The present invention is directed to a method of permanently waving hair. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a method of permanently waving hair using very short processing times and very low concentrations of treatment chemicals.
Human hair is made up of selected keratin amino acids. The inner part of hair consists of bundles of spindle-shaped protein fibers that make up the cortex. The cortex is surrounded and protected by a shield consisting of multiple layers of scales called cuticles. Water is one of the main components of hair, which provides pliability, manageability, natural feel and look. Healthy hair contains about 10% moisture in it. Hair treated repeatedly with permanent colors, highlights, bleaches, and perms tends to have less moisture in it. Lack of moisture in hair will result in dryness, dullness, harshness, breakage, static flyaways, etc.
When hair is in contact with water, it can absorb a considerable amount of water due to the inherent porosity of hair. Untreated normal hair can absorb water up to an additional 20 to 30% of the weight of hair, depending on the person""s origin, health, food, climate, etc. Permed, tinted and bleached hair types can absorb water up to an additional 30 to 50% of the weight of hair, depending on the level of damage or porosity created in hair by the chemical services. Hair can get saturated with water on contact in about 15 to 45 minutes. The ease of saturation depends on the condition and openings in the outer cuticle layers which protect hair. The hair gets saturated with water quickly if the outer cuticles are damaged, ruptured or erupted, allowing water to penetrate easily. The presence of cysteic acid in and around hair also induces absorption and saturation of hair with water.
Permanent waving and the art of creating a permanent curl in straight hair through waving products are well known to the perm industry. Perming or waving action takes place in the cortex of hair where the cross-linking cystine is present. Cystine is the main amino acid involved in perming. Breaking of the disulfide bond of cystine into half-cystine units is the first step in perming (reduction) that is achieved by processing the hair that is wound onto a perm-rod with the waving lotion containing thio compounds such as thioglycolic or thiolactic acids, salts or esters, cysteine and its derivatives, cysteamine and its derivatives, inorganic sulfites and bisulfites, etc. The broken half-cystine units slowly tend to rearrange and align according to the shape of the perm-rod during the time of processing and also while rinsing away the waving lotion from hair. Relinking of the aligned half-cystine units and restoring of the original hair with a curl configuration is the second step (oxidation) that is achieved by a neutralizer.
The rate of perming action depends on the type of waving formulation, the amount or concentration of waving ingredients reacting with the disulfide bond of cystine in hair, the time of reaction and the conditions of reaction, like processing at room temperature or under a dryer, processing with or without the plastic cap, etc.
Prior to a conventional perming, the hairdresser gives one or two shampoos to the perm-client to remove dirt and coatings caused by styling products on the hair. Similarly, home permanent users also shampoo hair prior to wrapping. The hair is then towel blotted enough to have the right dampness to wrap on to the perm-rod with ease. Water is frequently misted onto the hair to maintain the right moisture in the hair while wrapping. After the completion of wrapping, a final mist of water also is given to make sure that the wound hair is uniformly moist. Depending on the length and density of the hair, it takes about 30 to 45 minutes per person for shampooing and wrapping. This means that by the above wrapping procedure, the hair to be permed is in contact with water for about 30 to 45 minutes. Thus, the wrapped hair gets saturated in and around with a good amount of water even before the application of perming products to the hair. At this stage the waving lotion is applied to the wrapped hair.
Several problems with prior art perming methods may be identified. These problems generally originate in the typical amount of water present in the wound hair to be permed. These problems include:
1. Waving lotion applied to wrapped hair that is saturated with water has a hard time penetrating through the cuticles into the cortex. The waving lotion reaching the ends of hair through osmosis also will be delayed by this absorbed water.
2. The delayed penetration of waving lotion causes spillage and wastage of waving lotion while applying to the wound hair that is saturated with water because hair cannot hold any more product beyond the limit.
3. Spilling of the strong waving lotion can cause skin contact, which can create allergic reactions, itching, redness, etc.
4. The delayed penetration of waving lotion unnecessarily delays the perming action and lengthens the processing time.
5. While waiting to penetrate through the cuticles, the waving lotion keeps reacting with the outer cuticles for an extended period of time causing cuticle damage. If the cuticles are very compact and closed as in normal untreated hair, the penetration time is much longer. This means that the waving lotion will attack the cuticles for a much longer time. On the contrary, if the cuticles are already damaged and open as in the case of bleached, highlighted, and repeatedly tinted hair types, the lotion penetration will be somewhat faster. Still, a lot of cuticle damage can occur on such fragile hair types, which are vulnerable to attack.
