What is base cream and when is it used in relaxer services?

• A. A barrier cream applied to the scalp to protect skin from chemical irritation; used with most relaxers.
• B. A conditioning treatment applied after a relaxer.
• C. A neutralizer used before relaxers.
• D. A coloring layer applied before texture services.

Answer: (D)

Base cream is a protective barrier applied to the scalp before a chemical relaxer to shield the skin from the caustic chemicals. This early barrier helps prevent irritation or burns that can occur when the relaxer penetrates to the skin. Because its purpose is protection during the chemical service, it isn’t a post-relaxer conditioning treatment, nor a neutralizer used before relaxing, and it isn’t a coloring layer before texture services. The concept being tested is recognizing that base cream’s role is to create a protective shield on the scalp prior to the chemical processing of a relaxer.