Welcome to The Great Swelling Debate: where myth meets science, ego meets evidence, and the beauty industry’s most persistent argument finally gets the clarity it deserves.

Now, let me start with this:

I absolutely love this industry. I’ve spent forty years elbows-deep in hair color science,teaching it, defending it, and trying to rescue it from the marketing myths that swept in and took the place of actual chemistry. 

So whenever I see stylists passionately, sometimes ferociously arguing online about whether water “opens the cuticle just like ammonia” …

I swear, it feels like watching your kids fight over which cartoon character could win in a street fight.

Spoiler alert: neither of them are real.

And in this conversation… neither of those assumptions are, either.

But the comments, the debates, the absolute confidence with which misinformation is preached? 

Whew. 

It’s a masterclass in why we need to talk about what swelling is, what causes it, and why so many of us, smart, talented professionals,ended up with the wrong definitions in the first place.

So today, in this episode, we’re not choosing sides…We’re choosing science.

And listen, I’m not here to scold. I’m not here to shame. And I’m definitely not here to “pick a winner.”

I’m here to give you the real mechanisms behind heat swelling, alkaline swelling, and yes,why water doesn’t do what people say it does.

I’m just the messenger. I didn’t invent the rules of chemistry.

But I can promise you this:

If you’ve ever applied heat and wondered why the hair behaved a certain way…
If you’ve ever formulated with alkaline products and hoped you truly understood what they were doing…
If you’ve ever questioned whether water could be the silent saboteur or secret hero…

…then you cannot afford to skip this episode.

This isn’t just another debate.

This is the foundation of everything you do behind the chair.

And once you understand it?

You’ll never approach a chemical service the same way again.

Let’s dive into The Great Swelling Debate.

Because the truth is fascinating.

And the science? It’s about to set you free.

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