IN THE LAB, WITH DR. ALI SYED

Formaldehyde treatments in haircare may seem new, but they actually have been common in the wool and textile industry for quite some time. The wool fiber and hair fiber share many similarities, so analysis of Formaldehyde's application to the wool fiber can be used for a basic understanding of how Formaldehyde may work on the hair fiber.

Dr. W. S. Simpson writes:

"Sidechains of ARG, LYS, TYR, TRP, HIS, cysteine, and the amide derivatives of ASP and GLU are known to be capable of reaction with formaldehyde. Some of these reactions can be bi-functional as well as mono-functional, so that new wool protein crosslinkages are likely. In addition to simple - CH₂-, i.e. methylene crosslinkages, formaldehyde has a known propensity for self-condensation so that -CH₂-(OCH₂)_n- or oxymethylene crosslinkages are feasible." (1)

Formaldehyde, Gluteraldehyde, and Glyoxal based systems are probably making crosslinks with the sidechains of amino acids in the hair fiber, rather than reacting with the sulfur-sulfur (disulfide) bonds of the cystine in hair. These crosslinks are stable for a good 3-4 months before the hair starts to revert back to its natural configuration. There is no refilling of the hair with keratin or any other elements that companies are trying to claim.

In my opinion, a significant amount of misinformation continues to exist regarding Keratin treaments, BKTs, Escovas, etc. Companies are now adapting through various methods to the growing consumer awareness, which only fuels the cycle of misinformation.

Some companies are starting to employ Formaldehyde's cousins such as Gluteraldehyde or Glyoxal in their systems and marketing that as a positive attribute. What they forget to mention is that they react with the hair in the same manner that Formaldehyde does. The compounds expose the stylists and salon patrons to the exact same health issues. Gluteraldehyde or Glyoxal may perhaps be weaker than Formaldehyde, but the companies may be using as much or even higher percentages to achieve the same effective straightening.

As I begin to plan for the next decade of products, I wanted to give you a chance to voice some of your ideas, in terms of products that you would like to see from Avlon & Syntonics in the next decade. We have had a very successful 25 years of operation, and most of that success stems from the feedback that we have received from the marketplace.

As the holiday season approaches, I figured that now would be a nice time to allow some of my valued readers the opportunity to win a bottle of our hottest new item, the Syntonics Grothentic Hair Multivitamin Supplement. More details inside....

Syntonics is proud to announce the introduction of the Grothentic Hair MultiVitamin Supplement.

The Grothentic Hair MultiVitamin Supplement is formulated with potent phytonutrients, herbs, minerals, and key amino acids which remarkably nourish your hair from within, where it counts the most. Best of all, this supplement contains no sugar, artificial colors, or flavors. Daily usage will help prevent thinning and shedding while boosting hair strength and strand density.

Over the years, our research teams noticed a puzzling inconsistency in the rate of relaxing process: the same Sensitive Scalp Relaxers showed radically different activity, even though they were applied to the same single hair fibers. A close analysis of the procedures allowed us to find that such inconsistency occurs when the prepared Sensitive Scalp Relaxer (also known as No-Lye, Guanidine Hydroxide, etc) is not promptly applied.

In order to explain the unusual effect, we devised an experiment that tested several consecutive sections of the same hair fiber with the same relaxer. Only the first section was exposed to the fresh relaxer while the next fragment of hair was subjected to the same relaxer formula, which had been sitting on the bench for a selected amount of time. This procedure allowed for us to control a delay time between mixing and the moment of application.

I recently had the pleasure to be interviewed by Gennifer Miller, founder of Healthy Textures. We covered a broad array of topics that I think might help create some clarity with regards to the science behind haircare.

Here is a snippet from the interview:

You can listen to the whole interview in its entirety at her site, www.healthytextures.com.

Update: I have written an update on 01/19/10 regarding this subject: The Truth About Keratin (BKT) Treatments. Please be sure to read that entry before commenting or asking a question.

I have been receiving many questions lately about the Brazilian Keratin Treatment (BKT) or as some people call the Escova Progressiva. I have now analyzed samples of three popular brands that are used for straightening curly hair based upon "keratin", "formaldehyde-free", or "aldehyde" technologies.