I Texlaxed... a Little.. Question

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

I vowed many times I'd never go near relaxer again due to severe breakage and dryness but I caved and did a 6 minute texlax(6 mins including application). I've been relaxer free since 2005 but a very frequent flat ironer. My issues are when i don't flat iron. The front and sides of my hair are delicate and the curl pattern has been mostly eradicated due to heat in addition to the fact that i think my hair was always a mix of 3a/b in the front/sides and 3b/c in the back causing me great distress because I feel I look neat from the front but when I look at the back and profile of my head curly the back is SOO much curlier than the front, and SUPER frizzy and BIG and more shrunken as well.

So tonight I threw some Porosity Control plus coconut oil all over my hair and tightly tied up the front and sides leaving the back free and nervously, almost shakingly nervously lol applied Silk Elements mild lye to the back for 6 minutes including application time. I just smoothed it on with gloved fingers like a conditioner. I tried not to pull the hair too much but I did smooth a little with my hands. I applied A LOT too. I have no clue how much you're supposed to use lol. I then neutralized like a mad woman, probably 7 times even leaving it in 10 mins one of the times plus 2 acv rinses . Then used a protein....then moisturizing conditioner.. The relaxer seemed VERY gentle. I made the decision to use lye because I just don't trust no lye after suffering dryness and just generally bad hair when I used to use them thinking they were safer...

Sorry for insulting you with the extremely crappy computer pictures lol (they enlarge a little). My hair is sort of a poof ball now from shampooing so many times but the back is not poofing out or curling up tightly, it's longer too and I think I am very happy . I'm actually surprised this worked as well as it did. I still have a great deal of curl left back there. I half expected a disaster with my hair falling out or straight hair, either way I'd have been crying lol. I'll try to take more pics later on.

This pic was about half an hr before I did it.

This pic was about 15 mins after.

Question for texlaxers: Do you find that your hair reverts to it's tighter state? I ask because I just can't seem to believe that my hair will stay like this since I processed for only 5 minutes with mild. Is it really permanent or can I expect it to revert soon? If it does revert can I do it again without severe damage?

 

[NikStarrr]

I use to be texlaxed. It usually gets slightly curlier after about a week or the first regular wash. I think relaxers leave some kind of residue on the hair that makes it look straighter initially. Just my lil theory.

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

My straightening effect is so slight that I'd be pissed if it reverted lol. Would it be harmful to do it again for maybe 3 minutes? I was really timid this time. I don't want to damage my hair but I want to retain the looseness. My hair looks SO much more cohesive now and now my back ends look curlier and less heat damaged because loosening the mid and upper hair shafts brought the curl down to the ends somehow. I stayed strictly away from the ends. Also, when I feel the need to do a touch up, I have NO clue how I'll avoid overlap since the curl pattern change is so very slight especially at the root. I barely put any relaxer near the root to begin with.

 

[NikStarrr]

I'd wait a week, just so you can see just how much it reverts before going over it again. You can always go over it more and more, but if you loosen it up too much, there's no turning back.


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[DDTexlaxed]

As a former texlaxer, I am begging you, do not texlax again until your scheduled touch up. This is your new texture and you should get used to it. If you texlax again, it could end up in damaging your hair and you can lose the curl pattern completely. I believe your curl pattern may tighten up as your heat damaged ends grow out. If I ever go back to relaxing, this will be what I do. I basically treated my hair like it was natural and it thrived. What is your new regimen? What products will you use to moisturize and style your hair? Your hair is processed even if you left the relaxer on for a short period of time. Don't be too quick to double process it.

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

I'm doing this again tonight:
Okay, just took a before shot. My hair has definitely reverted almost fully since March, it looks like my old before pic again almost so that makes me less nervous to redo the process since it's almost like starting with virgin hair again.
Click to see

 

[PearlyCurly]

Yeah it looks like your hair reverted back

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

I did it again . It seemed to go considerably straighter this time but I'll need to see how it looks dry. I was a bit more aggressive with making sure I covered all the hair in the back with relaxer and tugged a bit. After about 5 minutes the hair felt limp and seemed to have little to no curl and I knew it was almost time because another 5 minutes would probably have been bone straight. I did 6 minutes total including application again.....

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

Before and after:
Click to see
Before:



After:



I don't get why my hair reverted from the first time. It was like all my curls just came back over the 3 months even though I'd been flat ironing often. The curls at my crown and middle of my head in back are ridiculously stubborn while the rest of my hair is pathetically malleable. My hair is so weird!

 

[SmileyNY]

Well, that was a short stretch lol. It looks good! I was going to suggest that you wait at least 6 weeks. Next time you need a corrective, you should definitely wait. I know it's hard to wait sometimes, but its worth it b/c double processing can cause damage. Some of that damage may not even be apparent until months down the line. Even if it looks like the relaxer didn't take, your hair bonds have still been broken down & your hair definitely needs time to recover before going through the process again. Also, there's a reason why it is suggested that you don't wash your hair for a certain amount of days b4 a relaxer. The scalp is too porous & vulnerable to chemicals after a wash. Since it was on virgin (& hopefully not severely heat damaged) hair, I'm sure you'll be fine, but I'd definitely wait next time.

