What is the purpose of the relaxation/comb test, and how is it performed?

• A. To determine curl pattern
• B. To assess scalp sensitivity
• C. To measure porosity
• D. To determine if additional smoothing is needed; remove relaxer from scalp, press with back of comb against scalp, if indentation occurs the hair has relaxed.

Answer: (D)

This test is about judging whether the relaxer has been smoothed enough and whether more processing is needed. After you’ve removed the relaxer from the scalp, you press the back of a comb against the scalp in the area where the hair was relaxed. If an indentation appears in the hair under the comb, that shows the hair has relaxed and you can proceed. If there’s no indentation, you’d continue smoothing or processing until an indentation is observed. This test is specifically about confirming adequate relaxation smoothing, not about curl pattern, porosity, or scalp sensitivity, which are determined by other checks.