Hello Ladies
I am glad to be putting up this blog post at last….sorry for the delay.
For ladies do not know what texlaxing is, please read part one. In this blog post, I will discuss methods of texlaxing, how I transitioned to texlaxed and which methods I use to texlax my hair.
Before I jump into part two, I would like to address some comments left on part one. A few ladies commented that they struggled with tangles and knots as a result of texlaxing, especially on their wash days.
I can certainly understand where you are coming from ladies as I used to have this problem too. The solution that helped me overcome this problem was washing in braids and ALWAYS working on my hair in sections. Please see the blog posts I have written on these methods. I hope they help you reduce the stress of tangles and knots. Remember you can always tweak my suggestions to suit you.
METHODS OF TEXLAXING
1) Weakening the relaxer by adding a few teaspoons of oil or conditioner. Do not add any essential oil. Only carrier oils such as olive, coconut, almond, castor oil etc, should be added.
The oils or conditioner added also change the relaxers consistency, making it more runny thereby also reducing its straightening power.
2) Adding a heavy oil or grease to your new growth. This barrier slows the speed at which the relaxer opens up the cuticles to start working.
3) Time reduction – not giving the relaxer enough time to straighten your new growth. Simply rinse of the relaxer earlier than you are supposed to. The relaxer would have broken some protein bonds in your hair but not as much as it would have if the relaxer was left on for full time.
4) Minimal or no smoothing- when we apply relaxer to our hair it breaks some bonds in our hair however smoothing/pulling the roots also contributes to our hair taking its new straight form. By either smoothing very little or not smoothing at all, our hair will not become completely straight.
HOW I TRANSITIONED TO TEXLAXED 
The first time I texlaxed my hair was before my hair journey. It was during the period I was experiencing a lot of breakage and shedding and was in panic mode about the state of my hair. I searched the internet for a certified afro hair stylist and decide to try out her salon.
During my appointment she explained to me that she did not relax hair bone straight because it was not good for our hair. I agreed because I was desperate to stop my hair breakage and was willing to try almost anything. She texlaxed my hair and at first I hated it desperately……it just seemed poofy to me. For many weeks after, my workmates kept commenting on how thick my hair was and I had gotten used to the texture in my hair. I grew to love it and that was the end of my relaxer days.
I still did not have a hair regimen then so my breakage carried continued.
When I started my hair journey I gradually trimmed off my relaxed ends.
MY TEXLAXING METHOD
My texlaxed hair at 9 weeks post. You can see the uneven textures if you look closely however from a distance its not too obvious.
I like my hair to look as natural (unrelaxed) as possible. I must have said so many times but will say again that my aim is to have hair that looks like stretched out natural hair. I think this is what suites me best and I love big hair. So every time I texlax I go the extra mile to avoid getting bone straight results.
For this reason I use methods 1 to 4 when I texlax my hair. Yes!!!! 1 to 4.
1) I weaken my relaxer by adding olive to it. I tend to use half a jar ( of Organic Roots Stimulator no base relaxer) when I relax my hair and I mix in 2 to 3 teaspoons of olive oil.
2) I apply Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) to my new growth, olive or coconut oil to my previously relaxed hair.
3) It takes my sister and I between 10 to 12 minutes to apply relaxer to my new growth. Considering the fact that I usually have 3 inches of thick new growth that is actually quite quick. Once the relaxer is in my hair, I wait a maximum of 5 minutes to rinse it out.
4) After the relaxer has been applied to my new growth, I simply massage/pull my roots straight once. I don’t go through smoothing with the end of a comb or spend ages pulling my roots into a straight shape.
Please note the following
1) It took me a while to figure out how much texture I wanted to leave in my hair and how to achieve this. There been a lot of experiment over the course of my hair journey but now the above method works for me. Sometimes some parts of my hair still get straighter than I would like but overall I am happy with the results I get.
2) You are more than welcome to try my method if you like but please note that it may get you a different result, ie your hair could end up being straighter or retain more texture than mine. You don’t have to use all 4 methods that I use. A lot of ladies simply use method 1 only and it works for them like a charm. I encourage you to experiment a little.
