Chemical hair relaxers are generally used by black women to straighten hair. There are 3 main types of hair relaxers – sodium hydroxide, guanidine hydroxide and ammonium thioglycolate. The first two relaxers may or may not need pre-shampooing; the last one may need a pre-shampooing.
- Sodium hydroxide (often called the lye relaxer) is the strongest and will give the most impressive results. However, it should only be used on coarse, extremely curly hair styles.
It essentially softens hair fibers and causes the hair to swell. The strength of the sodium hydroxide solution can be anywhere from five to ten percent. The pH faction can be between ten and 14. You should apply special care when applying this chemical.
- Guanidine hydroxide is another type of hair relaxer. It is referred to as the “no-lye” relaxer. It is less damaging than sodium hydroxide relaxer. It has a pH of between 9 – 9.5.
You will need conditioning treatments before and after using guanidine hydroxide.
- Ammonium thioglycolate (also called thio relaxer) is much less drastic in its action than the previous two and the risk of hair damage is also reduced. It softens and relaxes overly curly hair.
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