Louisiana Cosmetology Board Practice Exam 2025 - Free Cosmetology Practice Questions and Study Guide

The process of hair straightening primarily involves the use of chemical relaxers that target and break down the protein bonds in the hair structure. Hair is made up of a protein called keratin, and the chemical relaxers specifically disrupt the disulfide bonds that give hair its curl and wave. By breaking these bonds, the hair is temporarily altered to a straighter form.

This process is typically used to achieve smoother, more manageable hair textures and can vary in strength depending on the formulation of the relaxer. After the treatment, hair can remain straight until it grows out or is affected by heat or moisture.

Other procedures, such as bleaching, focus on altering the color of the hair rather than its structure. Hot oil treatments generally aim to moisturize and condition hair rather than change its shape. Keratin treatments can indeed straighten hair but do so through a different method that involves infusing keratin into the hair rather than directly modifying its chemical structure on a molecular level like relaxers do.