Essay On Cosmetology

Being a Cosmetologist seems simple enough, many aspiring stylists are often only mesmerized by the fashionable styles and colors but what most don’t realize is that science and cosmetology go hand in hand. There is more to hair than what meets the eye. When people look at different types of hair they tend to only see curly, kinky or straight. They lack the knowledge that it is the chemical bonds in our hair that give us our hair type. The curlier or kinkier a person’s hair is the more chemical bonds they have. If someone has straight hair and desires curly hair, then more chemical bonds would have to be created. Not only do genetics make our hair types but chemistry plays a predominate role as well. Each day many people around the world alter their hair chemically using chemical relaxers and perms. When a person with curly hair desires straight hair they get relaxers which has the key ingredient sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Sodium Hydroxide breaks down the hair bonds in textured hair with an end result of straight hair. A hair relaxer is so strong that in order to bring your hair back to a normal state of its original curliness is to cut the relaxed hair so new bonds can reform. Perms are commonly used by white women (as well as men) with straight hair. A chemical called ammonium thioglycollate which is a solution of salt, thioglycolic acid and ammonia (HSCH2COO− + NH4+ ⇌ HSCH2COOH + NH3) activates to create wave
patterns in the hair and is commonly used as an alternative to curling hair. One of most popular hair fads today is permanent hair coloring, all cosmetologist must know the chemistry of color in order to give their customer’s the most satisfying end result.
All hair dye has a ‘main ingredient’ and that is p-diamines or p-aminophenols which are both oxidized by hydrogen peroxide that react to produce dyes. Bleaching, is a way to remove color by lightening the hair. Bleach reacts with the melanin to remove the color away causing an irreversible chain reaction. Although the melanin is still there the oxidized molecules are
colorless