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Ingredients Used in Ammonia Free Hair Straightening Cream

With the trend towards natural-looking hair colours, ammonia free hair straightening cream is a popular choice. It offers grey coverage and a range of ultra-natural-looking shades, but is also safer for your scalp than many regular relaxers.

Despite claims of being formaldehyde-free, these products often contain duplicate chemicals that release formaldehyde when heated. Read the labels to find the safest options for your hair and health.

Sodium Hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide is an alkaline compound that is a white, crystalline solid. It is soluble in water, forms a salt solution with acids and other strong bases and is also capable of dissolving certain metals. This strong base is used in many household cleaning products as well as hair relaxers. It is the primary ingredient in traditional chemical relaxers that have been around for decades.

Traditionally, people who had naturally curly hair would have to go to a professional hair stylist in order to get it straightened. This was a time-consuming and costly procedure. Modern hair straightening products are based on sodium hydroxide and are sold in the form of a kit that is easy to use at home.

The chemical reacts with the keratin proteins in the hair to break them down. It then changes the pH levels and re-aligns them. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive and can burn the skin ammonia free hair straightening cream and eyes. For this reason, people who use this product are required to wear gloves and safety glasses.

The sodium hydroxide-based hair relaxers are marketed as being less damaging to the hair and scalp than the other types of chemical straightening products. However, it is important to understand that all of these types of products cause protein loss. While the guanidine hydroxide-based straighteners have been shown to produce similar results as the traditional alkaline hair relaxers, they have not yet been demonstrated to be safer.

Ammonium Thioglycolate

Thioglycolic acid and its salts and esters (Ammonium Thioglycolate, Butyl Thioglycolate, Ethanolamine Thioglycolate, Glyceryl Thioglycolate, Isooctyl Thioglycolate and Sodium Thioglycolate) are used in hair forming products such as perms and relaxers for their ability to change the structure of the hair keratin and its properties. They are able to break disulfide bonds in the hair, making the hair pliable and easier to manipulate.

Hair treatments include coloring, curling (permanents), bleaching, and straightening (relaxers). These treatments typically use chemical compounds that can be harmful to the skin if not handled properly by a qualified professional. These chemicals have been known to cause a variety of health problems including damage to the scalp, skin and eyes.

In the past, hair treatments were used to straighten the hair using a variety of chemicals such as guanidine carbonate or ammonium hydroxide. These chemicals are known to cause a wide range of problems including hair loss, dryness and itching, dermatitis, scalp and skin irritation and even a condition called cicatricial alopecia, in which the hair is removed from the head.

A new type of hair treatment has been developed to straighten the hair without these damaging chemicals. This treatment is a cream and is applied to the hair by the hairdresser. It is then rinsed out and the hair is conditioned afterward. This treatment is also much quicker to process than traditional lye-based chemical relaxers.

Cysteine

Cysteine is a chemical that’s used to protect the hair during the straightening process. It helps to prevent hair breakage by lowering the pH of the product. It also helps to keep the keratin in the hair intact. Cysteine can be found in most permanent and semi-permanent hair straighteners.

Even so-called “formaldehyde-free” chemical hair straighteners may still contain formaldehyde or other hazardous chemicals that become toxic when exposed to heat, such as from a flat iron or hair dryer. In particular, glyoxylic acid in some of these products can emit formaldehyde when subjected to high temperatures of heat processes (source).

Another potential concern is that some chemical hair straighteners contain ingredients that can be harmful to the scalp and skin. Some of these ingredients include triethanolamine, butylphenyl methylpropional and cyclopentasiloxane. Triethanolamine is known to damage fertility and the unborn child (source). Butylphenyl methylpropional is suspected of contributing to reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption and certain cancers. Cyclopentasiloxane is linked to allergic contact dermatitis, respiratory distress and sensitization in some people.

The best way to avoid these issues is by choosing a non-toxic hair straightening process, such as the keratin treatment. These types of treatments are generally regarded as safer than traditional chemical hair straighteners and offer similar results. However, it’s always best to consult with your hair stylist to ensure that the product you choose is safe for you.

Guanidine Carbonate

Guanidine carbonate is an alkaline, organic salt. It is used in conjunction with calcium hydroxide in “no lye” hair relaxers to form less-irritating systems than sodium hydroxide-based (lye) products. It also serves as a buffering agent and pH adjuster. Guanidine carbonate has numerous other uses, including serving as a flame retardant and a flocculant in water treatment. It is also a raw material for the synthesis of sulfonamides.

When combined with potassium, lithium or calcium hydroxide and acted on hair, guanidine carbonate relaxes the bonds in the hair and reshapes it into a straighter shape. The process, called lanthionization, reduces the best hair straightening products the amount of cystine amino acids in the hair to two-thirds their original level. It works best on virgin or unprocessed hair.

It is important that salon professionals follow strict application guidelines when using guanidine carbonate relaxers. They must test hair for compatibility before each relaxer application with the Mecha Test, and use the lowest strength possible to avoid damage and breakage. The Mecha Test can also be used to determine the length of time that must elapse between relaxing sessions, and to check whether previously relaxed hair is ready for another treatment.

Many of the guanidine hair relaxers on the market contain formaldehyde. Many international regulatory agencies consider formaldehyde carcinogenic and teratogenic. Stylists who relax hair with these products risk exposure to levels of formaldehyde that exceed regulated standards. To minimize formaldehyde exposure, stylists should seek “ethical straightening,” which includes the use of thioglycolate and other products that are free from formaldehyde.