MissJenna

I don't know how their hair can be healthier either since all the bonds in the hairs are broken so the hair is weaker. Maybe some women have a really hard time with detangling their hair or they use way too much heat and so when they texlax or relax their hair, they can detangle their hair easier and they use less heat which causes less breakage.

I am really looking into the keratin treatment now. I just don't have the money to get it done professionaly. I will read some diy forums and see their at home experiences!

Korkscrew

MissJenna, I don't know about other women, but one of the side effects when I texlaxed was that my hair got tangled (It started to feel really dry and I had these weird knots in the nape area).

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flippacious

Just fyi, keratin treatments are probably not going to give you sleek, low-maintenance, frizz-free hair. I have pretty dense hair with natural 2C waves and went through a phase in which I was getting keratin treatments (professionally) every 6 months or so. The attached pics are the results. In all the pics, my hair is air dried. It's still very poofy. It's very likely that with keratin treatments, you'll still need to blow dry and/or flat iron in order to get frizz-free straight hair. Ultimately, I was disappointed because it never really cut down the time it took me to straighten my hair, and my hair was still prone to frizz. If I flat ironed it, it did look relatively silky, but if it was humid or I got even remotely sweaty, my hair would poof out again. It did really loosen my curl pattern though, but that's about it.

That's not to say I think you should turn to a more heavy duty relaxer. The fumes coming out of my hair while getting the keratin treatments were terrifying enough!! I had to keep my eyes covered with a cloth, even though the salon would open two sliding-glass doors to vent the fumes. Also it took about 5 hours every time... not fun!!

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I just don't want you to expect a miracle! (disclaimer: I also don't think anyone can expect miracles from doing the CG method, though my hair feels healthier and softer this way, and I am happier with it! It's really up to you and what you want out of your hair)

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MissJenna

Your hair colour and texture are very lovely flippacious! Thank you for sharing your experience on the keratin treatments.

I am really leaning towards keeping my hair natural and flat ironing it when I need it straight. Besides, I want to add highlights to my hair so it would be a bad mix if I texlax or get keratin treatments.

I just have to invest in a good hair straightener (I am thinking the bio ionic one pass?) and heat protectant. Also, I need good shampoo+conditioner and gel when I leave my hair natural.

MissJenna

Hi everyone, I washed my hair with a sulfate free shampoo and put conditioner but didn't wash it out for too long. I did not brush my hair while I was in the shower or after I got out of the shower. While my hair was soaking wet, I put a leave in conditioner and then a lot of gel. After it air dried, I put a tiny but of frizz serum. The pictures are shown below. Compared to the previous pictures I posted, the frizz has reduced but the curl pattern is still the same.

I am happy with the results but I still want to achieve looser curls (1c-2a type). I am s0o0o0o0o curious of how my results will turn out with texlaxing

Aqua_Lily

^Your curl pattern is simply gorgeous...

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Natural blonde going for 40 inches length!
F/med por/iii

Lo-poo: Nature's Gate CR*
CW: Elvive VCSC*
RO: EO Keratin cond*, GF FP, AO MAO+AS
LI: KCKT, Elvive VCSC*
PT: Home made recipe*
Style: JC spray gel, JC mousse*, Kiss My Face*, TBS CCB, Studioline*
Oils: argan*, EVCO*, EVOO, JB castor*, grapeseed*, sesam, shea butter
Other: plop*
*=HG

iherb.com 5-10$ discount code: VHT541 Many natural hair products

Wurly_Girl

F A N T A S T I C !
We all knew that you only need to find the right routine to let your curls blossom
I hope you'll give up on relaxing

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Curl Pattern: 2c-3a
Porosity: medium
Density: thin
Width: fine-medium
Lenght: short (above ears), last haircut 1/25/2013

Routine: modified CG
CW: cone free and protein free conditioners
DT: homemade sheabutter hair creme /Hydraderm sheabutter hair mask
Styling before diffusing (winter)/airdry (summer): light condish first, then FSG/hydrolized keratin spray first, blowdry for a few minutes then light conditioner and FSG
Once a month: henna, amla treatment

MojoDojo

I personally think your hair is gorgeous as is!

But you gotta do what you gotta do. But I do love your hair as is, it's gorgeous and shiny and thick.

MissJenna

Thank you everyone I wish it was curly at the top as well. It looks weird since the roots are straight and the bottom is curly.

I feel uncomfortable when my hair is curly. I just imagine it so puffy and frizzy looking but to others it's not.

I might relax one tiny strand I will definitly keep updating!

dusalocks

Do what you gotta do. if you're that curious about relaxing it might bug you until you try. (I was this close myself.) I think your hair is gorgeous too. Solid 2C/3A ish. For encouraging root curl, it might be good to clip the top of the hair while it's drying. I can only get root curl at the front of my head usually unless I bother to clip. (Which I don't always do 'cuz I'm lazy.)

Devacurl Clip me up & a way - YouTube

Also there was a thread around here about jaw clipping to encourage root curl. Let me google it.

There we are!

Jaw clipping the canopy - Incredible lift and root curl!

Have fun experimenting. I did look up luvmegz. She is gorgeous and has nice hair so I can see why you'd want to try what she's doing. But the home relaxer she used (organic root stimulator) geared towards African Americans so it might be little strong on your hair since your curl pattern isn't as tight as most of theirs. The texture I don't know. It says fine/medium on the box but you may be coarse (like me) so that could add another complication there. The story about my aunt and all her hair falling out is because she used a drugstore relaxer marketed towards African Americans. She got excited because my brother (who had long hair in high school) tried one out and his hair came out very straight and silky. But my brother's hair gradually reverted back to its natural texture after three months and she completely lost hers. Luckily my aunt looks really cute with a pixie cut. Most women do if it's done right and catered to their face shape so worst case scenario. . . Anyways that's why you should proceed with caution. I think a test strand is a good idea. Take it from the underlayers so it won't show on top in case it reacts adversely.

