The science of preventing relaxer damage by using silk

Wonderful post!! I love your "Science of hair" approach. Very informative. Makes me feel like I actually retained some of the Orgo :eek: !! I will definitely be picking up some of the CHI Silk infusion.
 
These thread is giving me a little pj itch for the Motions Silk Protein Conditioner I used to use back in the day.
 
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amina kamal said:
Wonderful post!! I love your "Science of hair" approach. Very informative. Makes me feel like I actually retained some of the Orgo :eek: !! I will definitely be picking up some of the CHI Silk infusion.
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You guys called it Orgo, too? SWEET. I know at some other schools they call it "o chem" but I like "orgo" much better.
 
navsegda said:
You guys called it Orgo, too? SWEET. I know at some other schools they call it "o chem" but I like "orgo" much better.
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Oh lawd, now I'm having "o-chem" flashbacks!:lol: Me and chemistry weren't very good friends. I much preferred biology.;)
 
This is bad for me on soooo many levels;). After I was just burned by my relaxer 2 weeks ago, I swore off perms forever...now you got me rethinking this decision since this could be the answer of my relaxing nightmares...I mean dreams:p.. and on top of that, I swore not to buy another product....I'm going to have to make a todo list on wash days to keep up with all the products that have to go in my hair:whyme:
 
2wom9fs.jpg
 
Since the silk proteins form a barrier, does the hair get fully relaxed? Especially since you're applying the product to new growth. :confused:
 
How much should you add to the relaxer?

Also, when using a no lye relaxer, should you mix in the no lye mix FIRST then add or what?
 
navsegda said:
I'm going to give a quick summary. Basically, silk can form a protective covering over the hair to prevent it from being damaged from alkaline materials, such as the chemicals in relaxers. So the next time you relax, try to use something with hydrolyzed silk protein in it (such as CHI Silk Infusion) before putting the chemicals on your hair.

The short and sweet version:

http://www.jajagroup.com/HBADivision/silk_protein.shtml

"After silk protein on the hair dries, it becomes a transparent crystalline protective film. This film can directly prevent the hair being damaged by alkaline materials in hair products. This protective film can increase the hair elasticity and increase the hair’s natural shine. It has a very special protective function in hair products."

But for those of you who need the hardcore science to believe and don't want to listen to me drone on and on:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7060260.html
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I totally believe this. After using Praital, I'm convinced that silk protein is the best thing out there (next to henna, and together they're the bomb!) for your hair. I've been using it for a few months now, and the overall feel of my hair has changed. Even when I don't have any product on it, it feels much softer now then it used to with no product on. I'll have to try that CHI Silk Fusion the next time I relax. Thanks for the tip Navsegda. :)
 
Princess Pie said:
Since the silk proteins form a barrier, does the hair get fully relaxed? Especially since you're applying the product to new growth. :confused:
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Yay, I was hoping someone would ask me that! :)

The silk proteins do provide a barrier. However, HEAT from the chemicals in a relaxer is what straightens the hair, not the bare chemicals alone. Some reactions happen faster than others, but when molecules continually bump into each other during a chemical reaction, heat energy is produced. Different bonds have different bond dissociation energies (which is the amount of heat/energy needed to break a bond). With a silk protein barrier, the molecules are going to bump into this and still release a fraction of their energy but the silk is not going to let all the energy come through at that point. Think about when you use a thick potholder to get a hot dish out of the oven. You can still feel some of the heat energy come through and your hand may get a little warm, but it's not enough to be painful and burn the skin off your hand like it could be if you didn't use a potholder or you used a thin, raggedy one.

So let's say you normally leave your relaxer on about 15 minutes. Well, it does not take all that energy released from the relaxer to straighten your hair. You can actually change the conformation of molecules in space (which is what straightening SHOULD do) without destroying the bonds (think of dough, you can roll it into a ball or you can roll it into a rectangular, flattened strip without breaking it apart, but if you put too much force/energy into it, then you're going to break off a piece unnecessarily).