3) Texlaxed hair has a lot of challenges; it tends to tangle more and can be more time consuming than bone straight relaxed hair. The fact however is that texlaxed hair is NOT the same as relaxed hair and should not be treated the same way. If you are transitioning to texlaxed you will have to review your techniques and your products. Check that your moisture and protein balance levels are still okay for your hair (do you need to use less protein and more moisture or is your old formula still okay), you may need to work in smaller sections, etc.
Despite the cons I am a firm believer and fan of texlaxing. I believe that its advantages are worth that extra time required. But that is just my opinion and you should do what you want to do with your hair whether it’s going natural, texlaxing or have it pin straight. It’s all about being informed.
I hope you’ve found this post useful. Are you texlaxed or thinking of transitioning to texlaxed? What method do you use? What do you like or loath about your texlaxed hair?
Coming up next is a hair update post and a style pictorial. It’s been ages since I did one of those. Happy hair journey ladies. Come back soon.
X
Lade
Learn | Change | Grow
Thanks for the amazing info. Lade, you have no idea how helpful and insightful I found this! Xoxo!
Author
My pleasure Dami 🙂
Btw hope the hair update and pictorial would be up this week! *straight face* lol, some of us are impatient when it comes to mane issues!
Author
lol…lol. I will try but I make no promises. Its not easy trying to fit blogging in sometimes….but I will try
Great info, I’m texlaxed and use methods 2, 3 & 4. I don’t use method 1 because I use a mild relaxer.
Author
Thanks for sharing Candice.
Id use a mild relaxer but the brand that I use only comes in normal and super strengths.
I think I have cleared the mystery about my hair…… I have thick relaxed hair, About less than a month ago I commented not knowing I was relaxed even though its got many qualities of texlaxed hair its still relaxed, although last time I relaxed which was about 2 months ago I did most of the things there but for protection I didnt mean to texlax xD
I absolutely love your hair Inlive the way its soo puffy I think the length you’re at is perfect knowung that you have really thick hair.
Im restarting my hhj, was supposed to be 2 month ago, I wrote about it on contacts. I’m in between sl and apl I want to get to apl and maybe then bsl. I’m currently in braids so can’t do much now.
Wish me luck.
P.S I’ve been reading your blog for less than a month and Ive learnt many new stuff. Keep up the good work.
Can’t wait fir the hairstyle pictorial!:)
Author
Thank you sooooo Adanna and best of luck with your hair journey. Remember you should take care of your hair even when it is in extensions.
Look up the blog posts on hair care in extensions. The pictorial will be up soooon.
Thanks for the post, Lade. I have been texlaxing for a about a year now and I can DEFINITELY say the tangles and knots are insane! Sometimes I envy my sister’s bone straight hair. But I definitely prefer the thickness :). Looking forward to your next post!
P.S I’ve never thought of looking for a certified afro hair stylist on the internet (I’m not ready to self-texlax, eep!). Have you written up a post about your relaxer day? Thanks in advance!
Author
Thank you for stopping by to read it 🙂
stay tuned, I have some interesting info on a certified professional coming up soooooon.
I have written a post on my relaxer day in the past setting out in brief how I go about it.
x
Lade
Thanks Lade for the complete texlax post. I did the BC last august. When my hair’s got good length, I might consider texlaxing. That is if I get tired of being completely natural, though.
Author
hello Ifegirl…thanks.
I ve had a few readers who have transitioned to natural since reading Hairducation. Its not often that I have someone say they are considering transitioning to texlaxed or relaxed from natural.
I say think about it and do what you think is best for you, make informed hair care decisions and take care of your hair and it should thrive. best of luck
x
Lade
Hmm, Nice and detailed. Thanks!
Are you texlaxed or thinking of transitioning to texlaxed?: I am transitioning to texlaxed hence my pining for this post since forever :P. I’ve only touched up once since my journey to thicker texture.
What method do you use?: I mixed 2 capfuls (used the cover of the bottle of native “adi agbon”) of coconut oil into my relaxer and applied roux porosity control to the already relaxed hair. I also based my entire scalp with castor oil 4 days before the touch up and with vaseline the day before the touch up. I changed my relaxer to ORS lye which from my research should be easier on my hair. I was really scared of getting burnt but i did not have any chemical burn at all. The double-basing worked
What do you like or loath about your texlaxed hair? I loved the immediate results as my hair felt so smooth and with a lovely sheen. Now that i’m 10 weeks post though, my roots and texlaxed hair is very thick and poofy underneath the straighter bone-straight length of the hair so it’s a bit tough to style. I’m making it work though.
