If neutralizer is not fully rinsed, what is a likely outcome?

• A. No effect on curl.
• B. The hair will become overly soft.
• C. Residual neutralizer can continue processing and damage hair.
• D. Hair will turn blue.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that the neutralizer stops the chemical processing and re-bonds the hair. If it isn’t rinsed out completely, residual neutralizer can keep reacting on the hair. This ongoing action can overprocess the cortex, making hair weaker, drier, and more prone to damage or breakage, and it can also irritate the scalp. That’s why the correct outcome is that residual neutralizer continues processing and damages hair.

No effect on curl isn’t likely because the neutralizer has already set the new curl pattern, and leaving it on allows it to keep altering bonds. Hair turning blue isn’t a typical result of residual neutralizer, and hair becoming overly soft isn’t consistent with the oxidative action of neutralizers, which tends to dry and weaken hair rather than soften it.