Salt bonds are important type of chemical bonds in the hair. Salt bonds give hair many important properties and affect most chemical treatments. Although the term salt bond is used frequently in cosmetology, it is incorrect. These chemical bonds are actually called ionic bonds, and they occur between ions. Ions and ionic bonds are really quite simple to understand.
Ions are molecules that have small electrical charges.
These charges are positive or negative. They repel or attract each other. Opposite charges attract and similar charges repel. Table salt, sodium chloride, is an excellent example. Sodium forms positive ions and chlorine makes negative ions.