Hair Straightening, part 2

If you are finding this post for the first time, go back and read the previous post before starting in on this one... :)

 

Now you're wondering if this is true, why would any salon carry and perform such a service? Sadly most salon professionals are not well educated in the chemistry behind the chemical process they perform, and rely on the information provided to them by the product rep. that sells the product. That being said the inherent problem becomes obvious, the rep wants to make money, the company wants to make money, so the product is sold to the salon in the best light possible, often without the salon even knowing how or why it works. Keep in mind that the danger for the salon professional is just as great as for the client, after all, it’s the stylist that is handling the formaldehyde each service, client after client.

It is the professional opinion of the staff at Ritual that the Brazilian Blowout or (BKT) are too much of a liability to the health and safety for the client and the stylist, therefore we do not offer the service and DO NOT recommend it to ANYONE.

The educated decision...

Now that we have effectively eliminated one of the three options for altering the hair to be straight, lets look at the remaining two. That is of course assuming you value your health and life.

Before getting into the details of the differences between the two services, it is best to evaluate your decision to chemically alter your hair in the first place. A good salon will always have a thorough consult explaining the pros and cons of the service and how it will react with each client's hair type and texture. It should be made clear that each of these services are permanent and will remain in its altered chemical state, leaving only the new growth in its natural state of curl. Each client has hair that is unique to them, thus the limitations and effects of the service will vary from person to person, however, basic facts are: Once the hair is straight, you can curl it with a curling iron or rods but achieving that natural curl is unlikely through styling. Washing it is just like washing your natural hair. It may feel softer or even thinner or thicker than before.

Your stylist should also go over the reasons why you should not chemically alter your hair. If you often utilize your natural curl in styling your hair, realize that you will no longer be able to achieve that natural curl. If you like to change the color of your hair often, or are thinking about changing the color of your hair keep in mind that changes in color may affect your hairs health and physical state, rendering it unfit to be relaxed or thermal straightened.
So you’ve had your consult and are fully informed about the chemical process of altering your hair. which do you choose, the Relaxer or the Thermal Straightener? The answer to that question depends on the type of hair you have, how much hair you have, and how you want to style it after the service. Often people with very curly hair feel like it is kinky or unruly. They don't necessarily want to have straight hair but rather relax the curl into a more manageable wave. The solution would then be a Chemical Relaxer. As the name implies, it is intended to relax the curl in the hair, and is limited in how much it can relax. The maximum a relaxer can smooth the hair is 70-80%, that means that it takes out up to 80% of the curl. If the client wants less curl removed, the stylist can perform a Soft Wave or Wave Reduction by using extra large sized rollers to reshape the existing curl into something less tight. This can effectively reduce the curl by 30-50%.
Thermal Straightening is a much longer process because the hair gets thermally straightened with a flat iron about 3 to 4 times throughout the whole service, which is what makes it so effective in reducing the curl. A Thermal service can reduce the curl in the hair by 95%. Often times the client needs only to touch up her hair with a flat iron in the morning to get out any kinks that might have occurred during sleep. This service is the ultimate and maximum amount of straightness that is possible in a chemical process. Note the name no longer implies relaxing the curl but rather straightening the hair all together. If your styling habits are to straighten or thermal style your hair 80-90% of the time, and are looking to cut down your daily styling time, and reduce frizz and increase smoothness, this is the service for you.
It is a good idea to remember that with any service involving an alteration to the natural form of your hair there are risks. It is the responsibility of the client to be informed and know the potential risks and proper care and treatment for each service performed on them. It is equally the stylist responsibility to ensure that they have educated the client so they may make an informed decision. If done right, relaxing or thermal straightening your hair can be a wonderful thing that, not only makes your daily routine a breeze, but also gives your hair that soft smooth and healthy look that gives you confidence and leaves you feeling and looking absolutely fabulous. The well educated professionals at Ritual are always eager to answer any questions you might have and do whatever is in our power to help you look your best.

We do have a couple of before and after photos on our website and on our facebook page if you'd like to check them out :)

Blowout, Thermal or Relaxer?

The dirty backstory...

Since the time of Cleopatra women have been altering their hair, in particular the texture of their hair. It seems part of the human condition to want what you don't have. Those of us with bone straight hair want body and wave and conversely, those of us with a mass amount of curl want silky smooth and straight hair. Nowadays with so many options at our disposal it is easy to get lost in the push-pull marketing gimmicks that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. the three main options commonly practiced today are: Brazilian Blowout, Thermal Straightening, and Chemical Relaxing.

