Cuticular Damage to African-American Hair During Relaxer Treatments: A Microfluorometric and SEM Study

The study aimed to characterize and quantify the chemical and physical changes in African-American hair caused by lye-based and no-lye relaxer treatments. Using microfluorometric techniques with Rhodamine B and SEM imaging, the researchers detected and mapped relaxer-induced changes in hair surface chemistry and topography. They found that relaxer treatments led to increased delipidation and acidification of the hair surface, which correlated with damage observed in the hair's physical structure. The study concluded that there were clear differences in damage levels between lab-made and commercial relaxer solutions, with the goal of identifying the least damaging product for hair straightening.