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Thermal Straightening & Relaxers
Q: I have had my hair thermally straightened. In early February, I tried a cheaper solution, and had a relaxer – a couple
weeks later I had a color added. The relaxer has not given me the results I had hoped for – I know I need to just use the thermal
straightening. How soon can I do the thermal straightening over the relaxer/color?
A: Since you have already had the thermal straightening treatment once, I presume that you have one of the hair types that are
recommended for Thermal Straightening. Since African-American hair is not recommended for this procedure and most of the users of
“relaxers” are African-American, there is a dearth of available information on the suitability of performing Thermal Straightening
over a relaxer.
I do know, however, that Thermal Straightening requires a competent operator to evaluate the hair
prior to performing the procedure. Thermal Straightening can be tricky with hair that is colored (especially lightened) and chemically
treated by other processes.
Most relaxers use hydroxides and are very damaging to the hair. They straighten the hair by
destroying the chemical side bonds in the hair shaft. Hair that has also been lightened will have had peroxides and bleaching agents
applied to the hair to disperse the color molecules in the hair. Between these two processes you can experience a significant amount
of structural damage to the hair. You need someone who is very familiar with the way Thermal Straightening affects the hair to advise
you as to whether (and when) you can safely have the process done to your hair.
While the Thermal Straightening is a breakthrough process and in the majority of cases gives
dramatically good results, in those instances where the process goes wrong (mostly because of operator error) the results can be
equally devastating. I cannot stress enough the importance of seeking a certified, competent operator for this procedure.
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