Much stigma surrounds chemical services in the hair industry. To make an informed decision about what service is right for you, it is helpful to understand how each service has changed in its application and chemical components over the years; as some services have vastly improved while others are still dwelling in a dangerous and archaic past.

The practice of chemically altering the hair to achieve a desired texture is nothing new, in fact permanent waving (perms) and chemical relaxing (relaxers) have been around since the late 50’s and widely available to the consumer beginning in the 60’s and booming into everyday fashion in the 70’s. In those days the chemical processes of altering the makeup of hair were crude and very harsh on the hair. We have all heard the horror stories of some poor woman's hair breaking off or falling out due to some botched perm or relaxer job.

Relaxers where some of the worst offenders, as their chemical process relied on sodium hydroxide (lye) as the active agent in the straightening process. Lye, being a very harsh and unforgiving chemical, often caused bleeding, burning and the lose of hair or skin in the hands of an uneducated salon professionnel. Sounds far from “relaxing”, right?!

The sodium hydroxide process gave chemical relaxers a bad name, and the stigma is still present today even though most salons and product manufacturers no longer use lye bases relaxers. This led to a demand for a less harsh and safer process to achieve straight hair for those women looking to tame their curl. It was right around this time in the early to mid 90’s that Brazilian Blowouts were first successfully used. Gradually from the 90’s into the new millennium Blowouts slowly gain popularity and favor over relaxers in America.

Right around the same time a revolutionary new technique and product came to the market called the Japanese Straightening System (or) Thermal straightening, which took the thio chemical from modern perm solution and innovatively re-purposed it for straightening the hair instead of curling it. This system, like the blowout, relied on the thermal heat of a flat iron to temporarily alter the structure of the hair prior to the chemical process. This required a chemical that was less harsh and more flexible in the time spent on the head and the temperature of the hair, this chemical is called Thioglycolate. Now, there is no need to whip out your chemistry set or pull out your chart of the periodic table, I will keep it simple. Thio is a two step process that breaks down the bonds in the hair, then rebuilds them in whatever structured form the hair is in during the second process (I.E. curls if ihair is on a perm rod and straight if ironed flat). Exactly like today’s modern perm, which is unfathomably healthier and safer than what we had back in the day. For the most part both Thermal straightening services and Chemical Relaxers use thioglycolate today.

The Japanese Straightening System (JSS) is its own brand, and has its own line of products, and is only available to salons that pay to have the brand name. The technical term for that type of service is Thermal Straightening, and it wasn’t long before every other product company developed their own thio Thermal System, and now it is widely available in most salons in America. You might be asking, what is the difference between a Thermal System and a Chemical Relaxer if they both use the thio chemical? The difference is in the process. By taking the time to flat iron between each step of the process the result is that the hair is chemically altered to the straightest possible form it can be in; whereas relaxers, that do not utilized a thermal process, are much less effective in the range of curl reduction. Each service has different results and used for different purposes.

Now, lets get back to Brazilian Blowouts. There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding concerning Brazilian Blowouts. The notion that, Blowouts do not use chemicals and are not harsh on the hair, was use to usher the product into the favor of the consumer as an alternative to chemical and thermal relaxing. The truth is Blowouts use chemicals that are in many ways worse than any lye or thio process. The way a Blowout works is by preserving the texture of the hair once it has been flat ironed. So it doesn’t actually chemically alter the hair, however, the chemicals used to ensure the hair is preserved in its straightened state for any length of time are extremely powerful and potentially deadly. Blowouts rely on formaldehyde and other chemical preservatives that are commonly used in preserving dead animals.

You might be thinking, well that sounds bad, but how is it any worse than the lye or thio chemicals that can melt your hair and burn your scalp. The answer is simple; formaldehyde is a poison that not only affects the skin and hair but gets into the blood and affects the whole body. In the early 2000’s several documented deaths relating to overexposure to formaldehyde from blowouts shocked the fashion community and caused a major evaluation of the product. It is worth noting that the Brazilian Blowout process is banned in many countries. After the panic and the dangerous truth about the preservation process was brought to light, many salons stopped offering the service. Recently it has attempted a comeback under the new name Brazilian Keratin Treatment (BKT), utilizing the Keratin (a key protein in the chemical makeup of hair) as a positive marketing point. The fact still remains that the fundamental process relies on preserving the hair with an agent such as formaldehyde. Supposedly, the new formula has less of the preservative chemical in it, and is “Safe.” One can still argue that substituting one deadly poison for another doesn’t really change anything, furthermore, applying poison to someones head doesn't sound like a good idea no matter how little amount it is. After all, a rose is still a rose if called by any other name.