In the United States today, bodily health is a major topic of concern, but many people ignore the topic of hair care when stressing the importance aspects of health. One of the main concerns for hair is the level of pH in each strand. The natural pH of human hair is about 5.5 on a scale of 1-14, ranging from strongly acidic to strongly basic. Hair care products are made to add acid or alkalinity to restore the average pH level. This web page has been designed to explore the chemistry of hair, commonly used hair care products such as shampoos and conditioners, as well as hair treatments and how all of these affect the pH of your hair.
Hair is composed of the protein keratin.
Keratin, like other proteins, is made up of a combination of amino acids. It is dominated by one amino acid, cystine. Cystine units contain sulfur-sulfur bonds that give hair its strength. This is because these bonds connect parallel strands of keratin together tightly. Under the scalp, each strand of hair begins in a follicle.