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Relaxing your hair with a perm involves lots of chemicals that can irritate your scalp. Permanent solutions contain everything from formaldehyde to thioglycolate and a host of other strong chemicals that make your skin burn and itch. While your stylist should do everything he can to keep the perm solution off your bare scalp, it is nearly an impossible task. To remove errant chemicals and clean your scalp after a perm, your stylist may employ a number of different techniques, including dabbing your hair with astringent.
Benefits
A stylist who’s concerned about your welfare wants to prevent any burning from occurring during or after your perm. If your scalp starts burning immediately after your perm, then it’s mostly too late, though astringent can stop the burning before it goes deeper. Left on your head, the harsh chemicals break down your hair shafts and sink into your roots, which can lead to hair loss -- sometimes permanent. The chemicals break down your skin as well, which is why you have all that cotton banding around your face while the relaxer’s being applied. Astringent cuts through those chemicals and can sop up any residue that was left after the final rinse, preventing any further scabbing or burning.
How It Works
Astringents are drying agents that cause your hair follicles to shrink. When applied to your hair after a perm, the solution can help you retain your healthy hair and protect it from falling out. An astringent also causes protein in your hair to stick and to ensure that your hair doesn’t weaken too substantially after it’s been soaked in chemicals. It’s often dabbed on your scalp and across your hair with cotton balls.
Ingredients
Astringents themselves can add to your irritation, however. Tell your stylist if you have allergies or sensitive skin. If you have rosacea or other skin disorders, you may need to stay away from some of the stronger astringents, since they could cause your scalp to break out or create burning and itching you certainly don’t need after a perm. Common ingredients in astringents include propylene glycol, salicylic acid, alcohol and silver nitrate. Your stylist may use an astringent that contains zinc oxide, burrows solution or tincture of benzoin. Be sure to find out before she applies it to your hair to avoid any side effects. If you are under a doctor's care for a skin condition, talk to your dermatologist about getting a perm and the various ingredients in the products.
Options
Instead of using a strong alcohol-based astringent that could irritate your scalp even more and dry out your hair needlessly, your stylist may rely on a more natural option. Witch hazel is a mild astringent that’s commonly used by stylists and won’t damage your hair like stronger alcohol-based astringents. Witch hazel relieves itching and contains tannins, which have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce any inflammation the relaxer chemicals may have caused. It’s inexpensive and usually has few if any side effects, according to Dr. David Leffell at Yale University.