6. Besides the delay in lotion penetration, the applied waving lotion also gets diluted or weaker in strength by the water loaded in and around the hair.
7. To compensate for the delayed penetration, spillage, and weakening of waving lotion caused by the saturating water, a very strong and aggressive waving lotion, a long processing time and very often, heat activation become necessary for the conventional perms in order to produce a satisfactory perm result.
8. The combinations of high strength waving lotion, long processing times and heat activation cause hair damages, safety problems and strong malodor in the salon.
It would then be desirable to have a new perming method that improves permanent waving of hair as compared with prior art methods.
The present invention includes various concepts, techniques, formulations and related products for an innovative perming system, to achieve desirable perm results in a safe way. The present invention also discloses solutions to eliminate many negatives of conventional perming. Included are benefits of the perming method of the present invention to the environment, perm-clients, hairdressers, and manufacturers. The following objects of the invention are new and different from that of conventional perming:
1. The present invention enables the presently used waving ingredient groups like thioglycolates, thiolactates, bisulfites, natural cysteine and its derivatives, cysteamine and its derivatives, and the combination of the above mentioned groups to provide great perm results in a very short time at a concentration or strength that is about 50 to 75% less than the conventional waving lotions.
2. The present invention maximizes the benefits by virtually removing or minimizing all the negatives associated with conventional perming. To correct the problems of delayed penetration, dilution and spilling of waving lotion in the conventional perming, the new invention recommends application of waving lotion to the wound hair that is dry or essentially dry. This way, the lotion penetrates at once without any restriction into the cortex of hair, evenly from root to end with least spillage, wastage or dilution. The ultra mild waving lotion will be able to do the perming most effectively and evenly in a very short time at room temperature without any heat activation. The benefits of ultra mild lotion, least spilling, very short room temperature processing and very short lotion contact time with the scalp and hair means that it is the safest perming for the client and safest and least damaging treatment for the hair.
3. Similarly, the present invention enables the regularly used oxidizing or neutralizing ingredients like hydrogen peroxide or sodium bromate to provide great perm results at a concentration that is about 50 to 60% less than the conventional neutralizers on the market.
4. The optional perm enhancer of the invention which is designed and formulated with selected surfactants, polymers, chelators, conditioners, moisturizers, proteins, hair nutrients, etc. will enhance perming in many ways.
5. The built-in cleansing and chelating systems in both the waving formulations and the perm enhancer will eliminate the need for shampooing prior to perming. (Excessive minerals or coating build-ups may need appropriate treatment or shampooing prior to perming.)
These and other objectives of the present invention will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon reading the following specification and claims.
In conventional perming, hair is shampooed once or twice, towel-blotted enough to have the right dampness and then wrapped onto the perm-rod. At this stage, the amount of this saturating water is rather large, which will dilute the applied waving lotion to a considerable level. Since the wound hair goes over the perm-rod many times depending on the hair length and the rod size, the dilution will not be instantaneously uniform from the root to the end of the wrapped hair. This dilution or weakening of waving lotion leads to a longer processing time. In addition, this situation creates a need for a much stronger lotion for the conventional perming not only to compensate for the dilution of waving lotion, but also for the spillage of waving lotion and the delayed penetration of the lotion due to the saturating water in and around hair.
As further described herein, shampooing and wrapping of hair during conventional perming saturates hair with water, which obstructs the penetration of the applied waving lotion, causes spillage and also dilutes or weakens the waving lotion. To avoid these problems, the method of the present invention does not require shampooing of hair that is reasonably clean prior to wrapping. If the hair is heavily coated with styling products or loaded with minerals, hair should be given a cleansing treatment or multiple shampoos and dried well using a blowdryer or diffuser prior to wrapping or dried well using a salon dryer after wrapping.
Various tools or devices for wrapping may be used with the methods of the present invention. These wrapping devices include but are not limited to (i) regular penn-rods for firmer and tighter or softer curls (ii) Velcro rollers or plastic nets for softer curls. The regular penn-rods and end papers can be used. The perm-rods, which facilitate rinsing and air circulation will be preferred. Likewise, end papers with small perforations will be preferred because they will help rinsing and air circulation, especially at the ends of the wound hair to remove moisture evenly from root to end during the creep step. A plurality of wrapping devices is used in penning hair, the number of wrapping devices depending upon various factors including the length of hair, texture, etc. Typically, about 40-50 perm rods would be used to perm a head of hair.
