Straight Hair with Chemicals

Straightening combs would result in straight hair, but the hair would get curly again in high humidity and water. It was a time consuming process that did not always leave the hair looking bouncy and flowing.

Meanwhile, Caucasian women were ironing their hair to make it straight. They would actually lay their hair on an ironing board and use the same hot iron used on clothes to iron, or straighten, their hair. Remember, it wasn't until the late 1960s that afros for African American women, or curly hair for Caucasian women came in vogue. The struggle to achieve straight hair made for some strange methods.

In the mid-1960s a chemical straightening product was developed called Curl Free. It was a hair relaxer product that was applied and combed through the hair, and after a short amount of time, thoroughly rinsed out of the hair. It was basically created for the curly hair of Caucasian women, but worked on African American hair that was not excessively curly, as well as on Latino hair. Now, this was the best hair straightener on the market.

This chemical process meant that the hair was straight for a longer period of time. After six weeks the new growth roots of the hair were touched up with the chemical. After washing, the hair was either straightened with a blow dryer or set in curlers until it dried. It was wonderful, but if not used correctly the chemicals could burn out the hair at the roots, or cause severe breakage of the hair.

African American women soon found that companies were making this chemical hair straightener in strengths that would straighten even the curliest of hair. This finally gave women the ability to wear straight hair that was also bouncy and healthy-looking. The hair could be styled in ways that were not excessively curly, and the straightened hair would last up to two months before the roots had to be touched up with more relaxer.

These chemical relaxers use a high pH to get the hair straight. The original formulas contained sodium hydroxide, or lye, to break down the hair shaft and make it straight. No-lye relaxers worked the same. While they may not contain sodium hydroxide, they do contain guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide, which when combined creates hydroxide ions just like lye. Chemical relaxers also contain ingredients that soften and add shine to the hair.

Again, chemical relaxers were used by all women, but were more popular in ethnic communities. But, women wanted to get away from the harmful lye chemicals. Many products that professed to straighten the hair have come and gone. They were heavily marketed on infomercials, but once the hair started falling out or getting damaged, suddenly the products would disappear forever.

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