What is the primary chemical process used in creating curls with a permanent wave?

The primary chemical process used in creating curls with a permanent wave involves chemical solutions. This method relies on specific chemical reactions to break and rearrange the disulfide bonds in the hair's keratin structure, allowing the hair to take on a new shape—in this case, curls.

During the permanent waving process, a waving solution, typically containing sodium thioglycolate or similar agents, is applied to the hair to alter its internal structure. After this, the hair is wrapped around rods or curlers to mold it into the desired shape. A neutralizing solution is then applied to reform the disulfide bonds in the new configuration. This combination of chemical reactions is what allows the curls to become a long-lasting part of the hair’s structure.

While heat applications can assist in some styling processes, they do not fundamentally change the hair's chemical structure, as the permanent wave process does. Similarly, mechanical curling shows a temporary curl through physical means without altering the chemical composition, and styling products usually offer only surface-level changes. The lasting nature of the curls created by permanent waves is ultimately reliant on the chemical processes that transform the hair fiber permanently rather than through temporary means.