A strand test result showing the hair continues to curl indicates which condition?

• A. Insufficiently relaxed
• B. Over processed
• C. Fully relaxed
• D. Slightly relaxed

Answer: (A)

The strand test is used to verify whether the chemical relaxer has been left on long enough to break the hair’s curl pattern. If the strand still curls after processing, it means not enough time or product has been applied to fully relax the strand—the curl remains. In other words, the hair is insufficiently relaxed, so you’d reapply or extend processing under the same procedure until it straightens. This result isn’t due to over-processing (which would often produce hair that’s too straight or damaged), and it isn’t fully relaxed (no curl) or slightly relaxed (only a small amount of curl remains).