INTHELAB, W/DRALISYED

The Truth About Keratin (BKT) Treatments

2010-01-19T18:05:00Z

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.

]]> Some companies publish misleading information about their active ingredients. They include incorrect ingredient listings or don't label their products at all. In Brazil, companies may register their product ANVISA under the 0.2% formaldehyde limit, however post-transactional analysis of the samples can yield around 5% concentration of Formaldehyde.

On our side of the border, the FDA hasn't taken much interest in pursuing companies selling Aldehyde based straighteners. The FDA budget is primarily reserved for the policing of big time pharmaceutical companies, so the pursuit of small businesses selling specialty Aldehyde based straighteners won't be a priority for the foreseeable future.

1. W.S. Simpson and G.H. Crenshaw, Wool: Science and Technology (Cambridge: Woodhead, 2002) 152.

What are you looking for in the next decade?

2010-01-07T17:32:53Z

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.

]]> This is your chance to get your say in, so please don't be shy. Whether your idea is an ingredient change, a new product idea, or a complete overhaul, I would like to hear from you. Even if you think our products are perfect the way they are, please say so.

Believe it or not, I remember your feedback when I work in the laboratory.

Edited on 01/11/10: Because some of your responses have been so terrific, I have decided to leave them unpublished. I will get in touch with you personally via email if you leave me some good suggestions.

New Information Regarding Sensitive Scalp Relaxers

2009-10-13T20:26:13Z

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.

]]> The graph shows that the reactivity of relaxers, indicated by the final extension of hair, strongly increases as time passes between the mixing process and the actual application of relaxer.

The most likely hypothesis correlates this phenomenon with the basic reaction that occurs in the relaxer after the mixing of cream and activator. Sensitive Scalp Relaxers are Guanidine Hydroxide relaxers that aren't ready-to-use formulas: they require the stylist to mix two components: the cream and the activator. The cream contains Calcium Hydroxide, which reacts with the activator's Guanidine Carbonate and produces the Guanidine Hydroxide that reacts with the hair and provides the straightening effect. The fact that the relaxer is much more active when its application is delayed after the mixing of its components, could indicate that the Guanidine Hydroxide starts to deteriorate to other components that cause the uncontrollable damage.

Based on this finding, we now recommend stylists to:

Apply Sensitive Scalp Relaxers immediately after mixing.

Discard any leftover Sensitive Scalp Relaxer and to not re-use any leftovers on other clients.

Following these two steps should help in the continuous effort of minimizing hair damage.

Interview with Healthy Textures' Gennifer Miller

2009-09-08T17:00:15Z

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.

New revelation regarding "Keratin" Treatments

2009-07-07T19:20:48Z

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.

]]> The truth is that they are actually using formaldehyde and in concentrations that exceed the legal limit. Two of the brands use 1.0% formaldehyde and the third one uses about 4.0% formaldehyde. The legal limit is 0.2%.

All of these brands pose serious health risks as the fumes generated during blow drying and flat ironing can cause headaches, irritation of the breathing pathways, eyes, and mucous membranes. Prolonged exposure can cause even worse problems.

For more information about formaldehyde, please visit www.cancer.gov.

Perming Hair While Using Conditioning & Deswelling Agents (Pt. 4)

2009-04-06T16:50:47Z

When perming hair, the conditioning and deswelling of the hair should be done according to the pH of the hair and its degree of swelling. For example, a high molecular weight cationic polymer conditioner should be applied to the shampooed hair before applying the Reshaping Cream. The pH of the cream is around 9.5 and it is going to increase the pH of the hair. The hair is also going to swell to 30-60% percent leaving the cuticles wide open. Therefore, a cationic conditioning polymer will penetrate into the hair cortex and make hair soft, silky and more combable.

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Once the hair is straight to a desirable degree, the Reshaping Solution is applied to the hair and the hair is now wrapped onto the desired size curlers. The Reshaping Lotion is left on the hair for 15 to 20 minutes. The Strengthening Lotion (deswelling lotion) is applied for 3 to 5 minutes and the hair is then rinsed thoroughly. The hair is then towel blotted, and the Neutralizing solution is applied for 18 to 20 minutes, the curlers are then taken out and hair is rinsed thoroughly with water. After towel blotting the hair, silicone based laminates are applied to the hair along with glycerin based light curl activator creams or gels. This process yields superior permanently waved hair that has more moisture, elasticity, tensile strength, a stronger curl, which require less usage of maintenance products on a daily basis.

