What does pH have to do with doing hair?

Answer 1

Ph or Potential Hydrogen is a very important part in Cosmetology, understanding it is important in order to prevent damaging the hair and scalp. Since the scale range from 0-14.. the higher the range the more drying and damaging it is.The hair reacts differently to different chemicals that are used on the hair, from shampoo to Permanent waving..For example 0-6.9 is Acidic (Closes and Hardens) and 7 (Neutralizes) being neutral and 7.1-14 are Alkaline (Softens and Swells) . Knowing where everything is as far as their range, will bring about better results as a cosmetologist.

Answer 2

in short, pH simply stands fro potential hydrogen, which means it is measuring the amount of hydrogen a liquid "could" have... usually when exposed to oxygen (like when you take the cap off a perm solution bottle). With that being said, any pH that is different from the pH of hair (4.5-5.5) will cause the hair strand to soften and allow chemicals to penetrate. So whether its hair color or a treatment its important to know the pH... it may determine how damaging a product could be. Hope this helps!