Understanding the chemistry behind your hair may be one of the most important ways to maximize your hair health, especially while bleaching, dyeing, and treating your hair. The pH scale helps us see how acidic or basic or alkaline any substance is; 0 being acidic, 7 being neutral, and 14 being basic/alkaline.
YOUR HAIR
Natural healthy hair has a pH level of around 4-5.5, which is quite acidic. Your scalp has an even lower pH of 3.5-4. This is a very healthy level, where your hair cuticle is closed and protecting the inner part of your hair which houses your natural colour pigments. Once you use products on your hair that have a pH of 5 or higher, this causes the cuticle to open up and become more porous.
PH AND CLOSING/OPENING YOUR HAIR CUTICLES
Anything with a pH of 6 or higher will start to open up those hair cuticles. The higher the pH of the substance used on your hair, the more it will affect your hair's porosity. Shower water can range from 6.5 - 8 so to prevent excess damage it is better to ensure you are using "soft" water (acidic or low pH). The more basic the water, this can increase porosity, breakage, friction, and damage.
As a reference, hair bleach has a pH of 9-10 (our
Attitude Ghosted is a 9) and will open your hair fully to be able to remove its natural colour and create space for the artificial hair dye pigments. This is why you should always
bleach your hair before dyeing, and
take care of it afterward to close the cuticles and lock in the colour. Anything above 10 will destroy your hair, such as drain cleaner with a pH of 14, which is made to dissolve hair!
Standard shampoos have a pH balance (between 4 and 8) which opens the hair cuticles to get dirt and oils out. Unfortunately, this will sometimes also take out semi-permanent colour. This is because the shampoos with pH 6 or above are opening the protective layer and the artificial pigment gets washed away more easily. Especially regular shampoos that aren’t made for these artificial hair colours, such as Andrelon. Using a shampoo made for coloured hair often means it has a lower pH and will decrease the chance of your dye being washed out quickly.
The
Holyplex range is specifically made for dyed hair, so it has a lower pH (3-4) which ensures the hair follicles stay closed while still cleansing and nourishing the damaged hair.
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