Permanent Waving Series:

A Quick History of The Permanent Wave (Part 1)

Chemistry of Permanent Waving (Pt. 2)

Facts You Should Know About Perming (Pt. 3)

Perming Hair While Using Conditioning & Deswelling Agents (Pt. 4)

Facts You Should Know About Perming (Pt. 3)

2009-03-30T22:29:58Z

Since some of you may have some general questions lingering about permanent waving, I'll quickly go over some generalities that might some common issues:

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1. Ammonium thioglycolate, the active ingredient in permanent waves, is extremely drying to the hair. Proper moisturizing is therefore a must, accomplished by applying glycerin and propylene glycol-rich sprays, cremes, lotions and/or gels on a frequent basis. A good hydrating and detangling shampoo should be used for cleansing, followed by a deep penetrating re-moisturizing treatment.

2. With repeat perm applications (every 12 weeks or so to treat new growth), the previously permed hair loses additional cystine bonds and incurs greater damage. As a result, the hair is further dehydrated, and the ends may become straight, stringy or broken. A great deal of care, therefore, must be taken to condition the hair well after every shampoo, and the ends should be trimmed with each repeat application.

3. Due to market demand, manufacturers typically package professional perm processing components in bulk sizes. Thioglycolate in Rearrangers or Reshaping Creams and lotions loses efficacy over time and exposure to air. Due to this fact, professional permanent wave products are subject to inconsistent performance, yielding unpredictable results. Therefore, it is recommended that stylists purchase more moderate-sized components for perming and refrain from leaving the jars and bottles open longer than absolutely necessary.

4. As sleeker styles come into vogue, many clients have requested transitions to relaxed hair. Permed hair definitely should not be treated with standard relaxer formulas since sodium hydroxide, as well as guanidine hydroxide (no-lye formulas), react very rapidly on permed hair, inducing excessive damage. Clients must be counseled to wait until there is sufficient new growth before a relaxer treatment is applied, and advised that eventually the permed portion of the hair will have to be cut off. "Restructuring" from curly to straight may be attempted with mild guanidine hydroxide relaxers when there is sufficient new growth. In this process, the relaxer is combed through the previously permed hair only during the final 2-3 minutes of processing.

5. Despite the marketing promises of many brands, permanent waves cannot effectively go through significant style transformations (i.e., from the original curly texture, to a straight relaxed look, and back to curly again) on a repetitive basis. The client will not like the end result. Manipulation of permed hair with heated appliances such as blow dryers and curling irons, and even roller sets, will weaken the curl pattern significantly. After repeated attempts to achieve a relaxed look, the perm will not spring back to its original form.

Permanent Waving Series:

A Quick History of The Permanent Wave (Part 1)

Chemistry of Permanent Waving (Pt. 2)

Facts You Should Know About Perming (Pt. 3)

Perming Hair While Using Conditioning & Deswelling Agents (Pt. 4)

Chemistry of Permanent Waving (Pt. 2)

2009-03-23T20:03:24Z

Let us take a look at the basic chemistry of permanent waving (technically called the "redox" process) to understand how hair is permanently curled or waved.

The redox process has two basic phases: reduction and oxidation. During the reduction phase, approximately 20% of the hair's cystine bonds are broken into cysteine (or half cystine bonds). It is in this phase that the hair assumes its new configuration. In the oxidation phase, 80-90% of the broken bonds are reformed to lock in the new curl formations.

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How Is Straight Hair Permed?

Straight hair is permed in two stages, that are reduction and oxidation. Straight hair is first shampooed and towel blotted. It is then wrapped onto the perming rods of the desired shape and diameter making sure that hair is not wound too tightly on the rods. The permanent waving solution of desired type is applied to the hair that has been wrapped on the rods. A plastic cap is put on the hair and the solution is left on the hair for a specific time period. A few checks are made at several intervals to check the integrity of the curl formation. If the desired curl is formed, then the hair is thoroughly rinsed with water and towel blotted. The reduction of hair is completed here. In other words 20% of the cystine bonds have converted to cysteine bonds.

The towel-blotted hair is then neutralized using Neutralizing solution consisting of 2-3% percent active hydrogen peroxide for five minutes. The hair is then rinsed, rods are removed and hair is rinsed again with water. The oxidation of the cysteine binds have completed and the cysteine bonds have converted back to cystine bonds. The hair is now ready for styling.

How Excessively Curly Hair is Permed?

The permanent waving of excessively curly hair is typically performed in four stages:

Stage 1: A creme known as Rearranger or Reshaping Cream, containing ammonium thioglycolate, is applied and combed through freshly shampooed hair. Its purpose is to straighten the hair in preparation for wrapping the perm rods.

Stage 2: Once the Rearranger or Reshaping Cream is processed and rinsed out, a lotion called Curl Booster or Reshaping Lotion is applied. The hair is then wrapped and processed under a hood dryer for 15-20 minutes. A few rods are unwound to ensure that the hair has assumed an "S" pattern. The hair is then rinsed and towel blotted.