Heat can do 3 things: it can provide enough energy to just make the atoms of the molecule change their conformation in space around the bonds, it can provide more than enough and weaken those bonds, or it can provide way TOO MUCH (when it reaches the bond dissociation energy) and break those bonds. If you do not use silk and leave the relaxer on for this 15 minutes, then the chemicals will produce more energy than necessary and all the energy they produced is going to get through. That's how your bonds in the hair get broken because you've let the energy of the chemicals exceed the bond dissociation energy of the various bonds that make up the proteins in your hair (keratin contains several types of molecular bonds so there is no one dissociation energy; each of these types of bonds in keratin have their own dissociation energies). If you do use silk and let the relaxer stay on for the same amount of time, then each time the molecules bump into the silk, only a fraction of the heat energy is going to get through instead of all of it. So overall, less energy will get through with the silk, but it will still be enough to safely straighten your hair.

P.S. I relaxed on Monday with Silk Infusion as a base on my hair and I still relaxed straight. :D My new growth came out very smooth and silky.
 
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LocksOfLuV said:
How much should you add to the relaxer?

Also, when using a no lye relaxer, should you mix in the no lye mix FIRST then add or what?
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I wouldn't add any to the relaxer. I'd solely put it on the hair (I massaged my Silk Infusion into my hair with extra on the new growth). So if you were using no-lye, I would just mix it like you normally would and then apply it after the silk containing product has already coated your hair. If you are using a silk protein conditioner, since it's wet and most relaxers tell you not to apply the relaxer to wet hair, I'd let the conditioner dry first and then start applying the relaxer to the new growth.
 
Navs, which hair bonds exactly do the silk protein help keep intact, end bonds or side bonds? And is this bonding protection for the cuticle layers or cortical? Both?

Also, what exactly is the difference between doing a regular protein treatment or using even petroleum based products, oil, and/or other conditioners prior to the process to block the action of the relaxer? I guess I am asking whether or not you think the benefits of this method are silk protein specific—or apply to any hydrolyzed poteins? Thanks!
 
navsegda said:
Yay, I was hoping someone would ask me that! :)

The silk proteins do provide a barrier. However, HEAT from the chemicals in a relaxer is what straightens the hair, not the bare chemicals alone. Some reactions happen faster than others, but when molecules continually bump into each other during a chemical reaction, heat energy is produced. Different bonds have different bond dissociation energies (which is the amount of heat/energy needed to break a bond). With a silk protein barrier, the molecules are going to bump into this and still release a fraction of their energy but the silk is not going to let all the energy come through at that point. Think about when you use a thick potholder to get a hot dish out of the oven. You can still feel some of the heat energy come through and your hand may get a little warm, but it's not enough to be painful and burn the skin off your hand like it could be if you didn't use a potholder or you used a thin, raggedy one.

So let's say you normally leave your relaxer on about 15 minutes. Well, it does not take all that energy released from the relaxer to straighten your hair. You can actually change the conformation of molecules in space (which is what straightening SHOULD do) without destroying the bonds (think of dough, you can roll it into a ball or you can roll it into a rectangular, flattened strip without breaking it apart, but if you put too much force/energy into it, then you're going to break off a piece unnecessarily).

Heat can do 3 things: it can provide enough energy to just make the atoms of the molecule change their conformation in space around the bonds, it can provide more than enough and weaken those bonds, or it can provide way TOO MUCH (when it reaches the bond dissociation energy) and break those bonds. If you do not use silk and leave the relaxer on for this 15 minutes, then the chemicals will produce more energy than necessary and all the energy they produced is going to get through. That's how your bonds in the hair get broken because you've let the energy of the chemicals exceed the bond dissociation energy of the various bonds that make up the proteins in your hair (keratin contains several types of molecular bonds so there is no one dissociation energy; each of these types of bonds in keratin have their own dissociation energies). If you do use silk and let the relaxer stay on for the same amount of time, then each time the molecules bump into the silk, only a fraction of the heat energy is going to get through instead of all of it. So overall, less energy will get through with the silk, but it will still be enough to safely straighten your hair.

P.S. I relaxed on Monday with Silk Infusion as a base on my hair and I still relaxed straight. :D My new growth came out very smooth and silky.
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Thanks for answering my question. I have a bottle of CHI Silk Infusion sitting in my closet, but I haven't really used it since I rarely use heat. Now I can get my money's worth out of that tiny, overpriced bottle. :lol:
 
Nav, will this render the relaxer less effective? Maybe my logic is faulty in assuming less alkaline and less "damage" equates to less straigtening? If that is the case it is actually not a problem b/c I am texlaxed anyway so I don't really want my hair to process completely.
 
