizing shampoo is applied to wash out the relaxer and bring the pH down to a more neutral pH.

NO-LYE RELAXERS

Much like lye relaxers, no-lye relaxers raise the hairs pH, but slightly weaker alkali agents are used instead of sodium hydroxide (lye). Most commonly guanidine hydroxide is used. This type of no-lye relaxer uses the same principle as the lye relaxers... permeating the hair shaft and weakening the protein bonds of hair. A neutralizing shampoo is also needed following a no-lye relaxer in order to restore the hairs natural pH. It is also recommended that a chelating shampoo is used to remove minerals that may have been left behind on the hair and scalp.

Another no-lye relaxer is the thio relaxer... It is used in thermal reconditioning of the hair. It has the compound, ammonium thioglycolate, which is also referred to as perm salt or perm waves. Instead of weakening the entire protein bond, this particular treatment selectively weakens the cystine bonds. This however, thoroughly strips the moisture out of the hair even more so than alkali products.

Most at home relaxers (box kits) contain ammonium sulfite and ammonium bisulfite. These compounds like ammonium thioglycolate, selectively weaken the cystine bonds of the hair over time slowly; this reduces the amount of irritation done to the skin.

Regardless of the type of relaxer you choose to use, be sure that you research in depth the chemical before you apply it to your hair. Happy Hair Journeying!