The final permanent waved style depends upon the selecting of the proper rod sizes for achieving curls, waves or body perms. A test curl will greatly assist in making an accurate determination. As a general guideline, smaller-diameter rods are used for curls, medium for waves, and larger rods for body perms.

During reduction, the pH of the hair is elevated from its normal range (4.5 - 5.0), to approximately 9.5 and 20% of the cystine bonds have changed into cysteine bonds.

Stage 3: A solution containing at least 10% of sodium bromate, called Neutralizer, is applied and left on the hair for 15-20 minutes. The perm rods are removed and the hair is rinsed. During Oxidation, the hair's pH balance is returned to its normal range. Here, most of the broken cysteine bonds change back to cystine bonds.

Stage 4: Following processing, glycerin and propylene glycol-based products are applied immediately to moisturize and style the hair in order to avoid frizzing of the hair.

Permanent Waving Series:

A Quick History of The Permanent Wave (Part 1)

Chemistry of Permanent Waving (Pt. 2)

Facts You Should Know About Perming (Pt. 3)

Perming Hair While Using Conditioning & Deswelling Agents (Pt. 4)

A Quick History of The Permanent Wave (Pt. 1)

2009-03-16T15:49:52Z

I recently received a request for more information about permanent waving, which I must admit, was a bit of a surprise since I haven't noticed many stylists performing the permanent wave service lately.

Avlon's permanent wave system is the Ferm Permanent Waving System, which consists of a 4-step system along with various maintenance products depending on the need.

I figured that it would be nice to start a mini-series on the topic and cover the topic more in-depth.

But before getting down to the chemistry of permanent waving, which is technically my favorite part, its probably a good idea to quickly go over the history of the permanent wave.

]]> History of Permanent Waving:

Marcel Grateau and Karl Nessler could be considered the founding fathers of permanent waving. The desire to change one's appearance of their hair from time to time was probably the biggest factor that gave rise to the field of permanent waving. As we all know from our own human behavior, one look or one style becomes boring after a certain period of time.

In 1872, Marcel Grateau developed tongues that he would heat and then manipulate to thermally and temporarily curl the hair. His invention was ingenious at the time, in the sense that the practice of thermally curling hair still exists today, and in almost the same exact form.

Karl Nessler

Around the turn of the 20th century, Karl Nessler developed a system that is closer to the present day method, which combined the chemical process with the thermal process. Using an alkali chemical combined with heated brass rollers, he developed a cumbersome machine that was capable of permanently curling hair.

Marjorie Stewart Joyner

Ms. Marjorie Stewart Joyner was the first patent-holder in the US for a permanent wave machine in 1928, becoming the first female African American to receive a patent. Stewart got the idea for her machine from a pot-roast cooker, which employed 16 pencil-shaped pot roast rods connected to an old-fashioned hair dryer hood and then joined together with a single electrical cord. Her invention was developed for African American women who wanted to change their hair's tight curl to a wave, but the machine also found another use in helping Caucasian women add curl to their straighter hair. Curls from her machine lasted longer than regular thermal styling, and she also developed a scalp protector to help keep the patron comfortable.

In 1941, Evans and McDonough were the first one to use thioglycolic acid in the "Thio Cold Wave", which revolutionized the permanent waving industry and laid the foundation for the modern permanent waving method. Since the development of thoiglycolic acid (ammonium thioglycolate) a tremendous amount of research has been conducted in this area and quite an array of studies on permanent waving exist as literary sources.

Jheri Redding - Founder of Redken, Jhirmack, & Nexxus

Permanent waving has been popular among consumers with straight hair for many years. However, permanent waving was long thought to be impossible for consumers with excessively curly hair. In 1976, it was Jheri Redding who first started to experiment with permanent waving on excessively curly hair using small toothpicks for rolling the hair. This technique created a style that left the hair tightly curled yet still like the "Afro" style that was popular during the mid 1950s through the 1960s.

Dr. Willie Morrow

Later on, it was Willie Morrow who perfected the art of perming excessively curly hair. First, he would use ammonium thioglycolate cream for straightening the hair. Next he would wrap the hair on normal perming rods of various sizes. He would then perm the hair one more time with a permanent waving lotion called "curl booster". Finally, he would use a sodium bromate solution as a neutralizing solution, in order to avoid lifting the natural dark pigment of the excessively curly hair.

These early perms were very drying to hair, so the hair needed a strict daily regimen consisting of glycerin based products, known as curl activators, in order to combat the dryness and frizziness of the curled hair. The permanent wave process was further improved along with maintenance products and the ethnic hair care market experienced a tremendous growth spurt that continued well into the late 1980s. For the first time, men and women were able to wear their hair in carefree styles that required very little maintenance as compared to chemically straightened hairstyles.

