Many black women opt for chemical processes in order to make their natural hair more manageable.
While these chemicals may sometimes work effectively, they often end up damaging the woman’s hair in the process, leading the woman to desire to revert back to her natural hair.
If you’ve had chemicals in your hair in an attempt to make it easier to manage, you might be wondering how you get your natural hair back after a texturizer.
The only way to get your natural hair back after a texturizer is to wait for the hair to regrow and then cut the texturized parts off.
A texturizer is a permanent hair treatment, so it can’t be reversed, meaning you can just “wash it out.”
Any new hair that regrows will be natural and texturizer-free, so you’ll either have to be patient and contend with your hair until it grows to a desirable length or cut your hair really short in order to get all the chemicals out.
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What is the “big chop”?
You may hear many black women talk about how they’ve undergone the “big chop”, but you had no idea exactly what they were referring to.
The big chop refers to women cutting a majority of their hair off, only leaving very little new growth left, which will often be extremely short.
This can be both very freeing and depressing for women at the same time, as they might feel very relieved to no longer have to deal with having chemicals in their hair but having all their hair suddenly gone can be shocking.
The good, the bad, and the ugly about hair relaxers
Many black women opt to relax their hair, which requires the use of very harsh lye-based chemicals that permanently straighten the hair, enabling women to wear their hair straight and sleek.
Despite the initial favorable results of lye-based relaxers, the chemicals can irritate and even burn the skin, which is why a petroleum jelly base is recommended to be used on the skin surrounding the scalp prior to applying the relaxer.
Furthermore, relaxers can cause serious injury to the scalp, in the form of second or even third-degree burns, as well as scalp infections, hair brittleness, thinning and breakage, and extreme hair loss.
How can black women more easily manage their hair without chemicals?
There are many creative ways for black women to successfully manage their hair without the use of chemicals.
Many enjoy wearing their hair in twists or in similar natural hairstyles that don’t require the use of heat.
However, other black women enjoy wearing their hair straight, shiny, and sleek, which is why many opt for what is referred to as a silk press, which is more or less a “hard” pressing of the hair with the use of products to help repel humidity.
Step-by-step silk press process
If you’ve never had a professional silk press before and you like wearing your natural hair straight and silky, then you don’t know what you’re missing.
It is a 45-minute to hour-long process that begins with thoroughly washing and deep conditioning the hair. Once the hair is blow-dried straight, the beautician will then use the combination of a pressing comb and a flat iron to thoroughly straighten the hair, after applying a topical “silkening” cream to the hair.
How long do silk presses last?
As long as you don’t get your hair wet, your silk press can last as long as two or even three weeks.
If you work out or otherwise sweat a great deal, this could shorten the time that your hair will remain straight and silky.
Most women like getting their hair professionally styled once every week or two, and if you have the ability to go this frequently, then you should never have to worry about dealing with puffy, nappy, or unruly hair that is difficult to manage.
Ways to extend your silk press
If you’re unable to go to the salon as often as you would like, then there are some ways to extend your silk press, although you don’t want to extend it too long, because going for long periods of time without washing your hair isn’t healthy for your hair or skin.
Make sure you tie up your hair at night before bed with a silk scarf, which will help your silk press last longer. You should also cover your hair whenever showering, swimming, or performing any activity that involves water.
Can you do a silk press on your hair at home?
If you have the right supplies and equipment at home, then you don’t need to go to the salon often, if at all.
The equipment and supplies that you will need in order to perform a silk press on your hair at home are a clarifying shampoo, deep conditioner, liquid silk, leave-in conditioner, heat protectant, an adequate pressing comb and/or flat iron, hair clips, a comb, and hair oil.
You might even want to invest in a hooded dryer or heated cap, which can enhance the effects of your deep conditioner and help it to penetrate deeply into the hair shaft, therefore improving the outcome of your silk press.
Watching instructional videos online
If you have all the supplies and equipment to perform a silk press at home, yet you’re unsure how to proceed with the process, don’t worry – it is actually quite easy.
There are numerous videos available online that will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to perform the entire process.
You will have the option of seeing women with all textures and lengths of hair perform very successful silk presses on their own hair.
How can you care for hair that is damaged by chemicals without doing the big chop?
If you’re not brave enough to undergo the “big chop” but you no longer want to use chemicals, then you must allow your hair to grow long enough so that trimming the ends won’t be a big deal.
In the meantime, you can keep your hair properly moisturized and conditioned and refrain from using excessive and unnecessary amounts of heat on your hair.
This will minimize the damage that your hair will sustain as you grow it long enough to cut the chemicals off the ends.
Keratin hair treatments
You may have heard of keratin hair treatments as a means to more easily manage your hair and you may have considered learning more about them.
Keratin is a protein treatment that smooths and straightens, making it more manageable, and it’s used on all hair types.
However, there have been numerous complaints about keratin causing hair breakage, hair loss, allergic reactions, and possibly even cancer after long-term exposure to the chemicals used in this hair-straightening product.
Is a Brazilian blowout a healthy way to straighten your hair?
Many people state that Brazilian blowouts are healthier in comparison to keratin treatments, although Brazilian blowouts come with their own possibility of risks.
A Brazilian blowout is a semi-permanent hair treatment that leaves hair straight after saturating it with keratin and eventually blowing it straight with a very hot hairdryer.
This type of hair treatment requires exposure to a significant amount of formaldehyde, which is a potent chemical that is also used as an embalming fluid and can lead to cancer.
Dominican blowouts
A Dominican blowout is a popular hair straightening method that gets the hair bone-straight without the use of chemicals.
However, there are some drawbacks to opting for this hair-straightening method, as it requires the use of a significant amount of heat, which can damage hair.
Despite this drawback, many black women love the results of the Dominican blowouts and will continue to get them done.
How are Dominican blowouts done?
A Dominican blowout is done in the same manner as a silk press, except there usually isn’t a pressing comb used.
After shampooing and conditioning the hair, an extremely high-heat hair dryer is used to straighten the hair, leaving it straighter than it’s likely to have ever been before.
After the blow drying is finished, the stylist will use a flat iron to style the hair in whatever manner you desire.
It’s unfortunate that so many black women feel as if they must rely on chemicals to keep their hair as manageable as possible, as they often end up irrevocably damaging their hair.
However, there are ways to rejuvenate your hair and regrow it without any chemicals whatsoever.
There is no need to settle for thinning, brittle hair that is falling out just to have hair that is straight because there are healthier and safer ways to manage your hair without the use of harsh chemicals.