 

[PearlyCurly]

it looks good!

I dont get why the hair reverts either, im pretty sure relaxers are permanent

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

Well, that was a short stretch lol. It looks good! I was going to suggest that you wait at least 6 weeks. Next time you need a corrective, you should definitely wait. I know it's hard to wait sometimes, but its worth it b/c double processing can cause damage. Some of that damage may not even be apparent until months down the line. Even if it looks like the relaxer didn't take, your hair bonds have still been broken down & your hair definitely needs time to recover before going through the process again. Also, there's a reason why it is suggested that you don't wash your hair for a certain amount of days b4 a relaxer. The scalp is too porous & vulnerable to chemicals after a wash. Since it was on virgin (& hopefully not severely heat damaged) hair, I'm sure you'll be fine, but I'd definitely wait next time.

I've waited since March when I first made this thread , longer than 6 weeks. My hair did go much straighter this time so hopefully it will not revert.

 

[Solitude]

As a former texlaxer, I am begging you, do not texlax again until your scheduled touch up. This is your new texture and you should get used to it. If you texlax again, it could end up in damaging your hair and you can lose the curl pattern completely. I believe your curl pattern may tighten up as your heat damaged ends grow out. If I ever go back to relaxing, this will be what I do. I basically treated my hair like it was natural and it thrived. What is your new regimen? What products will you use to moisturize and style your hair? Your hair is processed even if you left the relaxer on for a short period of time. Don't be too quick to double process it.

Ita with this.

 

[SmileyNY]

I've waited since March when I first made this thread , longer than 6 weeks. My hair did go much straighter this time so hopefully it will not revert.

lo siento. I wasn't paying attention lol. The old bumped threads get me sometimes. Anyway, welcome to Team Texlax!

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

^^Girl, it already reverted on me from last night . I give up!!! I think I used too much oil beforehand, all the better I guess because less straightening, less damage.

 

[SmileyNY]

^^Girl, it already reverted on me from last night . I give up!!! I think I used too much oil beforehand, all the better I guess because less straightening, less damage.

True. Better under processed than over. I just had my 2nd Texlax after a 4 month stretch a few weeks ago & I'm finding that there will always be some areas that are less processed than others & there will always be parts that will revert. I'm going for a full bodied, kinky look, so I don't mind... Plus I love how strong my hair feels even though it's relaxed. You'll get used to your hair's texlaxed "personality" lol.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I don't think lye relaxers need oil. They don't process as fast as no lye and I never get strait hair when I use it. Your hair does not revert if you use a relaxer. Your hair is still chemically altered. You should just relax strait because it will screw your hair up if you keep touching up really soon. Texlaxing is really a hit and miss thing. You have to sometimes settle with the "texture" you are left with sometimes because your hair will not always have the same pattern each texlax. What are you trying to achieve with your texlax? Your hair in the pics do look a lot straiter. Do you want to keep your curl pattern?

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

It looks really pretty! I love the before curls but the "after" waves are very nice as well! I'm not usually impressed with texlaxed natural texture, I thought people did it for more body. But those waves look amazing!!!

 

[SmileyNY]

I don't think lye relaxers need oil. They don't process as fast as no lye and I never get strait hair when I use it. Your hair does not revert if you use a relaxer. Your hair is still chemically altered. You should just relax strait because it will screw your hair up if you keep touching up really soon. Texlaxing is really a hit and miss thing. You have to sometimes settle with the "texture" you are left with sometimes because your hair will not always have the same pattern each texlax. What are you trying to achieve with your texlax? Your hair in the pics do look a lot straiter. Do you want to keep your curl pattern?

I can't speak for Serena... But I know that when I say "revert" I am not talking about back to natural lol! Obviously the hair is still relaxed. Also, why is texture in quotation marks?

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I can't speak for Serena... But I know that when I say "revert" I am not talking about back to natural lol! Obviously the hair is still relaxed. Also, why is texture in quotation marks?

I put texture in quotation marks because I am trying to emphasize that the texlaxed texture is what she has now. She is expecting the results she got in her first texlax and it is impossible because her new texlaxed texture is loosened more after each texlax. I believe she still thinks she has her original hair texture and that is why she is unsatisfied with her texlax results. I could be wrong, but it just seems that way to me. I hope she doesn't take offense to my post because I'm saying it with love. I am by no means the texlax queen, but my hair thrived when I was texlaxed. I messed up when I retouched too soon and lost my curl pattern. I don't want that to happen to her.

 

[Incognitus]

When retouching texlaxed hair, is it just like a relaxer where you only apply the chemical to the NG?

 

[SmileyNY]

When retouching texlaxed hair, is it just like a relaxer where you only apply the chemical to the NG?

Yes. If not, just as with a full-strenghth relaxer, there's a risk of over processing. There's also a risk relaxing the hair straighter than intended.


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