Sistaslick said:
Navs, which hair bonds exactly do the silk protein help keep intact, end bonds or side bonds? And is this bonding protection for the cuticle layers or cortical? Both?

Also, what exactly is the difference between doing a regular protein treatment or using even petroleum based products, oil, and/or other conditioners prior to the process to block the action of the relaxer? I guess I am asking whether or not you think the benefits of this method are silk protein specific—or apply to any hydrolyzed poteins? Thanks!
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If the silk protein is completely coating the entire strand of hair, then all of the keratin bonds (side chain bonds such as disulfide bonds, which cannot be broken by heat/thermal energy alone anyway, and end bonds [like some carboxyls] which hold the amino acid polypeptide chains together) are protected. The end bonds are fragile and can break first and will benefit the most from the silk (however, there are other side bonds [that aren't disulfides] which are weak and need to be protected as well because they can easily break too). So thus, the protection is going to benefit both the cuticle and the inner cortex (as both contain amino acids).

A protein reconstructor doesn't really offer protection, it offers structure since you are repairing broken bonds and adding new protein molecules altogether. If you've reconstructed a bond between two atoms that have a dissociation energy of 350 kJ/mol for instance, then that bond dissociation energy isn't going to change when a new one is made (the atoms are still the same) and if you use something that reaches or exceeds this energy, then it's still going to break yet again. Even reconstructed bonds can be broken by enough heat or other forms of energy manipulation, so that's why you would need something that's actually a barrier (just like you use a heat protectant before flat ironing). A barrier like silk is different because it's not just adding structure (larger silk molecules don't even have a low enough molecular weight to penetrate in the strand so all they can do is coat), but it's adding a protective layer over the structure that is already there. Thus, if it's coating the entire strand, then first the heat would have to break those bonds in it before it can get to the hair to start becoming a "threat" so to speak.

I also don't think silk is the only thing that can do this. Silicones are also very strong and can coat the hair to offer protection (like they do for heat protection). As I said in another thread, Si-OH bonds can survive anneals of 1000 degrees Celsius. I use a pre-creme base that has petroleum in it, but the bonds in it can break/melt much quicker with it than with silicone or silk (which are pretty strong); that's why even some people who do use a petroleum base still feel burning and cannot use lye relaxers. Straight oils by themselves are also not very reliable, since many oils can combust easily when they come into contact with various forms of heat energy (of course, using a relaxer with oils in it isn't going to make your head catch on fire, lol, but the bonds in oils are going to be quickly broken down in comparison to silk or silicone is what I'm trying to say).
 
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senimoni said:
Nav, will this render the relaxer less effective? Maybe my logic is faulty in assuming less alkaline and less "damage" equates to less straigtening? If that is the case it is actually not a problem b/c I am texlaxed anyway so I don't really want my hair to process completely.
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Less heat from the chemical reaction will get through, yes. This is actually a good thing because if you let a reaction sit long enough, it will "overheat" in a sense. It doesn't take all the energy that a relaxer builds to straighten out your hair. And the bonds do not have to be broken to straighten the hair because atoms can shift positions around molecular bonds. The silk is going to keep excess energy that you don't need from getting through (unless of course you sit for much longer with the silk than you would without it). For instance, if you need say, 400 kJ/mol of energy to break a particular bond but it really only takes 150 kJ/mol to change the conformation of the atoms in space (which is what you want to happen when you straighten anyway), then the other 250 kJ/mol is entirely unnecessary and a barrier will just prevent all the 400 kJ/mol from getting through in the same amount of time. So you can still texlax or go straight (my new growth on Monday still came out straight because I don't texlax).
 
First, yay for this post! I love learning the science of hair and you are definitely schooling us :grin: Thanks Navs! I plan to texlax in about a year and I am definitely taking notes. I think that I am going to use the Elucence Silk Hyrating Elixir and add some pure silk amino acids for good measure as my pretreatment. I do have a couple questions for you.

