The line exclusively designed for professional salon treatments
pH is the scale that measures the acidity of a water solution.
THE TWO LETTERS REPRESENT THE CHEMICAL SYMBOL TO EXPRESS THE “POWER OF HYDROGEN IN A SOLUTION”.
THE SOLUTIONS ARE COMPOSED OF TWO ENTITIES, H+ (HYDROGEN IONS) AND OH- (HYDROXYL IONS). THE LEVEL OF ACIDITY OR ALKALINITY OF A SOLUTION IS DETERMINED BY THE PROPORTION OF H+ IONS AND OH- IONS.
PH CAN VARY FROM 0 TO 14.
IN PURE WATER H + AND OH- ARE PERFECTLY BALANCED, THE PH IS 7 AND IS DEFINED AS NEUTRAL.
ACIDITY INCREASES UNDER 7 DOWN TO 0, ABOVE 7 AND UP TO 14, VICE VERSA, THE ALKALINITY INCREASES (BASICITY).
THE HUMAN BODY IS MADE UP OF APPROXIMATELY 70% WATER AND, THEREFORE, ACIDITY AND ALKALINITY ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THE ORGANISM.
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PH OF SKIN AND HAIR IN MEN IS BETWEEN 4.5 TO 5.5, IN WOMEN FROM 5.5 TO 6.5. IN COSMETICS PH 5.5 INDICATES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL NEUTRAL PH OF SKIN AND HAIR.
Bases and Acids
OXIDATION IS A CHEMICAL REACTION THAT IS FREQUENTLY OCCURS IN SALONS. DYES, DE-COLOURANTS, STRAIGHTENINGS AND PERMS ARE THE CHEMICAL REACTIONS WHICH PRODUCE RADICAL CHANGES IN HAIR.
AMONG CHEMICAL REACTIONS, THE MOST FREQUENT WITH OXIDATION IS THE BASIC OR ALKALINE REACTION.
THE BASE REACTIONS
ARE CAUSED BY VARIOUS TYPES OF SHAMPOOS, PERM SOLUTIONS, STRAIGHTENING SOLUTIONS, DYES AND DE-COULORANTS. SUBSTANCES THAT GENERATE BASIC REACTIONS ARE DEFINED AS BASES OR ALKALIS, AND CAN BE STRONG OR WEAK. THE BASES USED IN HAIR PRODUCTS CAN ONLY BE A WEAK KIND; OTHERWISE THE EFFECT WOULD BE VERY HARMFUL. A STRONG BASE IS CAUSTIC SODA, WHICH IS PRACTICALLY CORROSIVE.
ON THE SKIN
THE SKIN IS COVERED WITH AN INSULATING LAYER, THE SO CALLED “ACID MANTLE HYDRO-LIPID”, WHOSE JOB IS TO PROTECT IT, KEEP IT MOISTURISED AND SOFT. BASIC SUBSTANCES TEND TO REMOVE IT, LEAVING THE SKIN WITHOUT DEFENCES.
ON HAIR
BASES HAVE A DAMAGING EFFECT, THEY OPEN THE CUTICLE SCALE, AFFECTING THE KERATIN OF THE HAIR (AND CANNOT BE ELIMINATED BY MERELY RINSING), THEY MELT THE FILLER (AMORPHOUS KERATIN CALLED “CEMENTING KERATIN”) THAT MAINTAINS THE COHESION OF THE FIBRES IN HAIR.
HAIR TREATED WITH BASIC PRODUCTS BECOMES POROUS AND ASSUMES A DULL ASPECT, ABSORBS A GREATER AMOUNT OF WATER THAT FILLS THE INTERIORS WHERE THE FILLER HAS DISAPPEARED, THEREFORE, THE HAIR TAKES LONGER TO DRY. HAVING BECOME MORE FRAGILE, HAIR BREAKS EASIER, ENDS SPLIT, EASILY FADES IN THE SUN, IS DIFFICULT TO COMB AND DOES NOT MAINTAIN STYLE.
THE ACID REACTIONS
NEUTRALISE, MEANING THAT THEY CANCEL THE EFFECTS OF THE BASIC REACTIONS.
PERM SOLUTION IS BASIC, THE FIXING IS ACID AND, HENCE, IT IS ALSO CALLED “NEUTRALISING”.
EVEN THE ACIDS, LIKE THE BASES, CAN DEVELOP STRONG OR WEAK REACTIONS. THEY ARE HIGHLY CORROSIVE WHEN STRONG (JUST LIKE FOR STRONG BASES), THEREFORE, UNUSABLE ON HAIR AND SKIN. THE MOST COMMON WEAK ACIDS ARE CITRIC ACID (LEMON), ACETIC ACID (VINEGAR) AND TARTARIC ACID (WINE), AND THEY ARE DEFINED AS ASTRINGENT OR SKIN-FRIENDLY BECAUSE THEY ARE WELL TOLERATED BY THE SKIN.
ON THE SKIN
IN FACT, THEIR ASTRINGENT EFFECT CLOSES THE PORES DILATED BY THE BASES AND THE SKIN RETAINS GREATER ELASTICITY FOR A LONGER TIME.
ON HAIR
STRINGENT ACIDS HAVE THE POWER TO CLOSE THE CUTICLE SCALE, GIVING BACK SHINE TO HAIR AND DIMINISHING POROSITY, REMEDYING THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE BASES. THE ACIDITY DESTROYED BY THE BASIC SUBSTANCES CAN BE RESTORED BY THE USE OF AN ACIDIC PRODUCT ( PH-).
THEREFORE, IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ALWAYS APPLY AN ACIDIC TREATMENT FOLLOWING A BASIC TREATMENT. SUBSEQUENT TO A CHEMICAL COSMETIC TREATMENT (A PERM, STRAIGHTENING, DYE OR DE-COLOURATION), AN ACIDIC TREATMENT MUST ALWAYS BE USED.
