pH bonder: how does hair care's miracle treatment work?
Colour
Main Image Credit:
The colour studio, The Chapel Tunbridge Wells
Redken’s pH Bonder protects your hair’s bonds and reduces hair strand breakage during any bleaching and colouring. It’s possible you’ll have heard of other bonding products, such as Olaplex, however, this offering from Redken is the product we use in-house, as it’s specifically designed to work in tandem with our Redken colour lines. In the past, there have been similar claims of a product being a ‘miracle treatment’, so you may be suspicious of how good pH Bonder actually is. With that in mind, we’ve created this guide to give you an in-depth overview of what pH Bonder is and how it works — helping you to choose the best treatment for your hair.
Image Credit:
pH bonder by Redken in our Tunbridge Wells salon
The science & benefits
Whilst we’re committed to giving you the colour treatment you desire, it’s important we ensure your hair is protected during the process. pH Bonder is a unique system, which involves several products and stages, that promotes bond integrity when colouring or lightening the hair; bonds are responsible for your hair’s natural strength and elasticity, and these bonds can be broken with the chemicals involved in bleaching and dyeing. Hair colour and bleach contain the chemical ammonia, which opens up the cuticle of your hair strand to allow colour treatments to penetrate the hair. pH Bonder helps to prevent the damage this can cause: reducing breakage and increasing your hair’s strength — it also smooths the hair’s cuticle to give you added shine and softness.
Who is it for?
pH Bonder is free from silicones and parabens whilst being beneficial for all types of hair ; this means we can push the boundaries of colouring and lightening treatments, without having to increase the volume of the developer we use – this ultimately is the element that can damage your hair. Even hair that has already been damaged can benefit from pH Bonder, as it actively repairs and improves your hair condition; it’s also worth mentioning real hair extensions can benefit from pH Bonder treatment.
Regardless of whether you are getting balayage, foil highlights of a full head of permanent or semi-permanent colour — pH Bonder adapts to the treatment, with no change to your colour formula or increase in processing time.
Image Credit:
The colour studio, The Chapel Tunbridge wells
The treatment process
The pH Bonder process consists of three parts: the first two are best done by a salon professional to ensure you use the right amount and it’s applied properly, whilst the last can be done yourself at home. The initial stage involves adding pH Bonder’s ‘bond protecting additive to your colour formula’, which is measured out with a syringe. This helps to protect your hair fibres during the processing of your colour. The next stage, after rinsing the colour from your hair, is the ‘fibre restorative pre-wash concentrate’. This acts similar to a mask and is left on your hair for ten minutes prior to your shampoo and condition; it works to repair any damaged hair fibres and smooth your hair’s cuticle for improved strength and shine. Finally, the ‘post-service perfector’, a once-per-week treatment that you take away and do on your own hair at home, maintains your hair’s natural pH balance (a figure expressing the acid or alkaline level of your hair) until your next salon appointment.
So if you are concerned about potential damage to your hair from the colouring and lightening process you have in mind, you may want to consider pH Bonder: your hair can actually look and feel healthier after your treatment compared to when you walked into the salon. Adding the pH Bonder system to your colour treatment does increase its cost, so it’s important you discuss the treatment with your stylist to determine if this treatment for it is the right decision for you. For more information about hair health or you want to learn more about a treatment, feel free to check out the expert advice on our website.