Hair Relaxers: How They Work, The Safety Questions & Your Options

A hair relaxer is a permanent chemical straightener, used mostly on tightly coiled or curly hair, that breaks the bonds in the hair to loosen or remove curl. The treated hair stays straight until it grows out, so only new roots need re-doing. Relaxing is a personal choice many people are happy with, but it's strong chemistry with a real risk of scalp burns and breakage, and it's currently the subject of active health research and lawsuits, so it's worth understanding before you decide.

What a relaxer does

A relaxer permanently straightens hair by breaking its internal disulfide bonds with a strong alkaline or thio chemical, then rinsing and neutralising to “set” the looser, straighter pattern. It’s most associated with tightly coiled and Afro-textured hair, and it carries a lot of personal and cultural history. For many people it’s been part of their routine for years, and that’s entirely their call to make.

The thing that makes it different from a keratin treatment is permanence. Keratin fades; a relaxer doesn’t. The hair you treat stays relaxed until it’s cut off, and as your natural texture grows in at the roots, you go back every six to ten weeks or so for a touch-up on just the new growth.

Lye vs no-lye, and the scalp-burn risk

You’ll see relaxers split into “lye” (sodium hydroxide) and “no-lye” (calcium or guanidine hydroxide). Lye works faster and can be gentler on the hair but harsher on the scalp; no-lye is often gentler on the scalp but can be more drying. Worth knowing: “no-lye” doesn’t mean “no risk.” Research has found people using no-lye relaxers report scalp burns about as often as those using lye. The marketing makes no-lye sound safe, but the burns tell a different story.

That scalp-burn risk is the immediate safety issue with relaxers. Burns happen when the scalp is scratched beforehand, the product overlaps onto skin, or it’s left on too long. It’s also why overlapping relaxer onto already-relaxed hair is the classic cause of breakage. Careful technique, scalp protection, and precise timing aren’t optional with this chemistry.

The bigger health questions, honestly

This is where it pays to be clear-eyed rather than either scared or dismissive, because the picture is genuinely mixed.

On one hand, the 2022 NIH study that looked at chemical straighteners found that frequent users (more than four times a year) had a higher risk of uterine cancer, though the absolute risk stayed low, and that study didn’t single out relaxers specifically. On the other hand, a large January 2025 review of nearly 1,400 studies concluded there isn’t yet compelling evidence linking relaxers to breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer, although it did find a possible link to uterine fibroids. Both things are true at once: some signals worth taking seriously, and no settled verdict.

You may also have seen ads about hair-relaxer lawsuits. As of 2026 there are thousands of cases consolidated in US courts alleging health harms, and some places have acted on the precautionary side. California passed a 2025 law restricting relaxers containing certain chemicals of concern. Important context: a lawsuit is an allegation being tested, not a scientific conclusion. We’re not here to tell you relaxers are safe or dangerous; we’re not doctors, and the science isn’t settled. What we’d genuinely encourage is that if you have concerns, especially about fibroids or your reproductive health, you talk them through with your physician, who can weigh your personal situation.

If you relax your hair, protecting it

For anyone who relaxes and wants to keep doing it, a few things genuinely reduce the risks: only ever treat the new growth (never overlap), don’t scratch your scalp before an appointment, keep relaxers well away from bleach and other straighteners in time, and lean hard into moisture, since relaxed hair thrives on gentle, sulphate-free, deeply conditioning care and a careful protein-moisture balance. A skilled stylist who specialises in textured hair makes a real difference here.

Where Backstage fits

We don’t offer chemical relaxing; it’s a specialist service we’re not set up to do well, and we won’t do it half-prepared. That said, we’re glad to be a resource. If you’re rethinking your relaxer routine, curious about gentler options, or thinking about transitioning to your natural texture, that’s a conversation we’d welcome at a consultation, with zero pressure either way. There are temporary, lower-commitment ways to soften curl and frizz (like our Keratin Straightening), and there’s a lot we can do to keep textured hair healthy, whatever you decide about relaxing. Your hair, your call; we’re just here with honest information.