A question pls: When i went to touch up, i put oil in the whole tub of relaxer thinking i would use it all up as my new growth was very dense and thick. I used only half the tub though. Do you think it’s safe to use the other half at my next touch up or just chuck it? It was tough finding normal strength ORS lye in PH as all the stores carried the extra strength version which i so did not need. i managed to find the normal strength in an obscure store and it was O so dusty! The best before date was still good so i crossed my fingers and went ahead with it so i really hope i don’t need to throw it out :-|. Finding the mild version would help even more… the pains of living outside Lagos…
A very long post this is…. Oops!
Author
hello Tolu
Thank you for your looooooong and detailed comment. its great that other readers can learn from each other too. so I am glad you took the time to share your method.
with regards to the relaxer, honestly if that was my own hair what would I do: I would throw away the relaxer. I just wouldn’t want to risk it, better safe than sorry. Definitely only mix about half the jar for next time.
Okay, i guess i’ll throw it away. Better safe than sorry. Thanks.
Hmmmmmm quite tempting but seems like a lotta work!! Thanks for this post Lade, i’ve been thinking of transitioning to natural – Texlaxing should be an easier transition.
Author
Hello Bosa
Lol…..this hair thing in general can be a lotta work indeed. Texlaxed or natural I am sure you’ll be fine.
X
Lade
One more question :D. How long did it take for you to trim off all of your relaxed ends. I’m thinking it’ll probably take me like forever :|.
Author
I don’t have a clear answer for this question but id say about a year and half. I was texlaxed before I began my hair journey and I spent the first year and half trimming off really damaged hair.
In addition to this I wore wigs about 90% of the time for the first three years of my hair journey and I was still learning the ropes……..lol
So its a bit hard for me to say but if I were to estimate I think it was about a year and half or a little bit longer.
Hope that helps. Just try to where your hair in styles that hide the difference in textures…braid outs , bantu knot outs, nice up-does etc
hope that helps
x
Lade
Yes it does. I plan on giving it as long as it takes. Thanks.
Hi I like the texture of your hair.
What’s your thought on using a texturizer on previously relaxed hair?
I have been using that for about six months now..I like the way it leaves my hair..my hair becomes like straightened natural hair. After my last touch up I stretched for 16Wks and my hair looked and felt natural and I even considered going natural. I plan to touch up only three times this year: Jan may and sept .
Thanks for the explanatory post. I use method 2 & 3. when i first self texlaxed on purpose i used all four methods but it turned out to be too much because my hair reverted about the next day….lol. so now i stick with just 2&3 and i love the results.
Excellent overview of methods of texlaxing chica! Thanks so much for sharing. I do all 4 that your describe!
During my last texlax, I had A LOT more texture than I was expecting. Even when I replicate my texlax process to the letter, I’ve found it hard to achieve the same exact results with each touch-up.
Hi! I tried contacting you via your contact form but I was unable to type in the message field. Is there any other way one can reach you- via email? Thanks
folasoasis.com
Great post! Love your hair, it’s so thick and gorgeous x
Thank u very much 4 arousing the believe in me that I can grow a waist length hair.I also av a shoulder length hair currently,and I’d like to start my hair journey this year(2014).And I think I’ll be having so many questions 4 u from time to time; for example I’d like to know about application tools,creams,locations where I can get certain things and so on.
Author
Hello BB
Its my pleasure. Its great that you have decided to start a hair journey. The answers to your questions are spread across the blog posts I have written and under the how to care for black hair menu tab. So please get comfortable with the blog and have a good read.
x
Lade
Hi! I would like yo tranzition from relaxed to texlaxed. How many week should I wated before putting some chemicals?
Hi, I want to know if to texlax the product is put only on the root that is emerging or length also.
Thank u
XoXo
Hi! i started texlaxing in December 2014 and i made the mistake of leaving the relaxer on for too long on one side as compared to the other and now one side is thicker than the other! what can i do to correct this? should i leave it and grow it out?
