Afro caribbean hair products

Afro Caribbean Hair Products
The following section discusses various products traditionally used by consumers with tightly curly hair.
Relaxers - There are three main types of relaxers:
- Lye relaxer (based on sodium hydroxide)
- No-lye relaxer (based on guanidine carbonate)
- Sensitive Skin relaxer (based on guanidine carbonate but at lower
concentration levels. For sensitive scalp/skin).
All relaxers, however, are harsh, since they have a high pH and must break disulfide bonds. At the end of the process, a neutralizing shampoo is used to reduce the pH of the hair, preventing additional damage and breakage. To prevent the scalp from losing too much moisture during a relaxer treatment, it is a common practice to deeply condition hair before applying the relaxer.


Neutralizing Shampoo's - All types of relaxers are high-pH systems. When the relaxer treatment is complete, the hair is in a highly alkaline state. After the relaxer is rinsed off, a neutralizing shampoo is used to bring the hair back to the normal pH range (pH 4 to 6). A neutralizing shampoo is acidic in nature, having a pH around 4.5–6.0. Neutralizing shampoos contain mild surfactants, since both the hair and scalp are chemically compromised, and these products are expected to do more than just adjust the pH. They are also expected to help condition
the hair by aiding in de-tangling and adding softness to the hair. Therefore, neutralizing shampoos contain polymeric conditioners.
Cleansing Shampoo's - Tightly curly hair is difficult to comb due to the nature of the hair. In order to prevent damage from the increased force required to work the comb or brush through the tress, either when wet or dry, conditioning agents are required. These products can
be rinse-off or leave-on conditioners. Deep conditioners such as the intensive hair conditioning mask are especially suited to prevent
hair damage. Efficient conditioning polymers must help reduce the work necessary to pass the comb through the hair.
Conditioners - Mild cleansing shampoos are used to clean the hair when it becomes soiled. Because of the curl structure of tightly curly hair, it does not become coated with sebum as readily as other hair types do, and it is generally very dry. This dryness makes the hair
very difficult to comb when wet or, even when it is dry. As a result, a cleansing shampoo must do more than just clean, it must contain conditioning polymers to help de-tangle the tress. If efficient conditioning agents are not incorporated, the hair will become tangled requiring more mechanical force to comb through, leading to hair breakage.

Afro Caribbean Hair Products
Whether the hairstyle is relaxed and straight, curly, or braided, maintenance products are required to maintain the style in between cleansing treatments or a trip to the stylist. The most common products are instant moisturizing sprays and curl activators. These products are used to remoisturize the hair and revitalize the curl. Maintenance products like Hair Food, an intensive moisturizing conditioning treatment, are another popular way to add moisture back to the hair, and are especially suited to repair damaged hair. Many styling products like wraps and gels are being used in place of heat to style hair initially or help maintain the style.

Oils, pomades, brilliantines: Afro Caribbean hair benefits from emollient or oil to assist in grooming or to alleviate dry, itchy, scaly scalp conditions. This form of hair dressing are usually mixtures of oils and waxes and are applied immediately after or between shampooing to keep the hair and scalp from drying out and to provide good combability and lustre. Pomades consist primarily of petrolatum, lanolin, mineral oil, olive oil, perfume.

Activators: are specifically designed for curls. A curl activator is usually a light conditioner containing a combination of oils and humectants which makes the hair soft and bouncy without making it too heavy.

Styling gels: These products dry rapidly on the hair and are normally used for stiffer hair arrangements.

Oil sheen spray: is another form of comb-out conditioner used by consumers who desire a high degree of hair sheen. It is customarily applied after the hair has been styled (including braiding) and may contain oils such as lanolin derivatives and silicones.

Finishing spritz or holding spray: is often applied as a final step. Such products, when marketed to the ethnic market,are carefully formulated so that they do not dry the hair significantly. This is accomplished by using less ethanol and more emollients or oils.

Styling lotions:are applied to towel-dried or dry hair prior to the use of a blow-dryer, curlers, or hairpins. These substances usually contain water, copolymers, PVP, some quarternium salts, and fragrance. They usually have a thin consistency but may add body to the hair.

Mousses are foaming hair styling aids. They also contain copolymers to style the hair but are not as heavy as gels. Often they are used to supply a ‘wet’ look to the hair.
Weaves and synthetic hair are very popular, many styles for Afro Caribbean's specific hairstyles are being created. e.g. for holding braids tightly together while conditioning and preventing dryness; soften and remove dandruff and moisturize the scalp and soothe itching for braids, dreads, extensions, weaves and natural and synthetic hair.

Leave in Sprays and Oil sheen Sprays: with essential oils and soft hold properties provided by VP/VA polymers are becoming available for conditioning and finishing.

Conditioning “wrap” and Set Lotions incorporate silk amino acids, polyquaternium, dimethicone and polysorbate and are used on wet, freshly shampooed hair as a styling aid and can be used to “refresh” a style between shampoos.
Compared to 10 years ago, the amount of ethnic hair care products on the market has increased dramatically, offering Afro Caribbean's a wider variety product selection.