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Process for relaxing or straightening hair

Process for relaxing or straightening hair description/claims

Hair straightening or hair relaxing products have been commercially available for over fifty years for people who want straighter, more manageable hair. Most commercially available hair relaxers are composed of a strong hydroxide base that breaks the bonds in the hair.

Commercial products based only on alkaline metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide are typically used to straighten or relax curly/kinky hair. There are primarily four different types of alkaline metal hydroxide hair straighteners in use: calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide. The straightening product is usually applied quickly and can only remain in the hair for a very limited amount of time. Due to the alkalinity of such products, if the product is not rinsed from the hair at the appropriate time, damage to the hair can occur, as well as chemical burns to the scalp and areas surrounding the hair.

Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a hair straightening or relaxing process which is safer than, yet as effective as, conventional processes.

The present invention is directed to a process for straightening or relaxing hair involving the steps of:

(a) pre-alkalizing the hair by contacting it with an alkaline composition having a pH of from about 8.5 to about 10.5 to form pre-alkalized hair;

(b) applying onto the pre-alkalized hair a hair straightening/relaxing composition containing:

(i) from about 0.1% to about 50% by weight of at least one weak non-hydroxide base; and (ii) remainder, to 100%, of a cosmetically acceptable medium;

(c) optionally, rinsing the hair straightening/relaxing composition from the hair;

(d) optionally, contacting the treated hair with a non-volatile oil, to form treated hair; and

(e) smoothing the treated hair using a combination of heat and means for physically smoothing hair.

Other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients and/or reaction conditions, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about”.

It has been surprisingly found that by employing the process of the present invention, straightening/relaxing of hair can be achieved in a manner which is less harmful to a user's skin and hair than conventional hair straightening/relaxing processes.

Conventional products, which employ large amounts of hydroxide, have a tendency to cause skin irritation, as well as damage to the hair itself, due to the use of large amounts of hydroxide in said products. However, by first pre-alkalizing the hair, followed by treating it with a weak non-hydroxide base product, and then smoothing the hair by employing a combination of heat and means for physically smoothing the hair, satisfactory straightening/relaxing of the hair can be achieved in a manner that is less harmful to both skin and hair.

The pre-alkalizing step of the present invention involves the use of an alkaline composition having a pH ranging from about 8.0 to about 10.5, preferably from about 8.5 to about 9.5. Any conventional base, whether alkaline hydroxide or non-hydroxide, may be employed so long as it results in the formation of an alkaline composition having the above-disclosed pH range. The precise amount of conventional base used will depend on the specific base(s) chosen. Once the hair has been pre-alkalized, the alkaline composition may, optionally, be rinsed-off.

The purpose of the pre-alkalizing step is to open the hair cuticle, thereby rendering it more susceptible to the subsequent penetration of the non-hydroxide base. This in turn renders the hair straightening/relaxing process more efficient and less time-consuming.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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