Okay, let us first get this all out into the open. Hair is hair, no matter which racial category we decide to place ourselves, hair is made up of the same basic molecules. The only difference is in the way that it grows and the way that it is styled and maintained. I usually dislike categorizing people, but for the purposes of this article I will give in to the norm in order to make things perfectly clear. Believe it or not, the chief natural difference between “white hair” and “black hair” is the curl pattern. However, when it comes to styling techniques, particularly chemical styling techniques, the whole game is played on two completely different sides, particularly when it comes to the process known as “perming.” Traditionally, a perm can be considered to be a chemical straightening of the hair or a chemical curling of the hair. The word “perm” usually takes on opposite meanings to black women and white women; consider this:
When a white woman states that she is going to her hair stylist to get a “perm,” what she usually means is that she is going to her stylist to obtain a chemical boost to the curl pattern of her hair; think back to Mrs. Roper’s hair style from “Three’s Company” (I know that was a wig, go with the flow please). When a black woman states that she is going to the hairdresser to get a “perm,” what she usually means is that she is going to her stylist to obtain a chemical straightening of her curl pattern; think back to Angela Bassett’s long, bone-straight locks, at the beginning of “Waiting to Exhale,” (I know most of that was weave, but stay with the flow please). The chemical straightening process for black hair is often a mystery to others. Here is a very brief run-down of the two different perm processes for black hair, so that the mystery can be solved for all who are interested.
The chemical straightening process that some African American women refer to as being “a perm” can be more correctly referred to as “a relaxer.” The term “relaxer” seems to more adequately relate the actual process that the hair is undergoing; the natural curl pattern of the hair is truly being relaxed quite a bit. There are two different types of chemicals that relax the hair; they are sodium hydroxide and ammonium thioglycolate. The most commonly referred to chemical straightening process, or relaxer, for an African American woman’s hair today is the sodium hydroxide process, but ammonium thioglycolate is still being used. Sodium hydroxide is a form of lye and will straighten the hair absolutely, completely, and irreversibly. Ammonium thioglycolate is usually billed as being milder to the hair and scalp than the lye-based sodium hydroxide, and it creates the “curly perm” look that was so popular in the eighties (think back to Michael Jackson after the afro and before the total prevailed – his “Off The Wall” days). With ammonium thioglycolate the curl pattern is relaxed a bit so that the natural kinky curl pattern is loosened. After the hair is chemically processed with the ammonium thioglycolate a product called curl activator has to be applied to the hair to make the curls appear; this accounts for the rather wet look of the hair style. Both methods of chemical straighteners will damage the hair, so they both require a great deal of moisturization and conditioning. This is only a small snippet of information about the two chemical processes for straightening black hair; I hope this article has been informative for those who are curious. The world is a diverse place full of people and cultures much different than our own. When we endeavor to learn more about each culture, we help to create an environment of acceptance for all.
