Permanent Waving and Chemical Relaxing — practice questions
17% of the exam ≈22 real questions 27 free questions here
34% of the clinical exam, about 22 questions. Two chemistries that must never meet: thio, which breaks disulfide bonds by reduction and rebuilds them with a neutralizer, and hydroxide, which destroys them permanently through lanthionization. Rod size and wrapping, base and no-base relaxers, strand and test curls, and the contraindications that separate a service from a chemical haircut.
Where people lose points
- Thio and hydroxide are not interchangeable and never layer. Hair relaxed with hydroxide can never take a thio perm, and hair permed with thio must not receive a hydroxide relaxer. The exam tests this as a client-history question, not a chemistry question — the client tells you what she had done last year and you have to refuse.
- A perm neutralizer is an oxidizer that rebuilds the disulfide bonds. A hydroxide relaxer's "neutralizing shampoo" does not rebuild anything — lanthionization is irreversible — it only restores pH. Same word, completely different job.
- Rod diameter determines curl size, and it is the diameter, not the length. The smaller the rod, the tighter the curl. Rod length only has to span the section.
- Under-processing and over-processing look different. An under-processed perm gives a limp, loose curl that relaxes within days. An over-processed one has broken bonds that cannot be rebuilt — the hair is weak and frizzy, and re-perming it makes it worse, which is why the correct answer is almost never "perm it again".
- Porosity drives processing time. Porous hair absorbs faster and processes faster, so it needs the milder solution and the shorter timing — the reverse of the instinct that damaged hair needs more product to work.
Drill: Permanent Waving and Chemical Relaxing
27 free questions from this domain, each with an explanation and a cited source. Timed at real exam pace.
27 questions
Pass line: 75%, same as the real exam
See the answer and explanation right after each question.