Chemical Hair Relaxer

People with naturally curly hair hanker to get that straighter and silkier hair. Hair straightening is the best option that such people have. There are two types of hair straighteners, namely, heat activated hair straighteners and chemical hair straighteners. Amongst chemical hair straighteners, hair relaxers are gaining popularity these days. Hair relaxers are various kinds of lotions or hair creams that are used for reducing the curliness of hair. Such chemically relaxed hair can be then straightened with some other hair straightening techniques or left without them. Most of the time, people prefer using chemical hair relaxers which are effective and have really quick result.

There are various types of hair relaxers and hence their positive and negative effects, are also different from each other. These effects depend on the ingredients and procedure which is used for application of hair relaxers.

Chemical Hair Relaxers

Before learning how to relax hair, let's find out about the basic types of chemical relaxers, which include lye based and no lye based hair relaxers. You can also find some effective natural hair relaxer on the market as well. Lye base relaxer products are also called alkaline relaxers and they are found to be effective in changing the basic hair structure of thick curly hair as well as African-American hair. Lye hair relaxers contain sodium hydroxide, petroleum jelly, water, mineral oil and few kinds of emulsifiers. All these products create a cream like consistency for relaxers and make them easy to be applied on hair. On application, these hair relaxer ingredients permeate the hair protein structure and loosen up the internal hair bonds. You just need to apply these relaxers on hair for the recommended time span and them wash them off.

Another type of chemical relaxers are called no lye hair relaxers. These relaxers contain one of the three following chemicals, namely, guanidine hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or lithium hydroxide. Guanidine hydroxide needs to be activated by adding a calcium hydroxide based cream in it. A few other types of no lye based hair relaxers contain ammonium thioglycolate, which is a traditionally used hair relaxing ingredient and is called pert salt. A few other products that are also used in the best relaxer for coarse hair are ammonium sulfite and ammonium bisulfite. Both these products are chemically weak and hence, cause a slow hair relaxing procedure. Some popular relaxer brands are Optimum Relaxer, Optimum Care Advanced Technology Conditioning No-Lye Relaxer System, Affirm by Avon, Dark & Lovely Super, Phytospecific Phytorelaxer Index 2, Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Built-In Protection No Lye Relaxer System (Extra Strength), Mizani Relaxer for Coarse Hair, etc.

Dangers of Chemical Hair Relaxers

Looking at the brighter side of using relaxers to get soft hair, many people opt for hair relaxing treatment. However, as there were some plus points there are also a few negative points of using the best relaxers for any type of hair. It is the reason why, before you actually start learning how to relax your hair, you need to find out the potential damage ita will be causing, as far as hair care is concerned. The side effects of these relaxers largely depend upon the type, amount, procedure and frequency in which they are used by a particular person. It is also the reason why side effects of chemical relaxers differ in person to person. All in all, those users who have suffered from side effects, often complain about a few negative effects of hair relaxers. Sometimes, it is observed that when these hair relaxers come into contact with the scalp, the harsh chemicals in it cause scalp irritation, red bumps and itchy scalp.

Since these products are left on the hair for a prolonged period, they take away all the natural oils and moisture from your hair. This process results in coarse and dry hair. The more often you use chemical relaxers for your hair, the more fragile your hair becomes. Hence, it is always advised that you should avoid regular or frequent usage of relaxers for black hair or curly hair. It is also advised that one should avoid using hair relaxers during pregnancy. If they have to, then they should consult their OB/GYN first. Lastly, once you are done with using a relaxer, it gets really important that you try various moisturizing hair relaxing treatments and hot oil treatment, to protect any kind of damage to the hair. Well, in order to stay away from the side effects, it is always better to straighten the hair without chemicals. If you want to try straightening hair without chemical relaxer products, then using natural hair relaxers are the best option for you.

You can either go through online hair relaxer reviews for natural hair relaxers or use some homemade hair relaxers like honey, milk, coconut cream, olive oil, cocoa butter, etc. These are also some good hair relaxers for kids.