Lye-free relaxers contain chemicals as strong as lye, so use with caution.
“Mild,” (lye-free) or home hair relaxers often contain a reducing agent such as calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide or guanidine hydroxide as the “active ingredient.” Lye is sodium hydroxide and is considered a “strong base” in its chemical activity—but the other straightening agents are also “strong bases” which break bonds in the hair shaft in order to allow the hair shape to be altered. If you use a relaxer to straighten or loosen curls, make sure you are extra gentle with your hair and use plenty of moisture and protein if tolerable. Always provide protection for the skin and eyes when using these products, and use in an area with good ventilation.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Relaxing, Retexturizing, Straightening. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.
