In the restructuring process, coarse, resistant hair with a strong compact cuticle requires a chemical solution that is which?

• A. High alkaline
• B. Mild acid
• C. Neutral
• D. Weak alkaline

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that hair that is coarse and resistant, with a tight, compact cuticle, needs a chemical environment that can strongly swell the cuticle and allow the restructuring agent to penetrate and break the bonds inside the cortex. A highly alkaline solution does this best; the high pH opens and loosens the cuticle more, letting the reducing agent reach the disulfide bonds and reform them to reshape the hair. Mild acid, neutral, or only a weak alkaline solution wouldn’t soften the cuticle enough or enable sufficient penetration, so Bond breakage and rearrangement wouldn’t occur effectively in this type of hair.