Permanent Waving Series:

A Quick History of The Permanent Wave (Part 1)

Chemistry of Permanent Waving (Pt. 2)

Facts You Should Know About Perming (Pt. 3)

Perming Hair While Using Conditioning & Deswelling Agents (Pt. 4)

The Trace Elements in Hair

2009-03-02T17:58:54Z

Trace elements usually get overlooked since thay have an average concentration of 100 parts per million in a sample, but it still is good to know for general knowledge purposes that even our human hair fibers contain certain trace elements such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, zinc, iron, manganese, mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic, selenium, silicone, and phosphorous.

The overall amount of these trace elements is less than 1%, so there really is no need to start shaving your hair off. These elements may have been incorporated during the synthesis of the hair follicle and are embedded in internal compartments of the hair.

However, some of these same trace elements may also be on the surface of hair due to environmental pollution. During the straightening of curly hair fibers with No-Lye relaxers that consist of a mixture of calcium hydroxide and guanidine carbonate, hair fibers do adsorb significantly higher levels of calcium ions.

Washing the hair with hard water can also leave mineral deposits (such as calcium or magnesium) on the hair. In an instance like this, The KeraCare De-Mineralizing Wipes would be a good product to use after washing with the hard water, in order to ensure that the hair has been cleansed of mineral deposits.

Static Charge of Hair

2009-02-09T22:07:18Z

One thing to remember when dealing with different hair types is the susceptibility to carry electrostatic charges. Generally speaking, untreated African descent hair develops a highly negative electrostatic charge (-25.4 KV/m), but in contrast, Caucasian hair develops a very low positive electrostatic charge (+6.6 KV/m).

The relatively high negative charge acquired by dry African descent hair during combing may be due to the extraordinarily high degree of pulling force required to pass the comb through the mass of entangled hair fibers. This relatively high electrostatic charge produces a "balloon effect" and contributes to a higher degree of hair unmanageability.

Sources:

Syed, A.N., Kuhajda, A., Ayoub, H., Ahmad, K., and Frank, E. (1995). African American Hair: Its physical properties and differences relative to Caucasian hair. Cosmetics & Toiletries Magazine. 110:46

Robbins, C.R. (1994). The physical properties and cosmetic behavior of hair. In Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. New York: Springer-Verlag, p.348

Moisture in Hair

2009-01-26T17:12:53Z

A common topic that I hear about in my conversations with hair stylists and salon patrons is about moisture. What I usually tell people is that the moisture in African descent hair is significantly less than in Caucasian and Oriental (i.e. Mongol descent) hair.

One reason for such deficiency of moisture could be the twisted ribbon-like structure of the African descent hair. The other reason for the deficiency of the moisture in African descent could be that the sebaceous glands within the African scalp are often less active and secrete inadequate amounts of sebum--the body's own natural brand of conditioner and hair-dress.

Therefore, the hair and scalp are relatively dry because there is less natural oil to be distributed down the hair shaft. Also, whatever oil that is secreted may find it harder to travel down the hair shaft because of the strands' excessive curliness, thus further contributing to dryness. The lower moisture contents of African descent hair may be a significant contributor to its relative fragility and will require future research.

Contrarily, Caucasians tend to have hyperactive sebaceous glands, hence the widespread practice of daily shampooing and the usage of stronger shampoos that contain less conditioning agents.

The Impact of Humidity

2009-01-05T17:15:54Z

Happy New Years everyone. I wish you all a profitable and successful 2009.

I wanted to briefly talk about the impact of humidity, even though many of us in the north are a long ways from dealing with the issue. Infact we are probably longing for humid weather than the current cold and dry conditions we experience around this time of year.

In truth, humidity impacts all hair in a similar manner. Under high humidity, hair that has been styled counter to its natural texture tends to "go back home" to its original state. Curls in naturally straight hair will droop; wavy or curly hair worn in a straight style will return to its original waves and curls; excessively curly hair will tend to curl up or frizz.

With the latter hair type, however, the impact of humidity is simply more noticeable and the transition back to the original texture seems more dramatic. Even when African-descent hair is chemically relaxed to alter the natural texture, high humidity causes the hair shaft to swell, and hair reverts back towards its original texture somewhat. This is because relaxers are designed to remove a certain degree of the excessive curliness - not all of it.

image courtesty of: ohnotheyd!dn't

Fundamentals of Lightening Hair - Part 4

2008-12-08T19:32:08Z

Here is Part 4 from the MoisturColor Oil Moisturizing Powder Lightener DVD featuring Leigh Jones.

Fundamentals of Lightening Hair...Part 3

2008-12-02T17:37:24Z

Here is Part 3 of the MoisturColor Oil Moisturizing Powder Lightener DVD.

Enjoy: