In part one, which you can read by clicking here, I set out how relaxing/texlaxing causes damage to the hair by compromising its structural stability in the cortex layer of hair and also causes surface degradation to the cuticle layer of hair.
In this post I’ll share some percentages that shows the extent of the damage that occurs and more importantly, some tips to help ladies with relaxed hair keep their hair in good condition, retain as much of the stability their hair has left and improve its ability to fight breakage.

The Mathematics of Relaxed Hair 

My understanding of hair is rooted in science.  Mathematics is the science of quality, structure and change.  Relaxing definitely changes the structure and quality of hair fibres so I believe using some mathematics will give you even more understanding of why relaxed, texlaxed and even texture released or color treated hair really does need more care.

Cystine and disulphide bonds are not only source of stability and strength of hair BUT they are one of the MAIN source of hairs strength.  In a person with no health issue or hair loss condition that is affecting their hair and scalp, when hair grows out of their scalp, we can presume that it has 100% of its Cystine strength.

I came across a study some months ago which found that in natural hair that has not undergone chemical straightening but that had sustained other types of damage, there is approximately 21% reduction in Cystine.
This means natural hair that has sustained a fair amount of wear and tear and some other moderate damage should still have about 79% of its Cystine strength.
Great hair care might result in less Cystine loss than this and lack of care/too much styling/ incorrect/ care might lead to much higher cysteine loss than this.

The same study showed that in relaxed hair, there is approximately 33% reduction in Cystine as a result of the relaxer process.  This means hair has only 67% of its Cystine strength left.  I presume texlaxed hair retains more of it Cystine strength but the study did not cover this.
If you then think about additional wear and tear and damage further reducing Cystine in relaxed hair by another 20%, that leaves only 47% of Cystine strength left.

Frankly with relaxed hair can’t afford to sustain that much wear and tear as it will take the hair strands from moderately compromised to severely compromised.  There isn’t much room for high levels of wear and tear and damage because a notable amount of its strength has already been reduced.  You want to prevent FURTHER Cystine loss as much as possible.  Relaxed hair cant afford to have the additional 21% Cytine reduction that natural hair can withstand.
Great hair care might result in less Cystine loss from wear and tear than this and relaxer abuse, over processing, lack of care/too much styling/ incorrect/ care might lead to much higher cysteine loss than this.

It goes without saying that there will always be some women whose hair is relaxed and is still exceptionally strong and may experience less Cystine loss than the average however they are the exception not the rule.

Four Things You Can Do To Help Relaxed Hair Thrive

So now that the point has been really driven home, what are some not so obvious things women with relaxed and texlaxed hair do to hold on what is left of the hairs structure and tensile strength.

1) Reduce heat styling
The disulphide bonds which are found within Cystine is what relaxers weaken to make the hair structure change and form a new straightened shape. Other things besides relaxers can break or weaken the disulphide bonds.  An example is high levels of heat.
Use of heat for styling especially at very high temperatures will further break down the disulphide bonds resulting in further weakening of your hair.
If your hair is relaxed, texlaxed or processed in other ways, reducing the frequency or temperature at which you heat style is advisable.

2) Avoid Prolonged exposure to Sunlight.
Ever wondered why hair gets much lighter when it has been in the sun for a long time?
It is because prolonged exposure to UV from the sun causes some of the amino acids in the hair to become oxidized.  This causes the loss of pigment and the hair becoming lighter, weaker and prone to break.

UV rays are environmental stressors and another thing that they do is break disulphide bonds when there is prolonged exposure. If you know you will be under the sun for a prolonged period and for several days, use of a hat or scarf can help protect your hair from too much exposure.

3) Be Consistent with Correct Hair Care (emphasis on correct)
Hair care is how we preserve our hair stands strength and integrity.
For relaxed hair doing so becomes crucial because lack of consistency will take your hair from healthy relaxed hair to unhealthy relaxed hair (ie one that has severe amount of damage) very quickly.
Good hair care products are effective but their impact is temporary not permanent. This is why consistent care is needed. You can’t use a conditioning product once and expect the effect to last forever.

Lack of hair care, very inconsistent or even incorrect hair care can lead to further degradation of the hair strands.
I emphasized correct acre because I have always taken care of my hair even before my hair journey BUT I was doing it wrong and my hair suffered as a result.  It is important that you complete all stages of your hair care and styling correctly.

4) Quality and Efficacy of Hair Care Products.
What we do to our hair and the products we apply to it have a significant impact on the state or condition of our hair.
Hair, after leaving the scalp is a dead fibre but is still very responsive to what we apply to it.  For example, relaxers can change the structure of hair and dyes can change the colour of hair.

Hair care products, good ones that is, should be formulated to help us preserve the health/integrity of our hair strands so that they remain in good condition for as long as possible.
Focusing on relaxed hair, it is important that you use products which based on their ingredients and formulation are able to mitigate the specific of damage caused by relaxers.

As set out in Part 1, the two main types of damage that occurs when hair is relaxed/texlaxed are (A) Surface degradation and hydrophobicity, (B) breakage, weakening and reduction of Cystine in the inner layer of hair.

• Surface degradation and hydrophobicity (of the cuticle/outer layer)
  You should seek out hair products that are ceramide rich.  Ceramides occur naturally in our hairs cuticle layer.
  Ceramide ingredients are beneficial to all hair types including natural hair but they are even more needed by hair that has undergone chemical straightening.  Ceramides in hair products compensates for the fatty acids that relaxers strip from the cuticle layer and works by helping the cuticles stay more compact so that they lay flatter.
  Products that are ceramide rich in a good formulation will result in reduced surface friction making hair feel smoother, less tangle prone with more shine or sheen.
  Hello strands that glide past each other!!!!! Hello less breakage!!!! Hello hair that looks and feels good!!! Hello more manageable hair!!!!!
  Both of the oils within the Infusions by Hairducation hair product range have a very high content of  naturally occurring ceramides.In addition to the above, ingredients that have a similar molecular structure to that of hair that makes them capable of restoring some the characteristics of outer layer of the hair strands are also very desirable.  Such ingredients help to preserve the integrity of hair by making the hair regain a more hydrophobic nature (albeit temporarily).  Remember as explained in part 1 that healthy hair is hydrophobic.
  The Hair + Scalp Moisturiser and Smoothening Leave-in Conditioner in the Infusions by Hairducation range of hair products contains actives that makes the outer layer of hair more hydrophobic.

• Breakage, Weakening and reduction of Cystine in the inner layer of Hair.
  Ingredients and a formulation that are capable of penetrating the inner layer of and working  at a molecular level and also bind with hair.
  If you know a lot about hair and products, you might think I am referring to proteins but I am not. Proteins work on the outside layer of hair and bind with the cuticle layer of hair to fill up gaps and cracks in hair.
  This support IS needed by relaxed hair but more than that, ingredients that are molecularly capable penetrating into the inner layer of hair to impart their benefits on the inside hair AND also works on the outside of hair are better.The Hair + Scalp Moisturiser and Smoothening Leave-in Conditioner contains actives which have been proven to work on a molecular level to;
  – replenishes and strengthens both the inner and outer layers of hair (strengthen not harden)
  – draws moisture into the inner layer of hair and reduces moisture loss
  – improves hair surface hydrophobicity of hair
  – compatible or work with a wide range of hair types.Using products that have high quality ingredients and a great formulation will have a very significant impact in compensation for the damage done by relaxers.
  Please note that completing all your hair care in a gentle methodical way is also important as well as responsible hair styling.

From all that has be shared in Part 1 and 2 of this series, I hope you can see why processed hair can easily and quickly go from low to moderate damage to becoming severely damaged if consistent hair care isn’t practiced and caution with styling isn’t exercised.
You can’t take too many liberties with processed hair.
I hope you have also found the tips helpful

X

Lade
Learn | Change | Grow

Over the years, my hair has sustained a lower degree of damage

I believe everyone has damaged hair. There I said it and I am glad I got it off my chest.
That pretty head of relaxed hair is damaged and yes that gorgeous head of well cared for natural hair is damaged too.

I decided to write this post because of a popular discussion aka argument I see all over social media about whether or not it is possible for relaxed hair to be healthy.
I’ve never seen or read any comments which echoes my own view on this topic so it appears to be my own unique perspective.  A popular view is that relaxed hair cannot be healthy because it has sustained damage during the relaxer process.
My argument is that if damage is being used as a yardstick by which we measure healthy hair then nobody has healthy hair  –  because every single persons hair has sustained a degree of damage.
The only time our hair is “healthy”, if healthy means zero damage, is when it initially grows out of the scalp. Thereafter, it begins to sustain damage. It is exposed to UV Rays, we wear tight ponytails, buns and puffs, we gel it down, blow dry it, twist it and untwist it, comb it, it gets matted so we detangle it, sometimes we flat iron it, put all sorts of products and extensions in it, I could go on and on but I am sure you get the picture.

