Which statement about elasticity and perm safety is true?

• A. Hair lacking elasticity is safe to perm
• B. Hair showing signs of breakage should be permed
• C. Hair with poor elasticity should not be permed
• D. Elasticity has no bearing on perm safety

Answer: (C)

Elasticity shows how well hair can bend and then recover its shape after being stretched, and it’s a crucial gauge for chemical services like perms. When you perm, the hair’s bonds are chemically altered and the shaft swells. If the hair has poor elasticity, its fibers are weak and can’t snap back after processing, making it prone to breakage, excessive swelling, and lasting damage. So, hair with poor elasticity should not be permed because the chemical action would overwhelm already fragile fibers. The idea that hair lacking elasticity is safe to perm or that elasticity doesn’t affect safety isn’t true, since elasticity directly indicates whether the hair can tolerate the stress of a chemical restructuring.