The Core of Hair By Kida is promoting healthy hair which is brought into fruition with a 3 step hair care treatment regimen. Every client has different hair care needs, the types of treatments are tailored accordingly: for damaged hair or maintaining your healthy hair. Having healthy chemically treated hair(relaxer, perms,etc) goes beyond applying hair glosses to make it seemingly lustrous. This is where we go into the chemistry and knowledge of hair. Product knowledge is essential to having healthy hair.
The natural pH of hair is 4.5-5.5 and the three layers of the hair shaft are: Cuticle, Cortex, Medulla. The pH scale ranges from 0-14, 7 being neutral. Any number below 7 is acidic and above 7 is considered an alkaline. The average pH of hair is 5 so our hair is acidic. The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair strand which protects the inner layer of the hair. Its attributions are creating shine, and the smooth silky feel of healthy hair. If your hair doesn't have a natural shine, chances are the cuticle layer is damaged. The cortex is the middle layer.It all goes down in the cortex! Approximately 90 percent of the total weight of hair comes from the cortex. Hair services such as hair relaxers, perms, haircoloring, roller sets, permanent waving, flat ironing, etc takes place in the cortex. The medulla which is the innermost layer of the hair doesn't play a role in hair services. In fact, it's typical for the medulla to be absent in naturally blonde or very fine hair.
Within the cortex, there are three side bonds: hydrogen bond, salt bond and the disulfide bond. When doing a relaxer or a permanent wave you are breaking the disulfide bonds which is done using a chemical with a high pH. Hydoxide relaxers has a pH of 12.5-13.5 therefore its an alkaline. Chemicals raises the pH of the hair to an alkaline state, swelling the cuticle layer of the hair. As a result, penetrating the cuticle layer of the hair thus reaching the cortex, where the reshaping of the hair takes place (straightening or curling of the hair). Consequently stripping the hair keratin. Hair is approximately 90 percent protein and a hair strand is about 25 percent water. With the three step to replenishing chemically processed hair, protein treatments and deep conditioning treatments are the gist of the regimen, which in some cases has to be repeated depending on the condition of your hair. Having a relaxer, texturizer, permanent wave or any chemical which reshapes your hair cuticle raising the porosity of your hair. Porosity is the ability to absorb moisture. Overly process hair can be caused by over-processing of the hair, it is dry, fragile and brittle. A few factors that contributes to over-processing of the hair: overlapping of the chemicals during application, using a chemical with a high alkalinity for the hair texture, not re-balancing the pH of the hair to its acidic state. As a hair stylist my goal is to have my clients hair in its healthiest state whether you are natural or have chemically treated hair. Not every client's hair is the same and not every hair salon visit would be the same hair treatments or products used. Each service: deep conditioning treatments, protein treatments, trim, hair coloring, grey coverage, hair relaxer, texturizer, permanent wave serves a purpose. Upon scheduling your appointment, a profile is created keeping a record of your hair services. Schedule your next hair appointment today to begin your hair regimen.