November 2008 Archives

I briefly talked about the new revolutionary products that Avlon launched for weave care named KeraCare® for Weaves and Extensions, but I wanted to dig a little deeper and talk about each of the three products in the line with a little more depth, as well as provide stylists with some interesting scientific evidence that Avlon recently stumbled upon.

As you may already know, the line features three items, the Gentle Cleansing Shampoo, the Hair & Scalp Nutritive Conditioner, and the Leave-In Conditioning Mist.

The first item in the system, The Gentle Cleansing Shampoo, is a gentle yet effective sulfate- and amide-free formula that removes residue from the hair, and eliminates dry, flaky skin and oily build-up from the scalp. Its been designed to nourish the client's natural hair, and add the lightest touch of conditioning to the commercial hair for body, shine, and tangle-free combability. Formulated with the phyto extract, Calendula, it moisturizes the hair and soothes the scalp.

The second item in the system, The Hair & Scalp Nutritive Conditioner, contains Calendula and an exclusive quaternium conditioning blend to keep the client's natural hair hydrated and in excellent health. The commercial hair is appropriately conditioned for exceptional shine and manageability, but not weighed down or coated with heavy conditioners. It also helps control the scalp challenges of weave and braid wearers. Tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and menthol provide a refreshing tingle as the scalp is exfoliated and sloughed, and they also aide in  triggering a healthy circulation of the scalp.

The third item, The Leave-In Conditioning Mist, beautifully prepares weaves and extensions for wet-to-dry styling, providing blow-dry protection to both natural and commercial hair. It detangles for effortless combing, and features a masterful blend of moisturizing silicones and quaternium conditioners to impart optimal hydration and silkening. Calendula was also integrated into the lightweight and anti-static formula as well as an aromatherapy fragrance to enhance your client's salon experience.

Here is the second installment of our MoisturColor Oil Moisturizing Powder Lightener DVD, featuring Avlon Guest Colorist Leigh Jones.

No-Lye No-Mix relaxers are based on lithium hydroxide as an active ingredient while other ingredients in the relaxer cream are very similar to Lye relaxers. The reaction of lithium hydroxide with the excessively curly hair is also similar to Lye and No-Lye relaxers. The one-third of the cystine bonds of the hair change to lanthionine bonds, leaving two-thirds of the cystine bonds still in tact.

The major advantage of lithium hydroxide over sodium or potassium hydroxide is that it is slightly less irritating to the scalp than sodium or potassium hydroxide.

However, lithium hydroxide is not as effective in straightening excessively curly hair and in order to achieve acceptable level of straightening, more lithium hydroxide has to be added to the cream relaxer formula.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers lithium hydroxide relaxers as no-lye relaxers and the manufacturers of relaxers call this category as a No-Lye and No-Mix relaxer to exploit this fact. This relaxer system is not as efficient in straightening hair as sodium, potassium, or guanidine hydroxides, which is probably why this type of relaxer system enjoys limited success in the market place.

Over time, I will be uploading the Fundamentals of Lightening Hair DVD onto YouTube. The DVD is narrated by Avlon Guest Colorist Leigh Jones and it features our MoisturColor Oil Moisturizing Powder Lightening System. Be sure to check back here or on my YouTube channel for future sections of the DVD, but for now, please enjoy Part 1: