Just a theory: Lye relaxers lighten the hair and no lye doesnt?

[locabouthair]

A lot us know and have expirienced that our hair color does lighten somewhat by using relaxers. I was using a lye relaxer for a years and 1/2 and I would always notive how my ng was black and the rest of my hair was brown, which i couldn't stand.

I just switched to no lye this weekend and I can definitely see a difference between the roots, that were recently relaxed and the rest of the hair. My roots are still black. I'm kind of happy about this because i really didn't like the brown color.

has anyone noticed this after using a no lye relaxer?

 

[LynnieB]

i was an optimum care no-lye relaxer girl.

my hair turned light, reddish brown erplexed my new growth/natural hair was/is dark, dark brown.

hehe but i'm noticing i'm getting reddish streaks again around my temples but i have the sneaking suspicion that this where my hair is going to turn gray

 

[Supergirl]

Back in the day, when I had a no-lye relaxer, my hair still lightened.

 

[Evazhair]

My haircolor didn't change from lye or no lye relaxers.

 

[locabouthair]

i was an optimum care no-lye relaxer girl.

my hair turned light, reddish brown erplexed my new growth/natural hair was/is dark, dark brown.

hehe but i'm noticing i'm getting reddish streaks again around my temples but i have the sneaking suspicion that this where my hair is going to turn gray

oh ok

maybe it was just the particular relaxer I was using then...

 

[LoveLiLi]

i was an optimum care no-lye relaxer girl.

my hair turned light, reddish brown erplexed my new growth/natural hair was/is dark, dark brown.

hehe but i'm noticing i'm getting reddish streaks again around my temples but i have the sneaking suspicion that this where my hair is going to turn gray

Same here. When I used no-lye relaxers my hair looked lighter and it was very dry. It sometimes had an ashy look, as if it was coated, but that could have been from the crappy Pantene leave-in I was using.

When I switched to lye relaxers my hair looked dark, shiny and healthy.

 

[abbygirl]

i read somewhere that its the neutralizing shampoo that lightens the hair.

 

[locabouthair]

i read somewhere that its the neutralizing shampoo that lightens the hair.

Really? I dont understand how this could happen since it's not a chemical.

 

[abbygirl]

Really? I dont understand how this could happen since it's not a chemical.

yeah cos most neutralizers are made of peroxide,bromates, persulfates
and perborates.. and peroxide is used to lighen hair and its very common in a lot of neutralizers..**off to check my ORS creamy aloe shampoo**

 

[LunadeMiel]

I've only used no lye relaxers and it definitely lightened my hair.

 

[dlewis]

My haircolor didn't change from lye or no lye relaxers.

Mine didn't either. I was a brown/reddish haired baby/ girl/ now woman. Amla oil does darken my hair.

 

[Aggie]

Same here. When I used no-lye relaxers my hair looked lighter and it was very dry. It sometimes had an ashy look, as if it was coated, but that could have been from the crappy Pantene leave-in I was using.

When I switched to lye relaxers my hair looked dark, shiny and healthy.

ITA with the bolded.

 

[locabouthair]

I think my hair is just strange

I need to stop trying to figure it out.

 

[envybeauty]

No-lye does cause some brassiness but in general color change is from overlapping too much.

So said a stylist to me some years ago when he noted my color on the ends.

 

[LynnieB]

^^ i'm enjoying that eyeroll @ your stylists' statement so much i gotta add one myself

 

[DDTexlaxed]

My hair color changed to a reddish brown tinge too. I was not flattering on me because it looked like a hair color gone wrong.

 

[Soliel185]

Could it be that the relaxer actually heightens the effects of sun esposure? Unless you're using products that naturally protect your strands ( aloe or coconut for example) your hair needs to be protected just like your skin. I suspect the relaxer, b/c it breaks down the hair bonds, might just speed of the effect that the sun may have. Your roots will seem darker b/c they haven't been a) chemically altered or b) esposed to the sun for nearly as long.

 

[locabouthair]

Could it be that the relaxer actually heightens the effects of sun esposure? Unless you're using products that naturally protect your strands ( aloe or coconut for example) your hair needs to be protected just like your skin. I suspect the relaxer, b/c it breaks down the hair bonds, might just speed of the effect that the sun may have. Your roots will seem darker b/c they haven't been a) chemically altered or b) esposed to the sun for nearly as long.

This makes sense but I never noticed it before when I used lye.

 

[MizAvalon]

This is something that I really, really dislike about relaxers. My lightening is only really noticeable upon *very* close inspection but I still don't like it.

 

[locabouthair]

This is something that I really, really dislike about relaxers. My lightening is only really noticeable upon *very* close inspection but I still don't like it.

I hate it too. The opposite is true about dyes. They loosen the curl pattern in some cases.

 

[gymfreak336]

Relaxers lighten the hair because when the relaxer breaks the protein bonds, your melatin, also in the protein bonds gets attacked too.