How Do Hair Straighteners Work?

Video Transcript

"My name is Lauren, and today I'm here to discuss how do hair straighteners work? Your hair is made out of three bonds: hydrogen bond, salt bond and a disulfide bond. The disulfide bond is what is going to predict what texture your hair is. Those sulfur atoms connect in to each other and have to travel a distance in order to reach other to connect and create the disulfide bond is going to make your hair curlier. What hair straighteners do, when you use the hair straightener, what it does is alter the hydrogen bond that is in your hair, so it is not permanent. It will simply alter that hydrogen bond, and the heat will make your hair straight and it will make your hair stay straight. Because that hydrogen bond is being sealed and distorted. Another good thing for this is when you use hair straighteners you should use some sort of silicone based or some kind of thermal protectant. What happens is when you use something of some sort of protectant, and you lay it over the hair, your hair needs water in it actually to curl, so after you go through it with your straightener and then you put a silicone based product on or something to coat over your hair, you are essentially coating over your cuticle and not allowing water to come into your hair. Your hair is attracted by water. Your hair, in order to curl, works best with water because your disulfide bonds are weak. Water actually helps draw them closer together. So the straightener will not change your hair texture forever, however the straightener will be able to give you versatility within your day-to-day look and will give you a straight style on the days that you choose to. And that is how hair straighteners work."