10.3 Client Consultation and Preliminary Procedures for Chemical Services

Client Consultation and Preliminary Procedures for Chemical Services

Exam Focus: Everything that goes catastrophically wrong in this chapter was preventable at this stage. Learn the chemical history questions, the incompatibility matrix, the 1:20 metallic salts test with its positive indicators, and the test curl procedure. On the New York practical examination, the test curl is demonstrated in the examiner's direct presence.

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1. The Consultation Before a Chemical Texture Service

Chapter 7 sets out the general consultation. A chemical restructuring consultation adds four things, in this order.

1. The chemical history interview

Ask specifically, because clients do not volunteer this information and frequently do not classify these as chemical services:

• Have you ever had a relaxer, perm or curl reformation? When? How many times? On which parts of the hair?
• Have you coloured your hair at home? Box colour, root touch-ups, colour-depositing shampoo?
• Have you used henna or any plant dye? Compound henna carries metallic salts.
• Have you had a keratin, Brazilian or smoothing treatment? These are chemical services regardless of marketing.
• Have you used a colour restorer or "gradual grey reducer"? These are metallic dyes.
• Are you taking any medication or have you had any recent illness, surgery or childbirth? Not to diagnose, but because these affect hair condition and shedding.
• When was your last chemical service, and how did your hair respond?

Record every answer on the client card with dates.

2. Scalp examination

Part the hair in several places and inspect. No chemical restructuring service is performed over:

• abrasions, cuts, scratches or any break in the skin;
• inflamed, sunburned or irritated scalp;
• any contagious condition or open lesion — refuse and refer, per section 6.7.

Advise the client not to shampoo vigorously or scratch the scalp for 24 to 48 hours before a hydroxide relaxer service, because micro-abrasions turn an uncomfortable service into a chemical burn.

3. Hair analysis

Texture, density, porosity, elasticity and wave pattern, exactly as Chapter 6 describes. Two findings stop a service:

• Poor elasticity — hair that stretches and does not return, or feels gummy when wet, has already lost cortical integrity. Adding a service that breaks disulphide bonds will break the hair.
• Very high porosity — the product penetrates unevenly and processes far faster than the manufacturer's timing assumes.

4. The incompatibility check

2. Metallic Salts: Chemistry & The 1:20 Laboratory Test

Metallic salts (found in progressive home hair dyes, metallic box colors, and certain restorative color lotions) leave heavy metal coatings—such as lead, silver, or copper—on the hair shaft. When alkaline waving lotions or peroxide developers interact with metallic salts, a violent chemical reaction occurs that generates intense heat, emits noxious gas, and causes the hair to smoke and dissolve.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│               THE 1:20 METALLIC SALTS LABORATORY TEST PROTOCOL              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  1. Sample Collection: Cut 20 strands of hair from different crown areas.   │
│  2. Solution Preparation: In a glass or plastic bowl, mix:                  │
│     • 1 OUNCE of 20-VOLUME HYDROGEN PEROXIDE ($H_2O_2$)                     │
│     • 20 DROPS of 28% AMMONIA WATER                                         │
│  3. Immersion: Submerge the 20 hair strands in the mixture for 30 MINUTES.  │
│  4. Interpret Reactions:                                                    │
│     • NO CHANGE / SLIGHT LIGHTENING ──> Negative (Safe to proceed).         │
│     • RAPID BUBBLING / BOILING      ──> Copper present (Do NOT service!).   │
│     • STRANDS TURN DARK / BLACK     ──> Silver present (Do NOT service!).   │
│     • RAPID HEAT & DISINTEGRATION   ──> Lead present (Do NOT service!).     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Positive Metallic Salt Test Protocol

If the 1:20 test is positive (showing bubbling, heat, color change, or hair disintegration):

• DO NOT perform any chemical service (no perms, relaxers, or permanent haircolors).
• Advise the client that the metallic coating must be removed with specialized professional clarifying/chelating treatments or grown out completely before chemical processing.

3. Scalp Analysis, Preliminary Strand Tests & Safety Protocols

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ SCALP ANALYSIS  │    │  STRAND TEST    │    │ TEST CURL EVAL  │
├─────────────────┤    ├─────────────────┤    ├─────────────────┤
│ • Check for     │    │ • Test small    │    │ • Unwind rod    │
│   abrasions,    │    │   strand for    │    │   1.5 turns to  │
│   scratches, or │    │   processing    │    │   inspect wave  │
│   infections.   │    │   speed, curl   │    │   definition.   │
│ • Do NOT brush  │    │   reduction &   │    │ • Crisp "S"     │
│   hair prior to │    │   elasticity.   │    │   pattern =     │
│   service.      │    │ • Validates     │    │   complete.     │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Essential Safety Rules for Chemical Texture Services

1. Pre-Service Examination: Inspect the scalp thoroughly under bright light. If open abrasions, cuts, lesions, or active scalp diseases (e.g., tinea capitis, psoriasis) are present, refuse the service until the scalp is completely healed.
2. Never Brush Prior to Chemicals: Do not brush or vigorously massage the scalp before a chemical perm or relaxer service. Brushing causes micro-abrasions that allow caustic chemicals to penetrate the dermis, causing burning and chemical ulcers.
3. Protective Cream & Barrier: Always protect client skin with protective cream around the entire hairline, ears, and nape.
4. Emergency First Aid Protocols:
   • Chemical in Eyes: Flush immediately at the salon emergency eyewash station or with cool running tap water for a minimum of 15 continuous minutes. Seek immediate emergency medical care.
   • Skin / Scalp Burns: Rinse immediately with cool water, neutralize the chemical, and apply a soothing antiseptic dressing.

4. The Test Curl

A test curl during processing is the only reliable way to know when a permanent wave has processed correctly, because timing on the bottle assumes a hair type that may not be the client's.

1. Unfasten a rod in the area processing fastest, without disturbing the wrap.
2. Unwind the rod 1½ to 2 turns — no further, or the curl cannot be re-secured.
3. Move the rod gently toward the scalp so the hair falls loosely.
4. Look for a firm, well-defined S-shape matching the diameter of the rod.
5. If the S is not yet formed, re-secure and continue processing, checking again shortly.
6. Test in several places, because the nape, crown and hairline process at different rates.

On the New York practical examination, the candidate is prompted to demonstrate the application of waving lotion and perform a test curl in the examiner's direct presence, wearing gloves. Chapter 14 covers the full procedure.