One of the benefits of texlaxed hair is how thick it makes your hair look. This picture was taken right after I finished blow drying my hair on my texlax day in March this year.

And just like that, December is upon us. 2016 has been a special year in so many ways and I feel blessed to have plenty to be grateful to God for. I hope your year has been fruitful and filled with more happy times than sad ones.

I often get inspired on what topics to write about from the comments and questions I get from so many of you. Today’s post is about texlaxing which I have written about a few times already but I clearly left some stones unturned since I still get many questions about this.
I thought I should  answer the most popular FAQ’s I get about texlaxing and also add links to my previous post about texlaxing. I hope this will make things clearer for any oldie or newbie who has questions about texlaxing.

If you would like to know what texlaxing is, methods of texlaxing, products used for texlaxing as well as the pros and cons of texlaxing please click here and here.

FAQ 1 – Do I need to do anything to my relaxed hair before I start texlaxing ?

No, there is no rite of passage for switching from relaxed hair to texlaxed hair. There isn’t any special product to be used or processed to be completed before a relaxed lady can begin to texlax her hair. You simply start under processing your hair instead of letting it become fully straight when next you relax.

FAQ 2 – Am I supposed to cut off all my relaxed hair when I start texlaxing?

This is entirely up to you. When you begin texlaxing your hair, you can decide to cut off all your relaxed hair or you can have a more long term transition by trimming off the relaxed hair gradually over a few months or years even. Whatever works best for you.

FAQ 3 – How do I manage the two textures in my hair ( texlaxed texture and relaxed texture) whilst I am transitioning to full texlaxed hair

You may find it difficult to manage texlaxed hair initially especially if you normally relax you hair bone straight.
The look and feel and maintenance of texlaxed hair may take some ladies a while to get used to depending on how much texture is left in your hair.

When it comes to managing hair of different textures some tips that never go wrong include moisturising and sealing regularly to ensure that both textures are well hydrated and flexible which will help reduce the risk of breakage.

Detangling and combing in sections, texlaxed hair tends to feel and look much fuller than relaxed hair so working in section will help you ensure you are more thorough with detangling and applying products. It also allows you to comb your hair more gently. Again this helps to reduce the risk of breakage.

Embracing the natural look and natural hair inspired styles also helps. You have to mentally adjust and be ready to embrace styles that work with your textured roots rather than recreate the extremely sleek looks you might have gotten away with when your hair was fully relaxed straight.

FAQ 4 – I have type 4 hair, will texlaxing give me type 3 hair?

Texlaxing does not convert your hair from one curl type to another especially if you have type 4 hair. The look many ladies with type 4 hair achieve with texlaxing is that of blown out natural hair.

I hope the contents of this post and the links to the older posts about texlaxing answers your questions and demystifies texlaxing once and for all. If however you have more questions about texlaxing please comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Please feel free to encourage other readers by sharing your own experience of transitioning from relaxed to texlaxed.

The next post will be a wig related/hair update/wig safety post.

Come back soon

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

This picture isn’t really relevant to this post but its a good hair picture so…. 🙂

Hello ladies,

I really love writing educative posts especially when they give practical tips to help you manage your hair better.

Stretching your relaxer is something that is very beneficial for your hair.  It helps to minimise the risk of over processing and leads to stronger relaxed hair in the long run. Many ladies who stretch their hair tend to wear extensions ( wigs, braids, weaves, etc) when they are deep into their stretch to help cut back on the need for daily manipulation. This is because daily manipulation of hair with a lot of new growth can be time consuming and counter productive if breakage occurs when combing and detangling the hair.
The thing is this, even if you choose to wear extensions to manage your stretch, there will be days in which you still have to handle/manage/care for your hair and this can be a challenge. In this blog post I will share practical tips about how to wash, how to dry and how to style hair when you are deep into your stretch.

How to Wash Hair that has a lot of New Growth

Work in Sections
Okay ladies this tip may seem a bit recycled because it is something I always recommend for managing black hair and preventing breakage. For those who normally don’t work on their hair in sections, I assure you it will make wash day less stressful for your hair.
So on your wash day be prepared to detangle and pre-poo, wash and deep condition, apply leave-in conditioners and detangle and dry all in 2,4 or 6 sections. Working in sections helps to minimise tangles, helps you to be more gentle when combing your hair, helps ensure you apply products more thoroughly, and so on and on and on…..
The gist is that it helps you manage your wash day better.   Please note that some ladies still experience a lot of tangling when washing their hair in sections, such ladies my find washing in braids better. You can read how I wash my own hair in braids by clicking here.

Tips for Drying Hair that has a lot of New Growth

It is better for natural hair to be kept in a stretched state.  Even if you are relaxed and have a lot of new growth, it is better for your natural new growth to dry in a stretched state. This will make manipulating or combing and styling your hair easier.
After applying your leave in conditioners and detangling, it is best to dry your hair in a way that stretches out your natural new growth. If you are air drying you can try my banded base method which you can read about by clicking here

If you are blow drying,  you can try the tension blow dry method which you can watch in this video by hair care blogger and vlogger: Just Grow Already.

Tips for Styling Hair that has a lot of New Growth

If air drying, when your hair is about 50% dry, it can be put in large box braids or twists which you can unravel when your hair is fully dry. The braid out or twist out will help to camouflage the difference in textures between the new growth and relaxed length.
This style will only last for a few days and you may need to redo the twists or braids again to recreate the style, unfortunately this may be too much manipulation for hair with a lot of new growth.

If you prefer to blow dry , tension blow-drying will help stretch out the natural new growth making styling a bit easier.  Unfortunately the hair at the roots will start to revert and shrink during the week especially when you moisturise and seal your hair.
So what is the best style to help avoid daily manipulation and shrinkage of your new growth? The answer is simple, put it in a long term protective style, ie wigs, large box braid or weave but ensure you follow the correct hair care procedures for installing, maintaining and removing extensions. You can read about these by clicking here.

I hope you have found this post helpful. Are you on a stretch? Please share any tips you use to make your wash day easier.

My next post will be a quick tip on why it is not advisable to use water alone to moisturise your hair. See you soon.

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow