Chemical Hair Services (Perming and Relaxing)
Domain focus
Chemical Hair Services (Perming and Relaxing) tests your control of bond-breaking chemistry. Perming adds curl; relaxing removes it. Both rely on the same principle: break disulphide bonds, reshape, then rebuild them.
Core rules
- Perm: pre-test and strand-test, wrap without tension, saturate evenly, process, check a test curl, rinse thoroughly, then neutralise to rebuild bonds and condition.
- Relaxer: protect the scalp with base cream, apply to the new growth, smooth without scraping, time precisely, rinse completely, then use a neutralising shampoo until the indicator shows neutral.
- Distinguish lye (sodium hydroxide, high pH) from no-lye (calcium hydroxide or guanidine) relaxers; strengths are mild, regular and super - match to hair resistance and scalp sensitivity.
- Never relax over henna, metallic salts, or hair that has been bleached unless the strand test proves it safe.
- Do not overlap relaxer onto previously relaxed hair; retouch the new growth only.
- Ventilate the area, wear gloves, keep chemicals off the skin and eyes, and have water available for irrigation.
- Contraindications: broken or inflamed scalp, recent colour or bleach, pregnancy (refer), known sensitivity.
Worked example
A first-time relaxer on fine, fragile hair: use a mild no-lye strength, apply base cream, work quickly on the new growth, smooth only briefly, rinse for longer than you think, then neutralise. Reasoning: fine hair processes faster, so a super strength or delayed rinse risks over-processing and breakage.
Traps
Under-neutralising; overlapping relaxer; relaxing hair that has had henna; judging processing by the clock alone rather than a test curl.