What is texlaxing?


Instead of processing my hair bone straight I purposely underprocess my hair to leave some texture which is called 'texlaxing'. Texlaxing is done with a relaxer, there isn't a product I'm aware of called a 'texlaxer'.



Why did I start texlaxing?
I first started texlaxing my hair by mistake in 2011. I wanted healthier hair and I was so scared of overprocessing I started leaving the relaxer on for less time. The result was slightly textured roots. At first I hated my texlaxed hair. To me it looked odd and, weirdly, damaged next to my bone straight hair. It was actually healthier than my straight hair, but I ended up trying to 'correct' it by reapplying a relaxer to the underprocessed parts. I did this several times but I never managed to successfully correct the texlaxed areas. The same areas even now are still texlaxed and this led to an impromptu transition to texlaxed hair. I love my texlaxed hair now and eventually want to cut off all the bone straight parts. 

What are the benefits of texlaxing?
Texlaxed hair is stronger than bone straight relaxed hair. When you relax your hair bone straight all of the protein bonds are cut and this leaves the hair significantly weaker than in it's natural state. This means when you reach for the heat, style roughly or neglect it, the hair can be damaged more easily. By leaving your hair with some strength it can resist damage better. Also, the point where your texlaxed and new growth meet (line of demarcation) isn't so pronounced so it's less likely to break.

What are the cons of texlaxing?
(These apply to those who choose to transition from relaxed to texlaxed hair)
- 3+ textures which can be difficult to blend
- Moisturising regularly is key or you might see breakage where the different textures meet
- Texlaxed hair is different to the bone straight ends so may require different treatment or products
- The texture (or lack of) of your ends might make them look thinner than the rest of your hair

How do you texlax?
- Use a mild relaxer rather than super or medium strength
- Put oil on your hair or in the relaxer itself to prevent it processing fully
- Leave the relaxer on your hair for less than the recommended time
- Skip the smoothing process which makes the hair straight
- Use only some of the activator liquid for no-lye kits

Have you heard of texlaxing?

Lesley x

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Post updated & reposted 02/01/2014