So what’s new with my hair ?
Y’all know how much I love hair and I enjoy sharing my hair journey with you all.
A quick refresher for all new readers. I started my journey in 2009 with texlaxed hair and transitioned to natural for 13 months and did the big chop in 2012. After rocking my natural hair for 6 years, I decided to texlax my hair.
Texlaxed hair in 2011
WHAT IS TEXLAXING ?
Texlaxing is basically texturizing the hair. I used Creme of Nature Relaxer (Argan oil) to loosen my natural hair pattern which is a 4b-c. Unlike relaxing bone straight, there isn’t much smoothing. Since I had virgin hair, the process took 25 mins and I rinsed it out immediately. My mother did it for me and I’m pleased with the results . I got exactly what I wanted.
P.S in the past, I had added two tbsp of natural oil to my relaxer as well.
WHY DID I TEXLAX?
Well, I can only speak on my personal experiences. My texlaxed hair was heathy. I never had a negative experience with relaxers and all hair types(relaxed or natural )can be healthy as long you it is taken care of.
In retrospect , during those 6 years of having natural hair , my hair was in protective styles 80% of the time . I love protective styling and I have talked about how they helped me retain length. However , I have also worn them because they were convenient .
Everyone’s hair is unique. What works for me may or may not work for you hair. So when you make decisions, make them based on you or you lifestyle.
When I was transitioning, I was so excited to see my natural hair.
Natural hair
I would watch YouTube videos of women with similar hair textures as mine. And one advice that I can give anyone is that don’t expect your hair to do what ssomeone’s hair is doing . After many trial and errors, I have learned to simply accept what my natural hair did . It did not want to be manipulated. And the Texas humidity ruined any stretched hairstyles. My styles would only last a day. I hated getting it done at the salon and not being able to keep a blowout for more than 3 days. I workout at least three times a week so with excessive sweating, my roots would be soaking wet and mat. I tried the scarf method while working out , meaning tieing it really tight and taking it off after my hair was dried and I just had migraines .
Styles like braidouts and twistouts didn’t last with the humidity; my hair quickly returned to a teenie weenie afro. This is another reason why I wore sewins a lot.
I love long hair and I was able to retain a decent amount of growth. I thought “ what’s the point of having long hair if I can’t even enjoy it most of the time ?” I love a shrunken styles such as rocking my Afro but I also want to enjoy the length. My hair was like nope, the humidity made it worse and I just couldn’t.
I then remembered that my hair was easier to style when it was texlaxed and my styles would last.
Hair is supposed to be fun and not cumbersome. Looking back, I had more fun with my texlaxed hair . I love my natural hair as well but at this time of my life, I chose to relax/texlax because it is convenient. Styling is easier, my styles lasts a few days without me having to rebraid. I still have big hair, I can do a roller set with magnetic rollers (missed it so much), wear a braidout …etc . I also love my texlaxed hair !!!! I am team healthy hair and I’m team do what works for you ! Besides myself , there are tons of other ladies with beautiful and healthy relaxed and texlaxed hair. Again, whether you choose to color, relax… as long as you take care of your hair, flourish.
My texlaxed hair (Current)
I texlaxed in mid April
MY HAIR PLANS/GOALS
I’m kind of tired of sew ins and wigs and I need a break from them . I’ll wear them in the future but not as much as I used to. My goal is to reach waistlength without having to hide my hair . My hair is long enough , therefore I want to enjoy it . I will wear low manipulation styles /no direct heat styles such as braidouts, roller sets. Occasionally, I will wear sew ins , buns and wigs.
My hair regimen hasn’t changed much. I will post an updated version next week so stay tuned !
Current length
Advice to my hairlistas
Always do what’s convenient and makes you happy. Don’t ever feel like you’re letting people down . When you’re natural , there is a huge online community for natural hair and although some may disagree, always do you . This life is yours and you’re not wearing your hair to please anyone . If you’re relaxed and you want to go natural, it is also great ! It’s just hair , take care of it and that’s it!!
Happy hair journey y’all !!!
