Any time you put chemicals on your hair, you want to ensure the product is top of the line and the person doing the work has lots of experience. This is true, especially when it comes to chemical hair straighteners. These products are incredibly effective, but because of the chemicals they contain, they can cause serious damage to your hair, if not used correctly.
You will find many products over the counter that make promises about transforming wavy or curly hair into a sleek, chic masterpiece. The problem with these products is that most are not quality, meaning they do not work. Then, when you consider that chemical hair straighteners should be applied by a professional, you would do best to leave the drugstore products alone.
People of all ethnic groups commonly have their hair straightened using flat iron brush techniques. Some people are tired of the unruly hair they were born with while other people may have had a bad permanent and want to go back to their naturally straight hair. No matter the reason, you need to take great care when deciding on chemical hair straighteners. The actual process of hair straightening is not, but a specific technique does need to be followed.
Without knowing how to use this technique, you could end up with frayed, broken, or burned hair. Therefore, chemical hair straighteners do work, but they should always be done by a professional that will start by performing a strand test on your hair to help him or her determine how healthy your hair is, the texture, elasticity, and porosity. This way, he or she will know if your hair can handle the chemicals. This test consists of the following:
- Protective petroleum cream is applied to shield the scalp and protect previously damaged hair.
- Once the hair has processed, the chemicals are rinsed with warm water, and a neutralizing formula is applied. This will help the process oxidize, as well as restore the pH in the hair.
- Finally, a special conditioner is applied to help the hair relax.
If your hair has previous damage due to over-styling or other chemicals, then it might need to be deep conditioned prior to the chemical hair straightener being applied. The way these chemicals work is they rearrange the structure of your curly hair so that it becomes straight. Typically, the chemicals include sodium hydroxide, which is very serious and harsh, ammonium thioglycolate, which is less intense, to guanidine hydroxide, which has no lye in it and the most gentle of the three options. Again, since these chemicals are just that, chemicals so work with a professional that can use the right type of chemical hair straightener to get the slick, sassy hair you want.
