Straight talk about curly hair

Lilydrake

New Member
I found one of the features on the September 1999 CONSUMER REPORT cover magazine from a giveaway box of my local library.


Straight talk about curly hair

What to use----and precautions to take----when you perm straight hair or relax curly hair.
Permanents and relaxers alter the chemcial structure of the hair. Permanents, which include body waves, add crul or body to naturally straight or very limp hair. Chemical hair straighteners or relaxers---they are sometimes also called "perms" because their effects are more permanent than nonchemcial hair-straightening methods---straighten curly hair, making it easier to comb and style. Both must be used with extreme care. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the only cosmetics that are harsher are depilatory creams and lotions.
Compared with other products, permanents and relaxers typically generate a high proportion of adverse-reaction complaints to the FDA. Common complaints from perm users include skin or eye irritation. Relaxer users tend to complain about hair damage or loss or about scalp irritation, which FDA officials say may be caused by not following the instructions. Common misuse includes leaving the relaxer on too long or not letting enought time pass between treatments.

Strong stuff
Dr. John Bailey, director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, says most leading-brand hair relaxers today "can be used safely." But Bailey adds that you must follow the instructions rigorously: "The margin for error is extemely narrow. If you don't follow the directions, you run a higher risk of some adverse reaction."
Are some products milder than others yet still strong enought to do the job? To find out, we tested ten permanent-wave products, including three professional brands; see "From Straight to Curly."
We also tested a dozen regular-strength hairprelaxers, including two professional products intended for use by a licensed beautician. The results of those tests follow.
Finally, we conducted a limited test of relaxers that are marketed for us on children's hair and super-strength adult relaxers; see "How Strong Is Too Strong?
All tests were conducted on either naturally straight or naturally curly human hair purchased form a supplier. The had not been prevously treated with dyes or other chemicals.



I will copy more from the same magazine.
 

Lilydrake

New Member
How strong is too strong?

How strong is too strong?

We compared Dark & Lovely Beautiful Beginnings no-lye children's relaxer system and Dark & Lovely super-strength no-lye conditioning relaxer with their regular-strength brandmate. The super-strength relaxer was significantly more damaging to the hair than the regular-strength formula. The kid's relaxer was significantly less damaging, though it was not as mild as Bone Strait, Curl Free, or Rusk Radical. How old should a child be before having her hair chemically straightened? The older, the better, our consultant advises. She should be no younnger than 8, but waiting until puberty is preferable.


Consumer Reports September 1999
 

Lilydrake

New Member
From curly to straight

From curly to straight
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
 

JenJen2721

New Member
Thanks for the great info, Bridget!!!
 

Lilydrake

New Member
RELAXERS Within types, listed in order of overall

<font color="brown"> OVER-THE-COUNTER PRODUCTS </font>


*Bone Strait No-lye Relaxer

Requires addition of a moisturizer to the relaxer before application.

Active ingredients: lithium hydroxides.

OVERALL SCORE: VG
DAMAGE: VG
FEEL: VG
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 12.8


*Revlon Realistic Extra Conditioning Creme Relaxer System

Active ingredient: sodium hydroxide (lye-based formula).

OVERALL SCORE: VG
DAMAGE: G
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.2


*Gentle Treatment No-lye Conditioning Creme Relaxer

Active ingredients: lithium hydroxide; guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: VG
DAMAGE: F
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.0

*Soft &amp; Beautiful No-lye Conditioning Relaxer

Requires application of a protector base becofe relaxing. Recommended to leave on hair for 12-15 min.

Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: VG
DAMAGE: F
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.1


*Curl-Free Natural Curl Relaxer

Marketed to African-Americans and Caucasians. Recommended to leave on hair 50 min.

Active ingredient: ammonium bisulfite.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: VG
FEEL: G
STRAIGHTNESS: 3+
pH: 7.6


*Dark &amp; Lovely No-lye Conditioning Relaxer System

Requires application of a protector base before relaxing.

Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: G
FEEL: VG
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.0


*Creme of Nature No-lye Creme Relaxer System

Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: P
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.1


*African Pride Miracle Deep Conditioning No-lye Relaxer System
Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.
OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: P
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.3


*Alternatives No-lye Relaxer System

Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: P
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.3


*Optimum Care No-lye Relaxer

Active ingredients: guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: P
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.2


PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS

*Rusk Radical Anticurl Original Formula 1 Marketed to African-Americans and Caucasians. Recommended to leave on hair 7-20 min.

Active ingredient: ammonium thioglycolate.

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: VG
FEEL: G
STRAIGHTNESS: 3+
pH: 9.1


*Revlon Realistic Creme Relaxer System
Active ingredient: sodium hydroxide (lye-based formula).

OVERALL SCORE: G
DAMAGE: P
FEEL: E
STRAIGHTNESS: 5+
pH: 13.3


For Relaxer, the OVERALL SCORE is based on the potential for hair damage, feel, and straightness. Hair DAMAGE is measured by comparing, before and after treatment, the decrease in strength when relaxed hair fibers are alongated to 115% of their initial length. In addition to FEEL, our panelists and consulting beautician judged the STRAIGHTNESS of hair that was treated with a product for the maxiimum recommended application time. The more plus signs (+++++) or (5+), the straighter the treated hair.


MOST TESTED RELAXERS:
*Specify that they should be used on normal hair for no longer than 15 to 20 minutes.
*Give directions for untreated hair and for retouching previously relaxed hair.
*Provide petroleum jelly to product the hairline.
*Have a consistency somewhat like cold cream.
*Have a long list of precautions.


E: Excellent
VG: Very Good
G: Good
F: Fair
P: Poor


CONSUMER REPORTS September 1999


I thank you for reading this informative article.
 

natasha

Member
Re: RELAXERS Within types, listed in order of over

EXCELLENT INFO. Would love to know how Affirm compares to the rest of the product line. Does anyone know how the "professional" products stand up to the consumer test. I am very interested in any info on this subject.

thanks
 

Lilydrake

New Member
Re: RELAXERS Within types, listed in order of overall

That's all I got from an old magazine which is given away by the local library.
 

Daughter

UK Blak
Re: How strong is too strong?

[ QUOTE ]
Lilydrake said:
How strong is too strong?

We compared Dark &amp; Lovely Beautiful Beginnings no-lye children's relaxer system and Dark &amp; Lovely super-strength no-lye conditioning relaxer with their regular-strength brandmate. The super-strength relaxer was significantly more damaging to the hair than the regular-strength formula. The kid's relaxer was significantly less damaging, though it was not as mild as Bone Strait, Curl Free, or Rusk Radical. How old should a child be before having her hair chemically straightened? The older, the better, our consultant advises. She should be no younnger than 8, but waiting until puberty is preferable.


Consumer Reports September 1999


[/ QUOTE ]

I vehemently disagree with relaxing children's hair, but I agree, if you feel you MUST, the older the better! I'm an tired of seeing four and five yearold girls with permed hair. Talk about sending the wrong signals to our children, that their natural hair needs to be "fixed" by a chemical straightener, or that it needs it to be "mangeable".
 
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