That's the simple truth of it. I have read about a few sisters lately who have been convinced by stylists that texturizers will make it "easier to transition." That is true, if you're trying to transition from one chemical process to another.
If you get a texturizer, and you didn't want a texturizer, ie your goal is to be chemical free, you will have to cut the texturizer out just like you have to cut the relaxer out.
A texturizer is a "mild relaxer" that loosens the natural curl of your hair rather than straightening it completely. The curls often loosen unevenly, which is why you see a lot of people with texturizers with who have some sections of their hair sticking out straight and some curled up. Texturizers can also dry the hair, and require a lot of gel to define and hold the curl, aka the wet crunchy look. Some people use Jherri Curl moisturizer products on their texturizers, which probably work better if you want to avoid the crunch.
After my first big chop, which I did at home, I went to a stylist to get my hair evened out. She kept insisting that if I put a perm in my hair it would "lay down better." She had no idea what I was doing and that this would completely defeat the purpose. All she knew is that, well, if I got a perm it would lay down better!
If you want a texturizer after being fully informed as to what it is and does, great. But please ladies, don't let anyone else convince you that you need it to make your hair "more manageable" or your process "easier."
Love, Kaya
kcasper@NaturallyYouMagazine.com
www.NaturallyYouMagazine.com
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14 comments:
TELL IT!!!!! I see so many sisters with short texturized hair. This seems to be as much work as a relaxer. It make me wonder if they are afraid or ashamed of what God has blessed them with???
yup, i got conned into getting a texturizer and it sucks lol i can't wait for it to grow out, i'm not ready to cut my hair yet....
Some women truly can get "more manageability" from a texturizer, actually. My hair has always been thick and healthy. It's coarse, rock hard, and extremely kinky, though, which means that whenever I combed it, hair snapped off in the comb. It hurt whenever I combed my hair (unless it was sopping wet), and the breakage made it impossible for me to grow my hair longer than a few inches.
The texturizer was a great decision on my part. I don't have a head full of springy curls, but my natural afro has a softer texture and is SOOOO much easier to comb. It's grown from being 3 inches long to about 6 in one year; I'm happy with my new hair.
That being said, though, every woman is different and thus has different hair needs. Some women have a physical appearance/lifestyle that would best fit with an afro; some look best with a straight look, etc. As long as a woman's hair is healthy (healthy hair is possible with a perm or texturizer; it just takes more work), everything is fine.
I just got a texturizer after 7 years of completely natural hair and I LOVE IT!
Now, I can wear my hair straight and it doesn't get big with humidity, and I can wear it curly. My curls are just as defined, but looser.
The key is going to someone who knows what they're doing. My beautician, first did the very back, rinsed it out, did one side, rinsed, the other side, rinsed.
It's all even, no straight parts, and I can go back and forth with ease!
when i was in college in the late 90's, i had a female friend who was biracial. she was a very pretty caramel colored girl with a killer body - she was an athlete so in great shape. she got a lot of attention on that basis alone. for some reason she wore blue, green, or just generally light contacts over her dark brown eyes. by most accounts she had "good hair." one day she told me had a texturizer and swore me to secrecy. she had cut off past shoulder length permed hair then texturized it. her texturizer looked good, and it was probably healthier than her permed hair. still, her beauty choices were a bit puzzling to me.
i'd say that most texturizers i've seen don't look very healthy. they typically look to be different textures in different parts of the head (which we may have naturally but becomes more exaggerated when we partially relax our hair). they also seem to require a lot of gel and/or product in general to maintain the "wet" or curly look. it seems that texturizers sometimes look good for a week and less so over time. i think this is because the hair has been stripped of its oils, elasticity, and shape. like a relaxer, it has to be continually "done." i have seen a few texturizers that look good for the most part.
no matter what, for me the bottom line is just that you know what you're getting, all of its advantages and disadvantages.
I also have been thinking about getting an texturizer to loosen up my curls. But there has been some concern on how it looks, from what I've been learning so far that when you apply an texturizer to short hair it is called texturizing and when you apply to long hair it is called a wash and go. I have seen the wash and go look or texturizer on one of my classmates hair and it doesn't look good at all, I can tell that wasn't her natural curly hair. It was very sticky and gummy looking, I figured that she probably does it herself and ended up with overproccesed hair. For it to look more natural I think you should tell your stylist not to leave the texturizer in to long. Personally, I'm not trying to have a head full of curls or trying to convince people that I have "good hair" I just want less shrinkage and more manageability to my natural hair.
I have returned to my natural state for 4/5 years now and recently made an appointment for next weekend to get my hair texturised.This is because I have had the last straw of having to hear almost daily from various people "what happen to your hair" or " you look like a crazy woman".