So navs....since protein help with the structure...Would using a reconstructor a few days before the relaxer to fortify the structure then using silk proteins the day of to provide a coating give optimal protection? Or would you suggest using a reconstructor after as even with protection some of the bonds will be weakened and possibly broken depending on the application time? Or both before and after (even though that sounds like too much protein :ohwell: )

Also, would henna also be as effective as silk proteins in creating this barrier as it coats the hair?
 
brownsugarflyygirl said:
First, yay for this post! I love learning the science of hair and you are definitely schooling us :grin: Thanks Navs! I plan to texlax in about a year and I am definitely taking notes. I think that I am going to use the Elucence Silk Hyrating Elixir and add some pure silk amino acids for good measure as my pretreatment. I do have a couple questions for you.

So navs....since protein help with the structure...Would using a reconstructor a few days before the relaxer to fortify the structure then using silk proteins the day of to provide a coating give optimal protection? Or would you suggest using a reconstructor after as even with protection some of the bonds will be weakened and possibly broken depending on the application time? Or both before and after (even though that sounds like too much protein :ohwell: )

Also, would henna also be as effective as silk proteins in creating this barrier as it coats the hair?
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Well, reconstructors will strengthen/add more structure to your hair if used before but they aren't going to offer protection. The protein from a reconstructor becomes part of your hair and thus it's not actually providing a barrier against anything. I always use a reconstructor afterwards because it's better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't recommend using a reconstructor both before and afterwards (unless it's a really really light protein reconstructor several days before if you wanna add a little more structure only) because the last thing you want is protein overload. It's not gonna do any good to use silk to protect your hair bonds from being destroyed in one way (heat from chemicals) just to have the strands become too dry and brittle by protein overload, which can cause them to break in another. If you aren't using silk and you relax your hair, then it would seem pointless to use a reconstructor beforehand because the chemicals would just break some of the new protein bonds in your hair, even though your hair is stronger. Kinda defeats the purpose if you ask me.

But even if you are using silk, you are absolutely right about it depending on application time. Some people let relaxers sit in longer than others. If you let a chemical sit on your hair for a very long time, then eventually the energy from the chemical reaction will destroy the bonds in the silk. But everyone here who relaxes is smart enough about it and I doubt anyone leaves it on for a ridiculously long amount of time because they wouldn't be able to stand the pain. When chemicals heat up, they will spread so even if you are 100% careful about only putting it on new growth, if you let it sit too long, it's going to start "melting" or spreading to the scalp and thus you will be getting some major burns. Firefighters wear special protective equipment to protect them from being burned from fires, but if they stood right in the middle of a leaping fire and didn't move for several minutes, I guarantee you that all the bonds in that material will be broken and their skin will catch on fire. So while the silk protects, it's not 100% foolproof if you leave a relaxer on for too long.

I would not use henna right before a relaxer. Even though henna is natural and it has conditioning properties, it is also very strong and a reaction is going to go on to change your hair color...and you do not want two reactions going on at the same time (you definitely do not want the chemicals of the relaxer reacting with the henna).
 
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preciousjewel76 said:
Oh lawd, now I'm having "o-chem" flashbacks!:lol: Me and chemistry weren't very good friends. I much preferred biology.;)
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:eek: :eek: :eek: I hate o-chem!! And I still have another semester of it to go... just had to vent. :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
navsegda said:
Girl, these silk amino acids look REALLY good. And to think about all the stuff I could MIX them in? *rubs hands together excitedly*

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/Silk-Amino-Acids-pr-16295.html
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I know!

I call myself intending to make my own products, or at least spruce up the ready-mades to cater to my needs, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

Now I'll have to order the bigger bottles of silk amino acids!

Thanx for the knowledge!:brainy:
 
I have been using this with my CHI flat iron for 6 years and it truly is one of my staples. Plus one 12 oz bottle last me, no lie, 1 year!!!!!!!!!!!!! It only takes and little but it packs a big punch. But I never thought to use it before my relaxer. Im relaxing next friday and I cant wait to try it!
 
Cholet112 said:
I have been using this with my CHI flat iron for 6 years and it truly is one of my staples. Plus one 12 oz bottle last me, no lie, 1 year!!!!!!!!!!!!! It only takes and little but it packs a big punch. But I never thought to use it before my relaxer. Im relaxing next friday and I cant wait to try it!
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Are you referring to the pure silk amino acids? Do you mix it with anything???
 
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