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3A. Coarse/Porous/Medium-High Density/Semi-Arid Climate
CG since Nov. 2012.

Poos: SM Moisture Retention or Yucca Baobab (1x a wk), TJ Tea Tree Tingle (to clarify as needed)
Condish: TJ Tea Tree Tingle*, SM Restorative, Curl & Shine, + Yucca Baobab, Tresemme Naturals
Stylers: KCKT + KCCC**, FSG*, SM Curl Enhancing Smoothie* + Curl & Style Milk, CJ Pattern Pusha
Sealers: Jojoba or grapeseed oil or smoothie*

* = HG

sKorpio1190

I have the same issue. Straight roots and waves that start around ear length and turn to curls in some places. Clipping my hair with small jaw clips hasn't really helped with developing curl at my roots, but it has helped give me volume, which is a good trade off for me. At least I wont have flat top, which makes the lack of curls up there more obvious

MissJenna

After looking at some relaxing/texlaxing forums, some posted that their hair reverted after sometime. I don't know why that is. Isn't it supposed to be permanent? You obviously have to retouch the new growth but the hair that is relaxed should stay the same.



I

Melie.

Its the Head and shoulders!!! Your hair looks like mine when i used that stuff.. I Also used to straighten to not have to deal with it but i had to shave my head due to the damage.
Relaxing at home is like bleaching to the 10th power in out latina hair believe me! your hair will brake off and be very weak!

I second the motion to try CG or you can switch your shampoo conditioner to something more moisturizing and do a treatment i have very coarse hair that was frizzy due to dryness , I could hear my hair's crunchy-ness.

if you want low maintenance you can do it with curly hair wash with conditioner , use a leave in and put gel in it your hair can stay like this for 2-3 days and you can also do your routine at night. It takes a little time to get your hair to recover but once you get your routine down its easy.

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Melie. 2c Coarse Porous(damaged) Learning to battle The FL humid weather, but I love it here!!!
Trying CG as of 7/8/11

I will try anything on my hair!

Youtube channel: MsMelySoto

Melie.

weird i only saw the first page...

You can try to loosen your curl pattern by combing with a denman when you have the wet hair with product in it. I get beachy waves when i do that or I can get nice chunky curls id i don't comb.

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Melie. 2c Coarse Porous(damaged) Learning to battle The FL humid weather, but I love it here!!!
Trying CG as of 7/8/11

I will try anything on my hair!

Youtube channel: MsMelySoto

learning2luvmycurls

Have you thought about Brazalian Keratin Therapy treatment? You can buy the kit from a drug store and do it yourself at home. I did it a while back and it actually made my hair healthier! The ad says it's a 30-day treatment, but mine lasted for 3 months and I LOVED it. I did not have to use a flattening iron after I did this, my hair was wash and go and still stayed straight. The only drawback is the time you have to let the stuff sit on your hair without putting it in a ponytail or washing it (72 hrs.). The process involves you putting the stuff in your hair and then flat ironing each section, so it's a fairly long process if you have long hair. Just a thought though just in case you didn't know about this.

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Fine/3a hair, CG since 2006
C/O wash: anything Suave, fav is Waterlily Aloe
Stylers: Kinky Curly Spritz and Herbal Essence Set me Free Gel
HG: KCCC(winter) w/ Knot Today and Curl Keeper(summer)
DT: still trying to find what's the best and cheapest....I use coconut oil overnight
Playing with: shea butter,vinegar washes & protein fillers
Special Considerations: I frequently color because I have almost 50% grey, I use a semi-permanent to reduce damage

Calendula

I used a relaxer when I was maybe 12 or 13 that was geared to African Americans (I'm super white). My hair didn't fall out but neither was it straight. I wish I had pictures but I don't. It just looked frizzy and poufy. I think I tried it a few times under the delusion it would suddenly work and my hair would be stick straight and glossy but surprise! it never did.

I think your hair is beautiful as it is. It doesn't look weird because it's less curly at the top. We all think about our hair way way way way more than anyone else thinks about our hair.

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*3B, medium/fine, normal porosity, normal elasticity, shoulder-length when dry.

MissJenna

Hi Melie, thank you for the advice. What is a denman comb? I have never seen or heard of it

Raquel26

MissJenna, your hair is beautiful!

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my curly blog

2 months into this... Still experimenting...
Sporadic shampoo (usually 1 to 2 times a week): Kinky Curly Come Clean
Co-wash or Rinse Out (in rotation): Suave clean breeze, V05 Strawberries & Cream, Tresseme naturals
Leave in: CHS Curl Keeper, or Coconut oil
Style: LA Looks Gel (the blue one), GF curl shaping spray gel

MissJenna

Hi learning2luvmycurls, I was thinking about trying the keratin treatment. I guess it would be a good idea to try the organix one before getting a professional one done. Thanks for your input!

CurlyCarmenCurly

Straightening it 4 times a month is still once a week, which is still far too often and will lead to damage, especially if you're not taking precautions like deep conditioning before and after, using a heat protectant, being gentle and doing quick passes, making sure hair is fully dry before flat ironing, letting hair air dry instead of blow drying it beforehand, not having the iron on high heat and doing a protein treatment afterwards. I flat iron once a month at most, and I have still noticed some damage, and I do all of the above.

As for relaxer, well, all I'm saying is say hello to dry, lifeless and damaged hair. It's better to just accept yourself naturally, really. I am very busy also, don't spend much time on my hair and it looks great. And when it doesn't, I just throw it back. No biggie.

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