Hair may be wrapped dry or essentially dry, with a minimum of water or other forms of moisture such as the enhancer described in more detail herein. By essentially dry, it is meant that while the hair may contain some moisture, the moisture is only that which may be retained by the hair at equilibrium with the ambient air, or a some small amount that is added to control the hair and prevent static fly away and aid in combing the hair. It is much less moisture than would be present in hair subsequent to shampooing, rinsing and towel drying the hair, and is generally significantly lower than the point at which hair is saturated with water. Generally, essentially dry is meant to include all of the added moisture contents of hair that are about 10 percent by weight moisture or less. At this moisture level, hair is manageable and easily combed or wrapped, but is not soaked and therefore does not contain a moisture content sufficient to cause significant delay in penetration of waving lotion or significant dilution of waving lotion.
Thus, to prevent static flyaway during wrapping, water or other forms of moisture may be added to the hair in small amounts by misting or otherwise applying. The amount of moisture added will generally be small and the hair will remain in an essentially dry state while wrapping and before application of the waving lotion.
While hair may be wrapped dry or essentially dry with a minimum of plain water, an optional perm enhancer solution may be utilized during the wrapping step instead of or in addition to plain water. There are many benefits when the perm enhancer is used for wrapping. Untreated normal hair is hydrophobic in nature and tends to repel the wetting of water or water solutions without good wetting agents. The hydrophobicity of hair is due to the very chemical nature of the cuticle, which is made up of a special blend of keratin amino acids, especially the insoluble cystine, and also due to a thin layer of protective oil on the hair. Besides the hydrophobicity, the cuticles are compact and lay flat especially for normal hair, making it hard for the waving lotion to wet and then penetrate into the hair. Wetting can be achieved on repeated applications, but that will result in lotion spillage. The perm enhancer containing wetting, moisturizing, setting, conditioning, protecting, chelating and cleansing ingredients for easy combing and wrapping, uniform setting, quick wetting and penetration may be used advantageously to get even and optimum curl results.
The perming method of the present invention includes the following options to wrap hair: (1) most preferably, the hair can be wrapped onto the perm-rod or Velcro roller easily, misting the perm enhancer sparingly and evenly to the essentially dry hair up to about 10% of the weight of hair. This will offer many benefits to the hair. (2) Hair can be wrapped on to perm-rods or Velcro rollers misting water sparingly and evenly to the essentially dry hair up to about 10% of the weight of hair. There may be some difficulty in combing and wrapping when water misting is used. (3) The dry hair can be wrapped onto rods or Velcro rollers as such. There will be static, flyaway problems and also difficulty in wetting, combing and unevenness in wrapping when dry hair is wrapped as such. Therefore, in one embodiment the use of enhancer for wrapping achieves desirable perm results.
It is desirable to mist an optimum amount of perm enhancer or water to the hair for wrapping. If an excess amount is used, a weaker curl may result. In that event, after the completion of wrapping, the client can be placed under a salon dryer at medium setting for about 5 to 10 minutes to remove the excess moisture from the wrapped hair. Instead of a dryer, a diffuser or any other heating device also can be used for the same purpose without disturbing the wrapped hair. A salon dryer is preferred for even results. There is no need for any drying if the right amount of moisture (less than about 10% of the weight of the hair) is left in the hair. The wrapped hair must only be slightly moist but not wet.
The ultra gentle waving lotion used in the present invention is applied evenly to the top of all the wound hair first, then to the bottom, and finally to the middle of each wound hair. A cotton strip can be advantageously used, gently touching the wrapped hair while applying to contain lotion.