Hi Lade, I absolutely love your post. My hair is currently natural and I’m texlaxing it in 2 weeks time. As this is my first time texlaxing my hair, I wanted to know it it was necessary for me to mix the relaxer with oil as I am texlaxing my entire hair. Also my hair is quite thick and stubborn so I don’t want it to come out as “texturized” when I’m done. What do you think I should do?
Hi im natural and really dont have the time or patience to deal with it at this point in my life so im going to texlax…i think your site will really help me but any other advice u have in styling tips would be appreciated as i already know about hair care. thanks
Author
Hello Kerdikins
I hope your new texlaxed journey goes well. I am sure you already know that our hair whether natural, texlaxed or relaxed need care and attention so please give your new texlaxed hair the care it needs.
with regards to styling the same principles apply, protective styles are best. Do not use heat too often to style your hair.
I am a lazy styler and practically live in buns most days.
Hope that helps
X
Lade
Ive always had issues with my hair but after discovering this blog last night, ive literally slept and woken up on it… Reading and reading..and its so informative. Ive reached a stage where I want to stay with my haor and just not put any weaves but thats so hard when your hair is messed up like mine is, so ive been gogling blogs to help me with it and I find this one to be the best. I have long hair but its so miserable i wanna chop it, and my hairline is just sad after doing braids in feb, its taking forever to regrow, i have relaxed hair,sort of,, thing with my hair is the minute I sweat even if its a day after relaxer you’ll notice it going back to its afroish thick texture and it becomes so unmanageable, I exercise so this happens all the time, the hair near the scalp is afro and the tips are left relaxed, and for that reason I dont even bother relaxing much, ive just spent most of my time in weaves and braids,but ive been neglecting my hair in the process, not washing or moisturising it enuf.. Ive decided to start my own hair journey after reading so many wonderful blogs, and I will be texlating my hair with your methods Lade, I cant wait to see the results.. Im aiming for beautiful thick long healthy hair by 2017 lol, wish me luck
Author
Hi Nomusa
I wish you the best of luck on your hair journey 🙂
It seems as though you have very resistant hair or perhaps you have a lot of product build up on your hair which isn’t letting the relaxer penetrate.
Perhaps you can try doing a clarifying wash ( wash with a sulphate shampoo) about a week before your next relaxer.
Make sure you deep condition after this shampoo.
I hope that helps a little.
x
Lade
Even though my message wasn’t responded to……I proceeded to d telexing with care, roll set my hair.And after A week I washed my hair in braids, and to my surprise just 1%(small portion ) of my hair experienced breakage……Co’s there were just only few strands of my hair dat cut off….plus after applying my protein leave-in my hair regained it’s elasticity and FULLNESS….thanks to ur info abt hair regime my hair is gaining back strength, body,and length.
Author
Well done Christiana
Its great your texlax turned out great.
x
Lade
Hii!!!
So im currently natural with a 4c hair texture. I am planning to texlax my hair but im not sure how long I should keep the relaxer in for?
Author
Hello Sara
Thank you for your question. I am a bit concerned because if you do not know how long relaxers should be kept in for then it hints to me that you don’t have much experience of working with relaxers.
I wouldn’t recommend you relax your hair yourself as you might end up doing more harm than good. I recommend you go to a very good salon that know how to relax virgin hair. the process for relaxing virgin hair differs slightly from relaxing the new growth and I really do hope you find a salon to help you with this.
Best of luck
x
Lade
I need help my hair don’t grow where can I get Jamaican castor oil please assist
Try Dischem
Hi lade what relaxer do you suggest for texlaxing and also a professional that I can meet also.
judging by the pictures of your hair and the ones that I have seen on the internet, I have come to love textlaxed hair and which for hair to be like that or like your hair. My hair is just barely grazing my shoulders (it got to that length thanks to your website. my hair was neck length before). So I hope to try out your method the next time I’m going to relax my hair and I hope it works for me
I just started relaxing my hair. But I haven’t relaxed it for almost two months now even though I really have a thick hair. I want to texlax my hair and then stick to it. I need your advice on how to start with it and what relaxer I need to use. Thanks
Author
Hello Lisa
Please read the contents of the blog post you have commented under. all the answers you need are there. Also try to read part one as well.
Kind regards
Lade