Relaxers, like permanents and boy waves, work by breaking the chemcial bonds within the hair fiber. Some relaxer must first be mixed with an activator; others are applied straight from the jar. Two we tested, Soft & Beautiful and Dark & Lovely, also require the application of a protective base to the entire length of the hair.
The products we tested have the consistency of cold cream. Depending on the manufacturer's instructions, they are either combed in or worked into the hair with gloved hands. Generally they are left in the hair for 15 to 20 minutes, while the hair is smoothed to the desired straightness. Then they are rinsed out, and the hair is washed with a neutralizing shampoo and conditioned.
To evaluate the safety of the products, we conducted skin-irritation tests on human forearms. All the products were tested on the forearms of African-Americans. In addition, the two relaxers marketed to both Africa-Americans and Caucasians were also tested on the forearms of Caucasian subjects. For an indication of a product's harshness, we determined each product's pH--a measure of its acidity or alkalinity.
The products were also tested on naturally curly human hair. We purchased two different types of curly tressed, classified as "Caucasoid" and "Negroid," which has a tighter curl, among other things. To assess hair damage, we took before-and-after measurements of the hair's strength. With the help of a consulting beautician and a trained sensory panel, we also assessed how well the products straightened the tresses used in our test and how the hair felt afterward.
No relaxer caused skin irritation when we applied it to our testers' forearms and left it for the maximum time suggested by the manufacturer. (The scalp may be more sensitve, though.) All relaxers caused at least some reduction in the strength of the human-hair tresses used in our test.
Some users of no-lye relaxers may assume that these products are gentler on the hair than relaxers that contain lye (sodium hydroxide) as their active ingredients. The no-lye products we tested use as their primary ingredient lithium hydroxide, a combination of guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide, or all three. But our tests relaxers caused more hair damage than Revlon Realistic Extra Conditioning which contains lye.
We also found a correlation between damage and a product's pH, which is measured on a scale of zero (very acidic) to 14 (very alkaline). The level increased by and order of magnitude, so a product with a pH of 13 is 10 times as alkaline as a product with a pH of 12 and 100 times as alkaline as one with a pH of 11. For the relaxers we tested, the pH ranged from 7,6, which is slightly more alkaline than distilsled water, to 13.3, about the same as Liquid Drano.
The least damaging products were Curl Free, which has a pH of 7.6, and Rusk Radical, which has a pH of 9.1. Both are intended for use on all types of curly hair, but they left the more tightly curled tresses quite a bit curlier than did the other products. They also left them feeling less soft and silky than other products did.
Among the products marketed primarily to African-Americans, Bone Strait had the lowest pH, 12.8, and caused the least hair damage. Yet it was also a very effective straightener. Still, we found that you can't judge a product solely by its pH, a product's formulation can also make a difference. The over-the counter Revlon Realistic Extra Conditioning, for example, has a pH of 13.3; it performed well in our hair-damage test. Revlon Realistic Creme Relaxer System, its professional brandmate, has a similar pH of 13.3, yet in that same test it performed poorly.
Recommendations
Although all the relaxers we tested caused a t least some reduction in the tensile strength of the hair, Bone Strait was among the least damaging. It performed very well in our hair-damage test, it did a very good job of straightening tightly curled hair, and it left the hair feeling smooth and silky. Two products marketed both African-American and Caucasian women, Rusk Radical and Curl Free, were two of the least damaging relaxers we tested. But they weren't as effective in straightening very tightly curled hair.
There seems to be a correlation between a product's pH and its potential for damaging your hair. We urge manufacturers to keep this in mind when they formulate these products.
If you experience an adverse reaction to a permanent or relaxer, contact you local FDA office,. You can also call the agency's automated cosmetics-information hot line, at 800 260-8869, for instructions on how file a complaint.
Consumer Reports September 1999
The products we tested have the consistency of cold cream. Depending on the manufacturer's instructions, they are either combed in or worked into the hair with gloved hands. Generally they are left in the hair for 15 to 20 minutes, while the hair is smoothed to the desired straightness. Then they are rinsed out, and the hair is washed with a neutralizing shampoo and conditioned.
To evaluate the safety of the products, we conducted skin-irritation tests on human forearms. All the products were tested on the forearms of African-Americans. In addition, the two relaxers marketed to both Africa-Americans and Caucasians were also tested on the forearms of Caucasian subjects. For an indication of a product's harshness, we determined each product's pH--a measure of its acidity or alkalinity.
The products were also tested on naturally curly human hair. We purchased two different types of curly tressed, classified as "Caucasoid" and "Negroid," which has a tighter curl, among other things. To assess hair damage, we took before-and-after measurements of the hair's strength. With the help of a consulting beautician and a trained sensory panel, we also assessed how well the products straightened the tresses used in our test and how the hair felt afterward.
No relaxer caused skin irritation when we applied it to our testers' forearms and left it for the maximum time suggested by the manufacturer. (The scalp may be more sensitve, though.) All relaxers caused at least some reduction in the strength of the human-hair tresses used in our test.
Some users of no-lye relaxers may assume that these products are gentler on the hair than relaxers that contain lye (sodium hydroxide) as their active ingredients. The no-lye products we tested use as their primary ingredient lithium hydroxide, a combination of guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide, or all three. But our tests relaxers caused more hair damage than Revlon Realistic Extra Conditioning which contains lye.
We also found a correlation between damage and a product's pH, which is measured on a scale of zero (very acidic) to 14 (very alkaline). The level increased by and order of magnitude, so a product with a pH of 13 is 10 times as alkaline as a product with a pH of 12 and 100 times as alkaline as one with a pH of 11. For the relaxers we tested, the pH ranged from 7,6, which is slightly more alkaline than distilsled water, to 13.3, about the same as Liquid Drano.
The least damaging products were Curl Free, which has a pH of 7.6, and Rusk Radical, which has a pH of 9.1. Both are intended for use on all types of curly hair, but they left the more tightly curled tresses quite a bit curlier than did the other products. They also left them feeling less soft and silky than other products did.
Among the products marketed primarily to African-Americans, Bone Strait had the lowest pH, 12.8, and caused the least hair damage. Yet it was also a very effective straightener. Still, we found that you can't judge a product solely by its pH, a product's formulation can also make a difference. The over-the counter Revlon Realistic Extra Conditioning, for example, has a pH of 13.3; it performed well in our hair-damage test. Revlon Realistic Creme Relaxer System, its professional brandmate, has a similar pH of 13.3, yet in that same test it performed poorly.
Recommendations
Although all the relaxers we tested caused a t least some reduction in the tensile strength of the hair, Bone Strait was among the least damaging. It performed very well in our hair-damage test, it did a very good job of straightening tightly curled hair, and it left the hair feeling smooth and silky. Two products marketed both African-American and Caucasian women, Rusk Radical and Curl Free, were two of the least damaging relaxers we tested. But they weren't as effective in straightening very tightly curled hair.
There seems to be a correlation between a product's pH and its potential for damaging your hair. We urge manufacturers to keep this in mind when they formulate these products.
If you experience an adverse reaction to a permanent or relaxer, contact you local FDA office,. You can also call the agency's automated cosmetics-information hot line, at 800 260-8869, for instructions on how file a complaint.
Consumer Reports September 1999
