Why is this a ph greater than 9? isn’t that bad for your hair? shouldn’t shampoos be closer ph to water, like 4.5-5.5?

Actually the ph of hair is 3.7. It doesn’t matter what the ph of water is because our hair does t have the same ph as water. The goal is maintain our natural balance. This shampoo is to remove build up and to sort of strip hair. It definitely a once a week-er or less.

Does this remove silicone?

Yes this removes silicones. SLS/SLES is NOT needed to remove product buildup. Heavy butters like shea cause more build up than 99% of silicones - if you have extra product build up, you can always shampoo twice. The whole "silicones are the #1 cause of build up!" Is only a marketing scheme for a multi billion dollar a year industry. The fact is, emollients are emollients and your hair can't tell the difference between synthetic (like silicone) or natural (like oils and butters). It's way more important how much you are using based on texture and porosity vs which specific emollient.

Are these packets or bottle?

These are packets. I have really long hair & use 3/4 to 1 full packet. I liked that they were available before I purchased a bottle. It works really well.

Is this safe to use on permed hair?

Yes it is. It is mostly a natural product that will remove residue from product from your hair. It is not harsh at all and I used it on my hair too before I went natural.