Our hair is a fibre and all the examples given above will cause the fibre to sustain some degree of damage. Even the simplest hair care regimen in which the hair is cared for amazingly well will result in a degree of damage from physical wear and tear being sustained over several years of care.
So if everyones hair has sustained damage, can we say anyone’s hair is healthy??? Everyone has damaged hair but the more severe the damage, the more “unhealthy” the hair will look, feel and be.  The relevance of degrees or levels of damage is not somthing I’ve seen being discussed on any healthy hair platforms.

Focusing on relaxers in particular, yes relaxers breaks down the disulphide bond in the hair fibre.  The disulphide bond is what gives hair majority of its structural strength and the relaxer chemical and process breaks down about 40 to 50% of this bond BUT what most people do not realise is that the broken bonds will reform when lanthionine is produced in the hair during the relaxer process.  The bonds do not remain broken.  A new type of cross link bond is formed. So although the hair fibre is damaged, compromised and not as strong, it is still classed as a “stable structure because of the new cross links that are formed” (quoting my trichology textbook).

Please note that I am not trying to sugar coat anything, the fact remains that yes relaxers causes a lot of damage to the hair but it does not destroy the overall integrity of the hair fibre especially when relaxer abuse and incorrect procedure is avoided.
Please note that ladies with very fine delicate natural hair will probably want to stay away from relaxing as it is likely to result in a degree of damage that is too high for their high fibers to still have adequate levels of elasticity and structural integrity. Not everyone has hair that can withstand a relaxer process and texlaxing too is not compatible with some hair types.

Remeber also that relaxed hair should never be fully straight, why? So that the fibre retains some degree of strength and flexibility which is essential for the fibre fight breakage.
This is a key opportunity to tell any lady who sees relaxing as the “easy way out” that that notion couldnt be further away from the truth.  The more damage hair has sustained, the more important it is to have a good hair care plan in place to support the weakened fibre or structure of the hair.  If your hair has been relaxed you simly cannot afford to slack on your hair care if you want your hair to stay on your head.

I had a high degree of damage in these pictures

My key message is that, it is the severity or degree the of damage that hair has sustained that should used to determine whether or not it can be classed as healthy. The less damage your hair has sustained, the healthier it is.
Based on the percentage or severity of damage sustained, it is possible for a woman with relaxed hair or texlaxed hair to have healthier hair than a woman with natural hair who may flat iron her hair often or who may have colored her hair.
If you take two women with identical hair types, who both take care of their hair, if one is relaxed and the other is natural, the lady with the natural hair will clearly have healthier hair because it has sustained less damage but it does not mean that the lady with relaxed hair isn’t healthy too, depending on the degree of damage her hair has sustained and ongoing hair care.

My other aim with this post is to emphasize the function or the point of hair care which is to reduce the occurrence of damage, to minimize the severity of damage, mitigate the symptoms of the damage already sustained and the continued preservation of the hair fibre.
Hair care helps us preserve the integrity of our hair so that it looks healthy, feels healthy and is strong enough to resist breakage so that it is able to get longer. Hair care is also essential to keep our scalp healthy which in many ways is even more important.

We all have damaged hair but preventing damage from occuring too often and reducing the extent of damage sustained through healthy hair care is essential to preserve the fibres (aka keep the fibres in a stable enough state to be classed as healthy.

I hope you find this concept of degrees of hair damage educative and I hope it will help readers appreciate why hair care is essential.

When I look at my hair currently,  I see it as 25% to 30% damaged, not that I have any scientific test for this, I am simply basing it on the fact that besides texlaxing all I do to my hair is care for it and put it in a protective style.  I havent flat ironed my hair in over a decade.   In the pictures above of my hair prior to my hair journey, I would rate my hair as 55% to 70% damaged.  I was not following correct procedures for relaxing and used to flat iron my hair very often out of boredom and knew very little about hair care.  Through healthy hair care I have reduced the severity and frequency of damage my hair has sustained and that is why is now healthier and longer and thicker than it used to be.