The waving lotions that may be used include all those that are well known in the art, including aqueous waving lotions suitable for alkaline perms, acid perms, perms having neutral pH, and perms using buffered alkaline waving lotions. Waving lotions generally contain one or more reducing agents such as thioglycolic or thiolactic acids and their derivative salts and esters, cysteine and its derivatives, cysteamine and its derivatives, inorganic sulfites, and bisulfites. Suitable waving lotions for the present invention include about 1 to about 12 percent by weight, as thioglycolic acid, of at least one reducing agent. Alternatively, the waving lotion may contain from about 1 to about 8 percent by weight, as thioglycolic acid, of at least one reducing agent. The waving lotion also contains alkaline ingredients such as ammonium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, monoethanolamine, borax, ammonium carbonate, and ammonium bicarbonate. The waving lotion may contain alkaline ingredients in a total concentration ranging from about 0.02 to about 1 percent by weight, expressed as ammonia. Alternatively, the waving lotion may contain a total concentration of alkaline ingredients of from about 0.02 to about 0.7 percent by weight, expressed as ammonia. For waving lotions suitable for alkaline perms or perms having a neutral pH, the pH of the waving lotion is in a range of about 7 to about 9.5. For waving lotions suitable for acid perms, the pH is in a range of about 6.5 to about 8.5. Additionally, for waving lotions suitable for acid perms, from about 1 to about 10 percent by weight of glycerylmonothioglycolate (GMT) is used. Generally, all waving lotions may contain one or more of various additives including chelating agents, cleansing herbs, anionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, nonionic surfactants, buffering agents, proteins, botanical extracts, amino acids and fragrances.
A processing cap may be used to cover all the wound hair to achieve desirable results. A cap may not be needed when fragile hair types are processed instantly giving a xe2x80x9czeroxe2x80x9d processing time or using very short processing times of 1 or 2 minutes.
After securing the cap, the hair is processed at room temperature. Heat activation is optional; room temperature processing is preferrable for safety and comfort. The processing times for the method of the present invention are typically much shorter than those typically used in conventional perming. The processing times with waving lotion using the method of the present invention are from about 0 to about 6 minutes for normal hair, from about 0 to about 5 minutes for tinted hair, and from 0 to about 3 minutes for bleached hair. Generally, no more than about 20 minutes, at most, is required for processing the hair with waving lotion. Alternatively, no more than about 10 minutes is required for processing the hair with waving lotion. This compares with typical salon processing times using conventional methods of about 20 to about 30 minutes for normal hair, from about 10 to about 20 minutes for tinted hair, and from about 5 to about 15 minutes for bleached hair.
The processing times for the present invention are considerably shorter than that of the conventional perms. The processing time will generally depend on, among other considerations, the strength of the waving lotion and the type of curl desired. Very good curl results can be achieved using a processing time of about 3 minutes or less for retail home permanents.
After processing with waving lotion, a thorough warm-water rinse is given for about 3 to about 5 minutes to the hair that is still wound onto perm-rods. After a thorough blotting with cotton and paper towels, misting of a pre-conditioner to the well-blotted hair prior to or after the creeping is optional. The pre-conditioner provides extra conditioning to dry, coarse hair types.
The client is then placed under a preheated dryer to creep at medium setting (50-60xc2x0 C.) without a cap for about 5 to about 15 minutes, depending on the length and density of hair. Creeping creates a change in shape as a result of constant stress and higher temperature. The processed hair on the rod is at constant stress and the dryer heat enhances the realignment of the half-cystine units for the most efficient relinking of the sulfur-sulfur bonds to give a superior curl configuation, and also removes about 35 to about 40% of the moisture from the processed hair for instant and complete neutralization. The degree of realignment depends on the right temperature and the creep time. This beneficial realignment, or creep step is generally not used in conventional perming. The invention recommends the following creep times for desirable curl results:
about 10 minutes for average hair density and length (4-8 inches)
about 15 minutes for very dense or very long hair (over 8 inches long)
about 5 minutes for sparse or very short hair (less than 4 inches long)
After the creep, the wrapped hair is left to rest for about 2 minutes to equilibrate the moisture and temperature of hair from root to end prior to neutralizing.
Heat radiating heating lamps and roller ball or a diffuser also may be used for creeping instead of a dryer. Use of a salon hair dryer is desirable because of its typical availability in salons and because heating and moisture removal will be reasonably uniform with a dryer.
Generally, it has been found that a 10-minute creep for sparse (a section of hair that weighs about 1 gram) or short hair (about 4 inches or shorter) is excessive because the percentage of moisture removed from hair will be over 50% and possibly the amount of air neutralization introduced also will be too high. Consequently, the curl level and curl longevity both will drop considerably if the creep time is excessive. For desirable results, the following conditions and timings for sparse and short hair are used: (1) 5-minute creep without a cap under a dryer at medium setting (2) 7-minute creep without a cap under a dryer at low setting (3) let the client rest at room temperature without a cap for 30 to 40 minutes. These creep times and conditions provide desirable alignment and amount of moisture removal (35 to 40%) from the processed, damp hair for an instant neutralization without much air neutralization occurring simultaneously.
