pH and Your Hair. A little redox to make you happy.
Here's what I know and what I think about pH and hair products. This is "redox" chemistry (oxidation and reduction). One of my teachers said to our class, "Next week, we'll be doing redox," followed by an evil laugh. I love it because it applies to so many living systems we work with every day. I think you will too. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Get ready for a chemistry smackdown on hair cuticle folklore. Forget all that stuff you've heard about cuticles being open or closed as a result of different pH. Cuticles being "open" when it is the result of a solution you put on your hair is a side effect of hair swelling in the wrong pH, in strong detergent, or in just plain old water if it's wet for too long. Likewise for cuticles being "closed." The shortest story possible: If you do not want to suddenly damage the structure of your hair in an irreversible way - keep it out of solutions with a of pH 3 or under, and out of solutions with...