I had relaxed my hair at 14 and it was a decision I regretted. I am hoping this time around it is not going to be as bad and a lot safer and well if it is I will just chop it all off and rock a boy cut. The various reviews here have left me even more confusedThe various reviews here have left me even more confused. But I guess it makes no sense when you are the only person in the whole wide world that thinks that nothing is wrong with yor hair.I know this is not the right attitude but I am truly fed up with the negative comments. There is so much a sista can take.
oct 7th anon - a wash and go typically refers to a style done by washing one's natural hair and finger styling. a texturizer can be done on any length of hair to my knowledge. it chemically loosens the natural curl pattern. the reason your classmate's hair looked gummy is probably because she applied a lot of product to try to maintain the moist curly look. i understand wanting less shrinkage and more manageability, however if you would like to stay 100% natural there are some ways you can accomplish that without chemicals. for me what has helped is using a moisturizing shampoo - Elucence, which I got from www.curlmart.com. Also, I use a moisturizing hair spritz that I made myself using water, caster oil, an vegetable glycerin with a small amount of essential oils. This routine leaves my hair "bigger" after washing, and more pliable when damp to style it in twists, braids, etc. On dry hair, I like Locks, Coils, Waves and Curls, which I got from www.miasb.com. This styling cream makes my sometimes dry and coarse hair soft enough to comb through an style in sections.
nov 04 anon - please, please don't put chemicals on/in your body to appease other people. i don't want to see you change yourself to please these people at all, but if it will improve your self esteem and general peace of mind, i'd rather see you wear a weave or extension braids temporarily than use chemicals when that is clearly not what you want to do. good luck.
I have been using texturizers for 2 years now and It's the best thing I could have done for my hair. It is softer and more manageable without having any straightened bits. My friends keep telling that my hair looks fab and my husband prefers it to relaxers because it looks more natural. since I've started using it I have less breakage and and my hair has grown substantially. I will continue using texturizers until I feel the need for a big change.
I for one am opting for a texturizer. My hair is unmanageable... point blank period. I was convinced to go natural during college but having not really seen my natural hair for years, I was in for the shock of my life. I remember the stories my older cousins would tell of how they would struggle with my hair and I would be crying and running off. I now understand their thinking when giving me a perm and I am sure it made my childhood a helluva lot easier. I would have been teased mercilessly!
With my hair, the only styling choices I am left with are an extremely tight afro, shrunken stiff twists that make me look like a kindergartener, and dreads... very disappointing for someone who likes to change up her look very often, a fashionista of sorts.
I am not exaggerating about my styling options. I am so bored with this look and cannot have dreads (which I would love) because of my line of work. We all know that "natural hair" encompasses a whole range of textures. And I find those that look down on texturizers are often people who have more versatility with their texture or those that are comfortable with rocking a fro day in and day out. I definitely am not trying for the the curly/gel "good" hair look. I am just looking for versatility, a possible ponytail, to part my hair and not have it "gone in 60 seconds", some wind in my fro! Why should the natural gods forsake me for this??
Someone enlighten me. *Sigh*
I was interested into getting a tex-lax or a texturizer. I have highly textured 3C natural hair.
With all these replies, it's making change my darn mind.
I know the caution about chems and all, but...I love hair...
I LOVE my natural hair but it's a TWA right now. Once it gets longer, I want to wear it in a curly puff pony or afro. I also would love the option of straighting it.
One of my other biggest enemies is the temptation of going back to the crack (relaxers). I keep seeing women with long, straight, glossy, beautiful hair and it's driving me nuts!
I don't know if I may give in and go back to it. But then again, I have wigs and weaves for that choice. So I should stay natural and just straighten so that it looks THICK and good, and not FLAT relaxed that has no body whatsoever.
What do you ladies think?
i absolutely love natural hair. when i first had a perm o was really young. As i grew older, i'd begun to notice the real beauty of it,and thus decided to go narural. it felt completely honest,it felt good,and i loved that raw natural look ,my baby hair and curls. But, althought i felt good about my natural hair,do not be fooled, i do not have that bi-racial sort of natural,unfortunately. i was just maybe 14 years old at the time so i did not know how to manage it , i had nobody to help me with my hair,and i was not sure where to get help. so then, i came up with the idea to start braiding and kept on braiding in the hope of growing some hair in the process and until i figured out what to do with my hair aftetwards. i spent thousand of dollars braiding, if you braid, you know how expensive the cost. i noticed that braiding so much was not easy.In other words, it had more disadvantages then advantages.I came to realize that although i did not have to do my hair every morning before schools,it was not all that great. My hair would grow but when took out the braids, the amount of hair i would lose was shoking. i also came to notice that whenever a special event would come, my braids,which i left on for a month and some would ruin my chances of attending or makes it completely difficult. I took out mu braids for a while and tried to figure out why i was losing so much hair. I was still losing hair.Sometimes last year of 07 in dec, my older sister's wedding came for me to attend and i did not know what to do. i wanted my hair to look good. ince it was my own sister that was getting married i had decided to get a texturizer,But o did not want to. i did it for my sister. i did not want to mess up her wedding and i also didn't want to show up as being her sister and having a nasty nappy hair-do. I wanted to look good, anybody can certainly understand that. Its been three months since i got that tecturizer and i really miss my 100% natural hair,yes thats how much i amin love with it.)I love natural hair with strict passion and i hate chemical in that same sense that i love 100% natural. i am now stuck again on what to do next with my hair. I like straight silky and i love natural curly, but the reality is i can't have both. so i will stick to the texturizer and get my adorable curls and also maybe i can get straight if i manipulate my hair the right way to get it.That way, i can get the best of both worlds.Hmmmmm,i guess a texturizer isn't so bad after all.
How did you know?! In the 70s I wore a beautiful afro. In the 80s I relaxed it (trouble and more trouble). Finally I grew it out and with the grey streaks of age, it was lovely. I got compliments daily--till I let the hairdresser convince me (a long struggle over months) to texturize. Horrors! Good for abut one week -- then dry fly-away and brittle. Now I've had to cut it off and start all over again. I long to find a hairdresser who can handle natural hair.
My hair is extremly thick and curly and about and grows but every time i comb it some always comes out should i use a texturizer to make it more managable i love the natural look but sometimes it's too much to handle
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