The percentage of moisture removed during creep for both normal density and sparse hair varies slightly depending on the perm-rod size. A medium size perm-rod, having a diameter of 1.15 cm removes about 1% more moisture while a large size perm-rod, having a diameter of 1.46 cm removes about 2% more moisture than the small size perm-rod, having a diameter of 0.83 cm. These small differences are apparently due to the area of the wrapped hair on the rod, which is exposed to heat during the creep step. But these differences in moisture removal are not sufficient to make any difference in curl results. A xe2x80x9ccoldxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cair-onlyxe2x80x9d setting of a dryer also can be used by letting the client sit under a dryer. The cold air blowing on the damp hair for about 15 to about 20 minutes may remove enough moisture but the cold air will be uncomfortable for the client. The alignment obtained using cold air is typically inferior to that obtained with heat.
The curl stabilization (xe2x80x9ccreepxe2x80x9d) step prior to the actual neutralization is effective to achieve a better realignment of broken disulfide bonds and better rebonding to provide firmer, springier and lasting curls. The xe2x80x9ccreepxe2x80x9d step also removes about 35 to 40% of the moisture from the processed damp, hair in 10 minutes, de-swells hair and brings the half-cysteine units closer for better realignment, and better and faster neutralization. The ten-minute creep time under a dryer without a cap, for average hair length and density is most favorable for the following reasons: (1) 10 minutes is a reasonably short and affordable time in a salon. (2) 10 minutes under a dryer should not be uncomfortable for a client. (3) 10 minute xe2x80x9ccreepxe2x80x9d creates an optimum amount of moisture loss, realignment, and air neutralization for an effective instant neutralization to provide long lasting, great curls. (4) Longer creep times like 20 to 60 minutes favorably remove about 50 to 80% of moisture, which is good for instant neutralization, but a lot more air neutralization occurs in processed hair which adversely affects the curl levels and longevity. Too much air neutralization seems to create enough, but to some extent a loose rebonding in hair, which renders actual neutralization somewhat ineffective. The curl comes out weaker and relaxes faster than creeping for 10 minutes without a cap under the dryer.
A creep study was done using a processing cap and caps with pinholes up to about 60 minutes time. Best results were achieved when creeped with a cap for 60 minutes under a dryer at medium setting. It was noticed that about 40% of moisture in the damp hair distills out of the damp hair and deposits on the cap in 60-minute creeping. Thus, hair becomes partly dry similar to the hair creeped for about 10 minutes without a cap, and makes instant neutralization equally effective.
The processed hair that was creeped identically with a cap for 60 minutes, but not neutralized also gave reasonably good curls with slightly less curl longevity, yet better than conventional curls. When creeped with a cap, the amount of air neutralization occurring in processed hair will be limited because the cap will restrict airflow. But an enhanced realignment achieved by the long 60-minute creep time and the dryer heat is mainly responsible for such curl results without the neutralization. Creeping for 60 minutes with a cap under a dryer is not practical in a salon and also will not be comfortable or safe for the client.
Generally, creeping the hair in the presence of air will result in a moisture reduction of about 20 to 80 percent. Alternately, about 30 to 50 percent moisture reduction gives desirable results.
The ultra gentle neutralizer is applied the same way the waving lotion is applied as described earlier to the creeped hair still on the perm-rods. Application of neutralizer to a full head of hair takes about 3 minutes. The neutralizer penetrates into the partially dry hair instantly, and the rebonding or oxidation occurs instantly, so there is no need for additional waiting time besides the about 3-minute application time of the neutralizer. In comparison, conventional neutralizing requires about 5 minutes of waiting time to enable the neutralizer to penetrate into the wound damp hair. Effectively, the waiting time for the method of the present invention is essentially zero minutes, since in effect some time may elapse between final application of the neutralizer and final removal of the perm rods and rinse. However, no time is required for this waiting period.
