the pH of hair

Hi! The ph of hair is neutal. on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very acidic and 10 being alkaline) hair is about a 4. Water is also supposed to be about 4, and if you`ve ever noticed, salon shampoos will tell you what the ph is on the bottle, somewhere between 3 to 4.5. Hope this helps.

pH stands for potential hydrogen and ikand is right the scale is 1 to 14. 1being very acidic and 14very alkaline. Wet hair is slightly acidic 4.5 to5.5 and neutral when dry 7

Small correction from a chemical engineer :

The pH scale isn`t bounded in theory, and well, saying it`s from 1 to 14 is a double-flawed statement (it gave a good idea though)

If there were an equal concentration of hydronium ( H3O, simplified to just H+ ) in an acid as there were of hydroxyde ( OH- ) in a base of a pH of 14, the pH of the acid would be zero.

Nitric acid (at 1 mol/L) would be at a pH of zero.

So a better statement would be from 0 to 14, but that`s still flawed since there in nothing preventing a 14 mol/L substance, thus a pH near -1.3 .

So to make my post relevant with hair, in chemistry labs, keep them tied back and secure. I know to prevent myself since I`ve seen someone get an acid burn screwing up the hair.

Same for burners. No explanation needed.

The pH of hair isn't as important so much as the pH of the products you put on it. A highly alkaline substance (such as a chemical relaxer or permanent dye) works by opening the cuticle to allow change agents inside, thus altering the texture/color permanently. Unfortunately this is a damaging process and the effects cannot be reversed.

The fact that hair is dead only underscores this point. IF hair could regenerate itself then high pH products would only have a temporary damaging effect. But since the damage is permanent, you should take extra care to use neutral or slightly acidic products.