i just got a perm yesterday and i like it but looks to as if it's going to fall out cause i haven't had a perm in years and my hair is so long so straight that it will probably just pull itself back out in a few days.

she told me to stay away from the ingredient Sodium Hydroxide because that will pull the curl out. are there any other ingredients i should look out for or other spellings of the sodium hydroxide?

what's the best shampoo and conditioner i should use on my hair? also what about leave in's?

if it does turn out that i will need to redo my perm how long should i wait before i get it done again?

thanks to anyone who can help me out on this!

Sodium hydroxide is also called lye. It will probably not be called "lye" on any product labels because lye has negative connotations. Sodium hydroxide would totally fry hair, so I doubt it is contained in any everyday hair products. but.. do check.

Look for a gentle shampoo (look for Sodium Laureth Sulfate as the second ingredient) Stay away from: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate.

and you'll want to have a look at this http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30010&PN=1 - FAQ about silicones

Good luck
Anais