The neutralizer used generally contains ingredients well known in the art. The neutralizer, or neutralizing lotion, is an aqueous solution of an oxidizing agent. The oxidizing agent may include hydrogen peroxide, sodium bromate, potassium bromate, or sodium perborate, among others. Hydrogen peroxide may be used in a concentration of from about 0.5 to about 3 percent by weight. Alternatively, the oxidizing agent is used in a concentration of from about 0.8 to about 1.2 percent by weight, at a pH of about 2.6 to about 3.6. Oxidizing agents other than hydrogen peroxide may be used at concentrations of similar oxidizing strength, as would be apparent to one of skill in the art.
After neutralization, the perm-rods are gently removed from the hair, and the left-over neutralizer is applied to the ends of curled hair and crunched gently for about a minute to be doubly sure of a complete neutralization. The curled hair is then thoroughly rinsed with lukewarm water for about 3 to about 5 minutes.
Optimized curls with excellent spring, depth, feel, and longevity are obtained using the methods of the present invention. The wound hair is maintained at an almost dry, or essentially dry, stage while applying the waving lotion and partially dry for the neutralizer to enable rapid penetration of product into the cortex. The ultra gentle waving lotion and neutralizer have less than half the strength of a conventional waving lotion and neutralizer, yet effective and safe perming is obtained in less than one-fourth of the processing time taken by conventional perms.
While in one embodiment the present invention is described as including the steps of wrapping essentially dry hair onto wrapping devices, applying waving lotion, processing the hair, creeping, and neutralizing, the methods of the present invention are not so limited. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the steps of wrapping, applying the waving lotion, and processing are most essential to the invention. While some form of neutralization is generally desirable, creep may be used instead of or in addition to neutralization to obtain desirable results. The creeping and neutralizing steps may of course both be implemented in a most successful perm using the present invention, but useful results may be obtained using creep alone, neutralization alone, or a combination of creep and neutralization, in addition to the essential steps of wrapping essentially dry hair onto wrapping devices, applying waving lotion, and processing the hair.
The perm enhancer may be formulated as an aqueous combination of one or more additives including surfactants (anionic, cationic, nonionic or amphoteric), naturally derived or synthetic polymers (anionic, cationic or nonionic), amino acids, botanical extracts, proteins from vegetable or animal sources, conditioning, moisturizing and chelating agents. The total concentration of additives in the enhancer is from about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight. The pH of the perm enhancer is advantageously from about 3 to about 9; the pH of the perm Enhancer is more advantageously from about 4 to about 7 in order to control the swelling of hair while perming.
Dry hair may be wrapped onto the perm-rods, preferably misting the dry hair with enhancer or wrapping dry hair as such without any enhancer or other moisture. Although the curl levels are good and similar with or without the use of enhancer, other desirable benefits are obtained when the enhancer is used for wrapping. These benefits include: (1) improved combing and detangling of hair; (2) improved control of hair and removal of static flyaways; (3) easier and more even wrapping; (4) more rapid wetting and penetration of waving lotion into hair; (5) reduced spillage of waving lotion while applying; (6) cleaner hair; (7) extra protection and conditioning to penned hair, especially for fragile hair types like bleached, frosted and overly tinted hair types; (8) infusion of hair nutrients like amino acids, proteins, moisturizers, etc., that are beneficial to the hair to be permed.
The enhancer is sparingly applied onto the dry hair evenly, just enough to create a very thin coating of product on the hair. Various methods of applications of enhancer or other moisture may be used, including misting and dropwise application. While further discussion of the application is specific to misting, the application is not so limited. After misting, the hair is combed well to remove any tangles and to spread product evenly from root to end, and then wrapped onto the perm-rod. Approximately 0.2 grams of enhancer is used for about 2 grams of hair (about 10% of the weight of the hair) that is to be wrapped onto a perm-rod. A total of about 5 to 10 grams of enhancer can be used for a full-head wrapping, depending on the length and density of hair. First, the major portion of the enhancer can be applied onto the whole head to free tangles and to spread product evenly from root to end by combing, followed by additional misting of enhancer or water as needed for wrapping hair onto each perm-rod. As much as one half of the applied enhancer may evaporate from the hair leaving only about half the amount of product staying on hair 15 minutes after wrapping. A little more enhancer can be misted onto fragile tinted and bleached hair for extra protection. Care should be taken not to overmist or saturate hair with the enhancer, which may result in weaker curls. Wrapped hair with applied enhancer may be at least partially dried prior to waving lotion application for 5 to 10 minutes under a salon dryer or using a diffuser or any other drying device to remove any excess moisture to get consistent curl results. A salon dryer may be advantageously used for even results.
