She said I should tex-lax

[DigitalRain]

I was talking to a lady at work who I thought had natural hair. Its gorgeous. She later told me that she is texlaxed and that I should do the same.

I have about 90% shrinkage, at least it seems to me. Right now its at a manageable length but Im wondering how long that will last.

Can I get some pro's and con's on tex laxing?

 

[achangedlife]

I'm pretty new to texlaxing but I'll tell you what I think so far.

Pros: Thicker hair, less damage hair which results in length retention in the long run.
Depending on how much texture you leave in your hair your styling options
will probably more versatile (ex. wash and goes, or straight)

Cons: The only issue I've had is that I haven't been able to get my edges slick enough
and I looked like I needed a retouch after 3 weeks. However, I think that was due
to my relaxer. I just switched from the Hawaiian Silky Lye to Hawaiin Silky No Lye
It came out straighter but still with some texture. I used the regular but could
downgrade to the mild for more texture.

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

I just wanted to chime in briefly to add that just because someone suggested that they thought you should alter your hair....doesn't mean you should then internalize it as if its absolute truth.....its one persons opinion.

Unmanageable is a state of mind....every hair type can be managed and retain well with willingness to learn and proper techniques.

Tis all.

 

[Soliel185]

Well..the Pros I guess would include less shrinkage. It might make you hair more "manageable" as in easier to lay down. You would probably still be able to do most if not all natural styles, but it would be easier to straighten. You can stretch for long periods of time.

The Cons - whew. It's really REALLY hard to get a consistent texture. You could wind up with straight areas. Your hair may not form "curls" or "waves" it might just go fuzzy depending on how it takes chemicals. Your hair will be chemically altered, and it will have special needs. Your favorite products may stop working. Touch ups are going to be really hard (hair might get straighter with each touch up, hard to see line of demarcation etc etc), and if you decide you don't like it you'll have to grow it out.

Do a search though - there are tons of threads about it, and many naturals have been successful. Good Luck!

 

[nikki2229]

The most important question, IMO, is do YOU want to texlax?

 

[DigitalRain]

The most important question, IMO, is do YOU want to texlax?

Honestly, I don't know what I want to do. I sometimes wish my hair didn't shrink so much, and I wondered how it would look with the coils slightly loosened.

I can tell you if there is a way loosen the curl without a chemical, I'd prefer that.

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

DigitalRain....you literally *just* got started on your natural journey lol....there must have been some reason why you chopped off your long MBL+ relaxed hair to a twa. Maybe you should get back in touch with that reason....otherwise it was all for nothing.

My humble suggestion is just enjoy your hair and embrace it for what it is (at least for a little while) rather then comparing it to other people's hair continuously. Your texture is beautiful as it is...it doesn't have to be altered....you said yourself you haven't encountered any issues with your hair as of yet so why worry about a problem you don't even have?

I think it would be helpful if you looked at threads like Celebrate the Beauty Photobook Natural type 4 hair, Long Haired 4 Somethings and Natural Professional and formal styles threads....this way you can bombard yourself with positive images of women rockin coils like yours. Little by little you can fall in love with your hair shrinkage and all.

At the end of the day its all about what you're most comfortable with and what makes you happy....I just kinda felt the above needed to be said.

I really need to leave threads like this alone though people will do what they do...... I need to learn to keep on truckin'.

 

[Stiletto_Diva]

I think you should hold off on the texlax for now. In my experience as hair gets longer it is easier to manage. Also as my hair got longer it hung more and it seems like I have less shrinkage. Just remember that once you texlax you have to start over if you want to be natural again.

 

[UrbainChic]

texlaxing is a personal decision , but i am going to chime in and echo some of what the others have said and reiterate that it is best to wait until you have grown more length before deciding you need to texlax to obtain the look you want and level of maintenance you feel comfortable with. I have found that the longer my hair has gotten the more manageable it seemed to me, as well as the weight of my lengthening hair also minimizing much shrinkage I saw before. But I know for others on the board such as AdoraAdora ( ) have found that even after attaining a certain length, texlaxing works much better for them

I think though if you wait till you accumulate a bit more length, and have tried numerous styling options, it may be too early to make that decision. I noticed you are less than a year into your natural journey, so I would say there is still so much you could learn about your hair before you take such a big plunge.

hope that helps

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

I just wanted to chime in briefly to add that just because someone suggested that they thought you should alter your hair....doesn't mean you should then internalize it as if its absolute truth.....its one persons opinion.

Unmanageable is a state of mind....every hair type can be managed and retain well with willingness to learn and proper techniques.

Tis all.

ITA...Don't let people plant these kinds of seeds in your mind...you set out to be natural...so be it!

Unmanageable IS a state of mind....I have what some people call the nappiest of the nappy....But after embracing my hair, and understanding it better, I realized I actually have very fine hair.....just A LOT of it! And I love it...Its very very managable......People claim something is unmanagable because they are not knowledgeable on how to take care of it....well.........lets be honest....they are ignorant on the issue!

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

Honestly, I don't know what I want to do. I sometimes wish my hair didn't shrink so much, and I wondered how it would look with the coils slightly loosened.

I can tell you if there is a way loosen the curl without a chemical, I'd prefer that.

Is shrinkage so bad?

Is it ugly?

Why do people hate shrinkage so much? I have 90% + shrinkage too....Help me out ladies? I am with BMP......gotta embrace it.....

One I embraced that shrinkage....things got a lot easier....You need time.....Once again...block these things from your mind....One comment has you doubting yourself...your hair.....

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

You're going to have a lot of people telling you to do a lot of different things to your hair. If I listened to all of those folks, I would be bald headed.

Get to know your hair a little better before even letting texlaxing enter your mind.

 

[RubyWoo]

What type of styles are you doing with your hair? Twist outs and coilouts are two beautiful styles that help stretch your hair.

To address your question. I was texlaxed prior to becoming natural.

Pros:
- thicker hair

Cons:
-inconsistant and unpredictable texture.

I honestly prefer my natural texture over my texlaxed texture. Yeah I have major shrinkage but I wouldn't have my coils without my shrinkage( which I love). One of the benefits of your natural hair is the option of doing stretched styles.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Damaged but not out]

Hmm

Pros
Thicker than relaxed hair
More "poppy" curls


Cons
Its so hit and miss
- if you have different textures ,after 3-4 applications it gets harder to texturise the right part, for the correct length of time every time.
This is why i eventually relaxed my whole head, after 3 yrs of texturising some sections of my head were just dead straight, and others dead kinky.

But i liked texturising results initially(2yrs), just not the inconsistency