If you were to rate the percentage of damage your hair currently has, what would your figure be? #nojudgement

Stay safe.

Take care of yourself and take care of your hair.

x

Lade

I remember talking to a friend after church many years ago. At that point, I had been on my texlax journey for 2 years and was proud of the progress it had made. I had washed my hair on Saturday and intended to put it into box braids after church so I could wear my wig to work come Monday morning. I wore it in a cute (in my opinion) poofy looking bun and off to church I went.
During our catch up, with a look of genuine concern, my friend said, “ Your hair is due for a touch up, you should get it done soon because your hair doesn’t look neat”. I excitedly explained to her that my hair was texlaxed and that I had had a touch up just two weeks prior. I tried to tell a few things about healthy hair care.
Lets just say she didn’t get it. As far as she was concerned my hair just wasn’t tidy and she reiterated that I needed another touch up because the last one clearly didn’t work.

She wasn’t the first or last person to make such comments. These days its comments about my hair not looking shiny enough or your hair is nice but don’t you want to get it done aka styled. Fortunately for me I’ve never been one to be easily influenced by the views of others about my appearance so such comments have never a had any detrimental effect on my psyche.
I had seen the healthy hair care light at that point. I had re-learned a lot about what black hair is supposed to be aesthetically both in its natural and relaxed states. And I was fine with it.

The concern I have and why I decided to write this post is because the hair of so many black women is being destroyed by the concept of neatness. Whilst we have this time, I would like to write posts which I hope will challenge us to gain a better understand the character of our hair and to see the beauty in it in whichever state we choose to wear it be it natural, texlaxed, relaxed or loc’ed.
Failure to do so has lead countless women to sustain permanent hair loss and many more are on that path.

Afro hair is textured.
Even relaxed hair retains some degree of texture.
When we get a fresh relaxer, our hair might look very sleek for a while but after a few washes, the texture retained is usually apparent. This is why  relaxed hair often does not blend well with Caucasian and Asian hair extensions and the use of closures, frontals or flat irons on the relaxed hair is required to hide the telling difference in texture. Relaxed hair is still black hair. It will not look move or behave like other hair types.  And remenber even fully relaxed hair should not be relaxed beyond 80% because beyond this point too much damage (aka protein loss) would have occured and the hair would have lost its elasticity.  This is just one example in why the concept of healthy relaxed hair is possible, ie healthy by relaxed hair standards, but thats a battle for another day.
This may not apply to over processed relaxed hair but even hair that is over-processed will have some beautiful new growth spring up within a few weeks.

Our hair is textured and the more texture we eliminate, the more damage is caused to our hair.
The texture of our hair which is one of its defining characteristics, even in its relaxed state, is unfortunately perceived by many within our own communities as untidy, rough and in need of “fixing”. So we pull, stretch, gel, smoothen and hint of texture away and put the health of our hair at risk every time we do this. Please do not confuse this with simply making textured hair look tidy or day to day grooming.
Moisturizing, sealing and using a very soft brush will make our hair look neat but never give the level of sleekness I am referring to.

The problem is this, what is neat for afro textured hair (natural or relaxed) should not and cannot be what is neat by Caucasian or Asian hair aesthetics. Our hair must not be judged by those standards.
Put it this way, our hair is different and our neatness is different too. Our presentable is not their presentable

Understanding this may just help a few ladies stay away from the excess or daily use of edge control products combined with a very firm brush.

It may help a lady with less than one inch of new growth put the relaxer down for a few more weeks. (this may not apply to pixie cuts but that is a story for another day).

It may help a few women stay away from having their in crazy tight buns and ponytails with so much tension and gel that their afro hair which is big and poofy in its true state becomes completely flattened.
There is nothing wrong with such styles when done occasionally and with a lot of caution.

Done regularly and incorrectly, the above acts often leads to traction alopecia and other types of hair loss which many ladies do not fully bounce back from depending on its severity and the extent of damage sustained.

Before we try to “neaten” our hair, let us just pause to ask ourselves; is my hair actually rough/untidy or is just black hair being its textured self? Are we assessing the neatness by the correct standards? Or we still judging our beauty through the wrong lens.

I hope this post helps someone reading look at the hair and grade its neatness in a new light

Another post will be up in a few days so see you soon.

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow