This may explain relaxer-resistant hair

sunshinelady

New Member
Some people's hair is resistant to the chemicals used to open and close the scales of the cuticle. Often this is an inherited tendency. The only way to deal with it is to use stronger chemicals. Great care is needed with these, however, as they may damage the hair shaft so severely that it breaks.

Red hair is an example of this. The keratin of red hair tends to contain more sulphur than usual - it can be twice as much as the average -because it contains a high proportion of cysteine units. That means that there are many more disulphide linkages to be broken, and it is therefore more likely that a perm will fail to 'take' on red hair.

-Taken for Procter and Gamble, The World of Hair
 

Neith

New Member
Interesting.

It expalins why people have to stop MTGing and BTing before a relaxer.

I figured that genetics has a roll.

I haven't used growth aides for months and I don't take sulfur/msm internally so I don't consume any more or less than the average person.

but my mother and father (I'm assuming from looking at his MANY sisters) or anyone else in my family doesn't have this problem :nono:

I dunno...
 
Last edited:

Neith

New Member
Strong hair like this is a blessing!

It is, my hair probably would withstand a nuclear attack. It'd just be my hair and the roaches left :lol: but sometimes it's frustrating.

My hair doesn't respond well to any straightening method at all.

I love textured hair, but I would like the option of wearing it straight, especially while my hair is short so I can show some length.

Seriously, to get my hair "straight straight" I have to K.O the derned hair, even when I'm texturized:boxing:
 

Irresistible

New Member
It is, my hair probably would withstand a nuclear attack. It'd just be my hair and the roaches left :lol: but sometimes it's frustrating.

My hair doesn't respond well to any straightening method at all.

I love textured hair, but I would like the option of wearing it straight, especially while my hair is short so I can show some length.

Seriously, to get my hair "straight straight" I have to K.O the derned hair, even when I'm texturized:boxing:
:lachen: girl you crazk me up!
so its resistant to heat too?
 

Neith

New Member
:lachen: girl you crazk me up!
so its resistant to heat too?

Yeah!


When I used to go to a stylist she used to have do a hard press on my texturized hair (pre hair board era)

I aint even mad at her, I can only imagine how she felt when I sat down in the chair and wanted some lasting straight hair. :lachen:


Now I only flat iron for special occasions.


A roller set with big rollers will give me a straightish look, but you can still see texture. It looks like flattened out naps. :wallbash:


lol, but at least it looks healthy


I do have to admit that heat will screw my hair up faster than chemicals though.
 

Irresistible

New Member
Yeah!


When I used to go to a stylist she used to have do a hard press on my texturized hair (pre hair board era)

I aint even mad at her, I can only imagine how she felt when I sat down in the chair and wanted some lasting straight hair. :lachen:


Now I only flat iron for special occasions.


A roller set with big rollers will give me a straightish look, but you can still see texture. It looks like flattened out naps. :wallbash:


lol, but at least it looks healthy


I do have to admit that heat will screw my hair up faster than chemicals though.

WOW thats surprising! I know your frustration girl but on the other hand you will always have strong healthy hair , what others would kill for!
 

cecilie

New Member
I use to tell that relaxing is a chemical processus so to break all the disulphide linkages for coarse hair you must added chemical rectif that 's why for coarse hair you must put more relaxer , but not longer and not neccessary a stronger relaxer . I experimented that several times with differents persons for resistant hair put more relaxer..
Thanks for sharing .. Cecilie .
 

Neith

New Member
[/b]
WOW thats surprising! I know your frustration girl but on the other hand you will always have strong healthy hair , what others would kill for!

It is surprising considering the situation, but high heat will tear up my ends if I do it too often.

Maybe it's because people tend to use heat more than chemicals. I'm sure if I kept relaxing my hair over and over it'd split and get damaged.


I use to tell that relaxing is a chemical processus so to break all the disulphide linkages for coarse hair you must added chemical rectif that 's why for coarse hair you must put more relaxer , but not longer and not neccessary a stronger relaxer . I experimented that several times with differents persons for resistant hair put more relaxer..
Thanks for sharing .. Cecilie .

I litterally put TWO jars of super relaxer in my hair (half of which was previously texlaxed btw) because I know that my hair is thick and resistant.

Two boxes of relaxer, slathered on and smoothed very well. Aint do much for me :lol:

It is true though. My first time texlaxing I didn't use enough relaxer and it was like putting a very good DC conditioner in my hair, extremely slight loosening of my hair. :perplexed

You really have to slather it on especially if you have resistant hair. It didn't help matters for me, but it may help plenty other people :yep:
 

ladylibra

New Member
Interesting.

It expalins why people have to stop MTGing and BTing before a relaxer.

I figured that genetics has a roll.

I haven't used growth aides for months and I don't take sulfur/msm internally so I don't consume any more or less than the average person.

but my mother and father (I'm assuming from looking at his MANY sisters) or anyone else in my family doesn't have this problem :nono:

I dunno...

you just said EXACTLY what i was gonna say... i've never taken any growth aides and don't consume high amounts of sulfur.

as far as i know, no one else in my family has this problem either. although i did find it possible to cause heat damage to my hair when i was relaxed/texlaxed/whatever... but it was always the ends (oldest part of the hair), like the bottom few inches.

man i would love to meet you Neith, i SWEAR we are true hair twins :lol:
 

Neith

New Member
you just said EXACTLY what i was gonna say... i've never taken any growth aides and don't consume high amounts of sulfur.

as far as i know, no one else in my family has this problem either. although i did find it possible to cause heat damage to my hair when i was relaxed/texlaxed/whatever... but it was always the ends (oldest part of the hair), like the bottom few inches.

man i would love to meet you Neith, i SWEAR we are true hair twins :lol:

We could get together and do strength and porosity tests :lachen:

Yeah, I've never known another person with hair as resistant as mine. Our "hair type" is very similar too!

Hopefully we'll both be around here in the coming years. I'm planning to ditch the chemicals when I get sufficient length, so we'll really be able to compare then :)
 

sweetcashew

Well-Known Member
That would explain why my hair never ever gets straight no matter which perm I use or what strength. I've been perming since I was twelve and people still think my hair is natural. I'm a natural reddish blond so I don't know if I fit the category of a redhead though.
 

sunshinelady

New Member
Well, I was thinking that potentially there could be an overlapping prevention product using sulfur to protect previously relaxed hair from new growth. Not sure how it would work. I guess you would apply the product consistently a couple of weeks ahead and then stop right before. I wonder if there is a product like this already.
 
Last edited:

Neith

New Member
Well, I was thinking that potentially there could be an overlapping prevention product using sulfur to protect previously relaxed hair from new growth. Not sure how it would work. I guess you would apply the product consistently a couple of weeks ahead and then stop right before. I wonder if there is a product like this already.

That's a great idea :yep:
 

Ganjababy

Well-Known Member
Amazing info..........I have a cousin who has red 4bzzzzzzz hair and it is soooo resistant to relaxers that she gave up relaxing years ago. This explains it.

Some people's hair is resistant to the chemicals used to open and close the scales of the cuticle. Often this is an inherited tendency. The only way to deal with it is to use stronger chemicals. Great care is needed with these, however, as they may damage the hair shaft so severely that it breaks.

Red hair is an example of this. The keratin of red hair tends to contain more sulphur than usual - it can be twice as much as the average -because it contains a high proportion of cysteine units. That means that there are many more disulphide linkages to be broken, and it is therefore more likely that a perm will fail to 'take' on red hair.

-Taken for Procter and Gamble, The World of Hair
 

Neith

New Member
It's interesting about the red hair thing too.

Sweetcashew has red in her hair.

I don't have any red hair, but I do have a small spread of freckles. I vaugely recall freckles and red hair being connected. If you look in my siggy pic on my nose you can see the biggest ugliest one :barf: I have more smaller ones on my nose. My father has them too.

I wonder if that's related in any way...
 

Ganjababy

Well-Known Member
Probably does........Most redheads I know personally have freckles (this includes my cousin who is black)

It's interesting about the red hair thing too.

Sweetcashew has red in her hair.