Optionally, a preconditioner may be used especially for dry, coarse hair to provide extra conditioning and other beneficial hair nutrients for a healthy penned hair. The preconditioner is formulated with selected wetting, conditioning and moisturizing ingredients, which are compatible with the neutralizer. Beneficial hair nutrients like botanical extracts and amino acids may also be incorporated in the formula.
The preconditioner, if used, is delivered in a fine mist from a spray bottle. It is sparingly and evenly misted onto all the wrapped hair about 5 times to cover all the wrapped hair just before or after the creep step.
The product and processing comparisons of the conventional perms and the perms of the present invention are very important to understand and appreciate the innovative concepts of the new invention. A comparison of the methods of the present invention and the methods of the prior art, conventional perms is shown in Table 1.
The low concentrations of waving chemicals used in the method of the present invention makes it safer than prior art perm methods. In the United States, about 50% of the perms used by professional salons are acid perms. However, there has been gradual decline in the use of acid perms elsewhere, especially in Europe because of the allergic response and sensitization problems of some clients"" scalp or skin caused by waving chemicals used in acid perms. Glycerylmonothioglycolate (GMT), the main waving ingredient of acid perms is responsible for the problems. Inspite of all the precautions taken to make acid perms safe, the problems still exists for some clients and hairdressers as well.
The reasons for the problems are quite apparent. GMT is not a strong waving chemical, but it perms the hair with less swelling and damage. GMT is forced to perform in the conventional acid perms in the following ways: (1) a large amount of GMT is used in conventional perms (2) a long processing time of about 20 to about 30 minutes for normal hair is not uncommon (3) heat activation is very often recommended for acid perms. Thus, the large amount of GMT, a longer processing time, which results in a longer contact time of waving lotion with the scalp, plus the heat activation, all add up to or intensify the problem and make it unsafe for many clients and hairdressers.
One of the aims of the methods of the present invention is to provide the superior perm performance while maintaining safety for clients, hairdressers, and also the environment. The present invention provides a solution in the following manner. For example, to perm untreated normal hair (1) the present invention uses about 12 grams of GMT (80% xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d) in an acid perm while many conventional acid perms use up to 36 grams. Effectively, from about 1 to about 10 percent by weight of GMT is used, expressed as equivalent of thioglycolic acid. That is, conventional acid perms use about 100 to 200% more GMT than the new invention. (2) The new invention perms the hair in a very short time of up to about 5 minutes while conventional perms process for 20 to 30 minutes. That is about 300 to 500% longer than the processing time of the new invention. (3) The new invention brings out desirable results using room temperature processing while the conventional perms often recommend heat activation up to 20 to 25 minutes.
The present invention also works for alkaline perms to achieve superior and the safe perms. About 5% by weight of thioglycolic acid is used, as compared with conventional alkaline perms using up to about 19% thioglycolic acid. About 0.5% of alkaline ingredients in both alkaline and acid perm formulas is used, as compared with conventional perms using up to 1.6% alkaline ingredients. In addition, about 1.0% hydrogen peroxide in the neutralizer is used for both alkaline and acid perms, while many conventional neutralizers contain up to 2.8% hydrogen peroxide. The low concentrations of waving chemicals and the short room temperature processing makes the present method safer than prior art methods. The concentration of waving chemicals is about 66 percent lower than for conventional, prior art perms, which reduces exposure of the client, client""s hair, the hairdresser, and the environment to the waving chemicals. The lower concentration of waving chemicals also decreases the amount of chemicals discharged to sewer systems.
While the method of the present invention as heretofore described has been directed to permanently waving hair, the method may generally also be applied to straighten hair. Generally, hair that has been permanently waved or naturally curly hair may be straightened using the methods of the present invention. As described herein, to straighten hair a waving lotion containing a relatively low concentration of at least one reducing agent is applied to essentially dry hair. The hair having the applied waving lotion is then combed or otherwise tensioned for up to about 10 minutes to allow sufficient bond breaking to occur, followed by neutralization. Similar benefits of essentially dry hair and low concentration of waving lotion are realized for straightening, or curl removal, as is seen for permanent waving of hair using the methods of the present invention.