First and foremost, thank you to the people at AHBAI Org for allowing me to reproduce this information on my page. Here is to a wonderful coalition of businesses, people, and products. I am waiting on a few more responses allowing me to put information about relaxers and hair that has been relaxed. I can't post it until permission is granted. Please look back from time to time for I know that I will not fall short of information.
This information is from Vitale and it is more than enough to arm yourself with before going in for your next relaxer.
What To Look For Prior To Relaxing
Why Some Hair Will Not Relax
How To Handle This Situation (Hair that won't relax)
Why Aren't Relaxers Called Straighteners?
Why Breakage Appears Sometimes On The Nape Of The Neck After Relaxing
Two Causes Of Bald Spots On The Scalp After Relaxing:
What Is The Cause Of Extreme Breakage Shortly After Relaxing?
Can Plain Water Neutralize A Relaxer?
Why Do Patrons Sometimes Experience Irritation Around Facial Hairline?
What Does Damaged Hair Look Like? (This is not part of the pamphlet)
What To Look For Prior To Relaxing
Check for dryness and brittleness. Do a simple strand
test by holding a few strands of hair at the ends
between your thumb and forefinger -- tug lightly. Check
for areas of hair shaft where breakge may occur. If it
breaks:
In the middle:possibly it is weak, damaged and/or porous hair. This problem must be corrected by one or more conditioning treatments before relaxation. Vitale's Foundation Pre-Conditioner, Corrective Conditioner, or Intensive Conditioner are designed to correct these types of problems.
At the scalp: this is more serious and beyond your control to correct. This cause could be due to medications or body chemistry. Never attempt to relax when breakage is close to the scalp.
Why Some Hair Will Not Relax
Basically, this is due to the patron's body chemistry. If
your patron is on certain medications or consumes
large quantities of acid-laden foods or drinks such as
lemon, lime, orange juice, carbonated soft drinks or is
experiencing a nervous condition or in various stages
of pregnancy, these and other conditions can lower
normal body pH from 5.5 to approximately 3.5. This
means that any scalp secretions, perspiration or
sebum will be at the same lower pH. This, plus heavy
hair dressings, coat the lower hair shaft causing a
pre-neutralizing effect on the hair prior to contact with
the relaxer. Combing a relaxer cream with a pH of 12
to 13 with sufficient scalp secretions at a pH of 3.5 to
4.0 may result in a pH of 8.5 or less. This pH is
generally too low to relax hair.
How To Handle This Situation
If you konw the client has this problem, simply schedule
for a shampoo two days prior to the relaxing treatment.
Shampoo very gently without disturbing the scalp.
When the client returns two days later, chances are,
hair will relax. Although this treatment will not solve the
problem, thre will not be enough build-up of natural
body fluids to cause retardation of the relaxer.
Why Aren't Relaxers Called Straighteners?
When you read all the material and related instructions,
you will find the manufacturer does not claim the
product will straighten hair. The claim made is the
product with relax hair. Hair relaxing and hair
straightening are not the same. Hair relaxing will not
straighten hair. It will merly soften it for straightening.
You are the straightener by working the product
according to manufacturers instructions.
Why Breakage Appears Sometimes On The Nape
Of The Neck After Relaxing
Generally what happens is after you have rinsed the
relaxer from the hair, you will lean the client back onto
the bowl without first rinsing leftover from the neck of
the bowl. Therefore, the relaxer re-contacts with the
nape of the neck and overprocessing is possible. Be
sure to rinse the relaxer from the neck of the bowl.
Two Causes Of Bald Spots On The Scalp After
Relaxing:
An allergic reaction caused by a two-way
chemical clash between the patron's body
chemistry and the active ingredient in the relaxer,
cause the hair to break or shed off at the scalp.
This will usually leave a bald spot about the size
of a quarter or a fifty-cent piece. This condition is
temporary and the hari should grow back in a
very short period of time.
A nervous condition that is being experienced by
your patron and part of the cause should be due
to medication or changing body chemistry. This
condition combined with the active ingredient in
the relaxer will manifest itself in this manner.
What Is The Cause Of Extreme Breakage Shortly
After Relaxing?
If your hair was in good condition prior to relaxing, and
then starts to break or shed after the relaxer treatment,
this is probably due to improper neutralizing. (The
shampoo was not left in the hair long enough to
properly neutralize). The neutralizing shampoo must be
in contact with th hair for at least 5 minutes regardless
of how many soapings you give. It takes at least that
long for the active ingredients in the neutralizer to
penetrate all three layers of the hair shaft and bring the
pH of the hair down to normal. If you rinse the
neutralizing shampoo from the hair too soon, you may
stop the action of the neutralizer while the pH of the
chemical in the hair is still in a high alkaline state. This
will cause breakage and shedding because some
active ingredients from the relaxer are still in the
inner-hair causing rapid deterioration.
Using Vitale's Revive Positive Conditioner prior to
neutralization, helps eliminate all alkaline substances
inside the hair shaft and thus prevent breakage
problems due to poor neutralizing.
Can Plain Water Neutralize A Relaxer?
NO! Water may appear to neutralize the relaxer as you
rinse all the relaxer off the scalp because any burning
sensation ceases. The water also rinses away relaxer
on the hair. However, it will not rinse away the relaxer
that is in the hair. Only the active ingredients in the
neutralizer can penetrate the hair shaft and stop the
action of the active ingredient in the hair.
Please see below for more neutralizing options.
Why Do Patrons Sometimes Experience Irritation
Around Facial Hairline?
This is usually due to the fact that prior to coming to the
salon, your patron washed her face and extended the
washing procedure into and past the hairline, allowing
for the same sensitivity in the area tha would have
been caused if the entire hair and scalp had been
shampooed. During winter, coat collars can rub the
back of the neck and also cause heightened sensitivity
in this area. Also the use of creams and facial masks
on the face and around the hairline.
What does Damaged Hair Look Like?
This portion is not related to the original pamphlet by AHBAI.
This photo shows the shape of stress induced damage which has caused a change
in the shape of the hair.
This is the same stress point at a higher magnification. EEEK!