I don't have any red hair, but I do have a small spread of freckles. I vaugely recall freckles and red hair being connected. If you look in my siggy pic on my nose you can see the biggest ugliest one :barf: I have more smaller ones on my nose. My father has them too.

I wonder if that's related in any way...
 

JustKiya

Well-Known Member
Hrm.

My hair was always chemically resistant - and my hair turns auburn in the sun. Interesting! And my grandmother was a natural red head (and I assume she always used super strength, as she's relaxed herself bald).... most interesting!
 

Angelicus

Well-Known Member
Sunshinelady, thank you for posting this. My natural hair color is the color of the planet Mars,... I kid you not. That may have something to do with it. Thanks.
 

Melissa-jane

Active Member
Some people's hair is resistant to the chemicals used to open and close the scales of the cuticle. Often this is an inherited tendency. The only way to deal with it is to use stronger chemicals. Great care is needed with these, however, as they may damage the hair shaft so severely that it breaks.

Red hair is an example of this. The keratin of red hair tends to contain more sulphur than usual - it can be twice as much as the average -because it contains a high proportion of cysteine units. That means that there are many more disulphide linkages to be broken, and it is therefore more likely that a perm will fail to 'take' on red hair.

-Taken for Procter and Gamble, The World of Hair


my haiir is a deep red brown and very resistant to chemicals, I think this is why
 

Melissa-jane

Active Member
Interesting.

It expalins why people have to stop MTGing and BTing before a relaxer.

I figured that genetics has a roll.

I haven't used growth aides for months and I don't take sulfur/msm internally so I don't consume any more or less than the average person.

but my mother and father (I'm assuming from looking at his MANY sisters) or anyone else in my family doesn't have this problem :nono:

I dunno...

oh and I just started taking msm
 

la mosca

New Member
This is so interesting! Maybe this explains why my hair is so fine, yet it doesn't break down very easily with relaxers. My hair has a lot of red in it naturally -- and I have freckles.
 

FluffyRed

New Member
This is so interesting! Maybe this explains why my hair is so fine, yet it doesn't break down very easily with relaxers. My hair has a lot of red in it naturally -- and I have freckles.

Same here!

I believe this.

Meanwhile I'm trying to be extra gentle!

I can Mizani my new growth, it comes out perfect. Next wash, it's like I never relaxed!!

And my BFF from elem school had soft superfine red/blond cotton candy afro puffs that would not ever take a relaxer. She gave up years ago.
 

DarkHair

New Member
Same here!

I believe this.

Meanwhile I'm trying to be extra gentle!

I can Mizani my new growth, it comes out perfect. Next wash, it's like I never relaxed!!

And my BFF from elem school had soft superfine red/blond cotton candy afro puffs that would not ever take a relaxer. She gave up years ago.
I've been like this too! My last two relaxers have been this way. I may have to leave it in longer :perplexed?
 

hiphoprocker

New Member
great thread.. i am completely relaxed myself as in i do all the things texlaxed ladies dont do and thats smoothing the relaxer through my hair with fingers and comb, albeit not the length of my hair but just new growth. and i leave it on the suggested amount of time maybe longer. but my hair still curls up. like really springy cork screw curls if i leave my hair to dry on its own and do what it wants to do.. i actually love it.. no qualms here, but i always wondered how that was.. actually, heat has done more damage to my curls than relaxers do.

and my natural color is very auburn, more noticable in the summer but im constantly asked if i dye my hair and i havent touched a dye in years... all that dyed hair fell out long ago lol.
 

MonPetite

New Member
My hair could stand hot lava. It is jet-black to the eye but, is actually GARNET. A very, very dark red, like my birthstone (I was born in January). My mother has natural auburn/cinnamon hair (but hers processes if she so much as glances at a relaxer!).

Interesting info.
 

HoneyA

Goal:Hip length stretched
My hair is really resistant as well. When I wanted my hair relaxed bone straight years ago, it just used to ook like it was texlaxed anyway. It can't hold a curl, forget it. It would look like a relaxer when I stepped out of the salon. Two weeks later, it looked like I never got my hair redone.
Now I love that look. I want it to look that way so it's cool. I understand that's just the way my hair is and I roll with it.
 
Top