coils_nhearts

Hi all! Ive been using Hello Hydration as a cowash since I did my BC. Ive been noticing the diameter of my curls has gotten a bit larger. From what I can gather HH has a Ph of 6-7. Isnt that a bit alkine for natural hair? Did HH just perm me on the low?

Ive also pressed my hair twice since I cut it. I have not had a perm in a year, and I was never one to get them religously so I dont see how I could have missed any processed ends during my chop. Is heat damage a more likely answer ?

Ive hear that DCing can help restore curls that have been Damaged. If not then I will do another chop ..eventually.

If HH is the problem, then will cowashing with a Ph of 4-5 solve my problem?

pprMACHEheart

Here's Elle's video where she discusses phs as well as cherry lola treatments . .. ‪The Cherry Lola Treatment and Baking Soda on Natural Hair‬‏ - YouTube

it'll inform you on PHs pretty well I think.

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FoxyGuide

A ph of 7 is considered neutral. Anything below 7 is acidic & anything above is alkaline.

Heat damage is possible since it really only takes one time to heat damage your hair. Unfortunately I know that from experience. Some have said that protein treatments can help restore the curl to heat damaged hair. It all depends on the extent of the damage.

Here is an little info on the benefits of using products with a ph of 3-3.5. hair Products Chemistry & a wiki article on ph pH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

coils_nhearts

Thanks for the links you guys ! Im going to try the protein treatments and see if those make a noticeable difference in my curl patter. If this doesn't work, then Ill chop as I grow. Thanks you guys!

*Marah*

Here's my personal experience:

I used HH before a long time ago and it did something odd with my curls too. My curls are not/were not heat damaged. I just naturally have very stretched out S curls. And I used this stuff and my hair turned into just waves. I hated it. And I was CONVINCED it was the sodium hydroxide in it which is what's in relaxers. I know they say the sodium hydroxide in this stuff is just to balance the PH but I personally didn't like the effect it gave my hair. My curls were way to much of a wave for my liking. I stopped using this stuff..washed my hair..yup with a sulfate and it went back to normal. To this DAY I still think the sodium hydroxide had a factor in it.

I'm not sure if they have removed that ingredient from current HH formulations or not..and I was so pissed from using it years ago I haven't looked to find out but I was pretty sure I heard a while back they changed the formula or something.

Same thing with the baking soda conditioner treatment I did years ago..it made my hair into waves. Of course, I found out since I have high porosity hair I had no reason to do it in the first place.

So I'm thinking the higher the PH..the looser it makes my hair in the way of a relaxer/texturizer does for hair (this is not to say it relaxes permanently like a relaxer/texlax..I just mean it loosens my curls temporarily to the point where it turns wavy rather than curly). And I personally like my S curls as they are naturally so I avoid ALL products with sodium hydroxide and I don't do treatments like cherry lola or baking soda treats because of how they affect MY particular hair. I feel they are better suited for people that need/want frizz control, want more curl definition, or have low porosity hair which are all non issues for me.

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coils_nhearts

Thanks for your reply! I really learning a lot from you guys and it just makes me want to learn and test more out for myself !