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| Braid-out on texlaxed hair |
When I started my hair journey I weighed the positives and drawbacks of processing my hair vs wearing it in a natural state. Since I was already relaxed, I looked deep into relaxing bone straight, texlaxing, and returning to my roots (pardon the pun). I made little jottings in my hair journey, these are they:
Pros:
Cons: - Easy to manage (read shorter wash days lol)
- Easy to wear in straight styles
- Damage to the second strongest bond in the hair (disulfide bonds) through chemical processing.
- Can cause weak, dry hair which can be prone to breakage.
- Too far from my natural texture.
- Does not translate well into textured styles
Texlaxed Hair
Pros:
- Even though disulphide bonds are still damaged, hair is healthier and stronger as I will dilute the chemical and let it sit on my hair for a shorter period.
- Styling versatility, goes from curly to straight in a jiffy.
- More similar to my natural hair.
- I love to wear my hair straight, and I can do this with methods which won't cause heat-damage (roller-setting)
- Not in it's natural state, thus not as healthy as it could be.
- Semi-long wash-days.
Natural Hair
Pros:
- Healthy strong hair which isn't damaged by relaxers.
- Pride of wearing my natural hair.
- Currently unfamiliar with my natural hair, a challenge I am not quite ready for.
- Time-consuming (wash-days, styling etc.)
- Only one really effective way to straighten hair (flat-ironing) which causes heat damage if done too often.
- My new growth often seems much dryer than my relaxed (texlaxed) portions. So I may suffer from dry natural hair.
- Transitioning as opposed to big-chopping would be my choice, but I often find it difficult to handle the different textures.
The above are some of the things I considered when starting my hair journey. As you can see, texlaxing won! lol At some point in the future I certainly intend to transition from relaxed to natural. But for now, I am straddling the fence with texlaxed hair. I am interested in seeing if I can grow my texlaxed hair Below the Waist and how long it'll take.
Is your hair bone straight, texlaxed, or natural? How did you make your decision?
XOXO,
Abbi
I had the same thought process and mindset when I started my HHJ. I figured texlaxed is the best of both worlds. I have been transitioning to texlaxed but currently am starting to get the "natural" itch again. I'm going on 11wks post and am considering stetching through the rest of the year to see how it goes. I don't know what direction this journey of mine is going in. Guess that's why it's called a journey! Ha ha!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds...haha. But yeah I usually get that itch when I'm deep into a stretch and my new growth is very pronounced. I just love that curly texture that grows out of my head!
DeleteThat's me every time! I'm only about 11 wks post right now and I'm just loving the feeling of these soft coils sprouting out of my scalp.
Deletehaha seems like someone will be "team natural" soon. lol
DeleteI love my texlaxed hair! I like that my hair is easier to detangle (than when I was natural), thicker root to end (than when I was relaxed bone straight), and more voluminous. It is almost like having the best of both worlds. If I was completely natural, I'm certain that I would always wear my hair stretched, never in a puff, and at least 90% in an updo (I just get annoyed too easily when my hair is in my way. Ha-ha!). Texlaxing allows me to get the "stretched natural" hair look in half the time or effort that it would take if I didn't relax.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that really gets to be is how long it takes me to relax. Ain't nobody got an entire day to devote to self-relaxing! Ha-ha! Great post as usual chica!
KLP @ SavingOurStrands
I'm so with you KLP. I know I would prefer my hair stretched more often but dang it I'm getting tired of this self relaxing thing even if it is 4 times a year at the most. lol!!
DeleteJust thinking about the process makes me tired!
DeleteI totally agree with you guys. Texlaxed hair for the win! I don't like relaxer days either, not only because they are so long, but they make me nervous, cuz I still haven't got this texlaxing thing down pat. I've only relaxed twice in my 18-month journey and once it was too underprocessed and the second time it was too straight. (That's a con I discovered AFTER I made my decision lol). Hopefully I get it right in December.
Delete@Andrea: Maybe you need to solicit some help. Even if not from a professional, a sister or friend should do. I wish I was at home so my sister could help!
I'm definitely with you on texlaxing being the best of both worlds. I've been transitioning - mostly by accident - since 2011 and I still have a way to go yet. I can't wait to be fully texlaxed. Your hair looks so beautiful in that picture :) x
ReplyDeleteIt really is. I started texlaxing accidentally too! And now I have a myriad of textures due to some not so wonderful relaxer days. lol. Thanks Lesley.
DeleteWhat is texlaxed?
ReplyDeleteTexlaxing is just another way of saying under-processed hair. We intentionally leave some texture in our hair usually by diluting the relaxer or by leaving it in our hair for shorter than the recommended time.
DeleteI'm bone straight but still have alot of texlaxed texture and not sure which direction I want to go in but as long as its healthy hair its fine with me.
ReplyDeleteThat was me when I started my hair journey, hair that was supposed to be bone straight but with some underprocessed parts. If you choose to texlax you won't regret it though :-)
DeleteNice post. I'm texlaxed, which happened by accident. I was self-relaxing and I didn't leave the relaxer on long enough. I was worried about damaging my hair. I like it texlaxed and just like you mentioned, it is very versatile.
ReplyDeleteThanks Uzoma. It seems like most people started texlaxing accidentally. It's one of the few accidents you are happy happened though huh?! :-)
DeleteI'm 17 weeks post and have no idea which direction I plan on taking. I've been extending my stretching trying to decide whether I want to join my mother and go natural but I love my texlaxed hair. Because I haven't have reached the goals I set for my texlaxed hair (fully texlaxed and waist length) I don't like the feeling of giving up on one goal before starting a new one... but then I feel guilty about not supporting my mom...
ReplyDeleteI'm a mess! Lol! Hopefully I'll make up my mind soon.
Jen I know exactly how you feel when you say moving on to one goal before completing another feels a little like quitting. I love my texture and want to go natural everytime I have a long stretch, but I don't wanna just abandon my texlaxed hair, I want to see it through until I reach my goal and when I get bored of it then I'll probably do the natural thing.
DeleteAbout your mom, I read that post where you mentioned transitioning to support her and while I think that is awesome and sweet, If you're not ready, I'm sure there are other ways in which you can lend your support. Whatever you choose though, I'm sure the results will continue to be gorj!
This is EXACTLY where I am in my Journey right now, I keep thinking about going natural since my new growth doesnt scare me so much like it did pre-hhj, lol. Now im almost 18 weeks post and still debating where I should Texlax this weekend or not. But ur so right Texlaxing gives me the best of both worlds so far, so I may just Texlax until I'm fully Texlaxed and at WL and then maybe I'll transitioning to natural after that, We'll see! Nice post!
ReplyDeleteYour hair looks fab in that pic btw!
ReplyDelete