Hair Relaxers

Best Relaxer for Afro American Hair

When it comes to black hairstyles, you often need to start with the best relaxer for Afro American hair.  This is due to the fact that African American hair is naturally much drier and kinkier than European hair, which is naturally straight or wavy.  The right relaxer will help to detangle African American hair so that you can style it any way that you wish.

While it is important to use the right relaxer, you can’t just jump right into it.  There are a few steps that you need to follow when it comes to hair care, if you want to do it right.  First of all, you need to know what type of hairstyle you want.  It would be pointless to try to get your hair to be completely straight if you are just going to slightly curl it again later.  Similarly, if you want to keep the coarse texture of your hair intact then you may need to also use a texturizer too.

There are basically three strengths of relaxer:  mild, regular, and super.  It is not only important, though, to pick the right treatment for your hair,  you also need to make sure that it does not irritate your scalp.  The scalp, or head skin, can be very sensitive since it is not exposed to natural elements the same as the rest of your skin.

Similarly, every head of hair is different.  You need to use the right relaxer for your hair type.  Your hair might be particularly thick or dry or your hair could be thinner or weaker than others.  This is important to know because relaxers are made out of chemicals and using one that is too strong can further damage your hair.

One thing that you can do to ensure that your hair can handle the stress it will undergo from the treatment, is to perform a strand test.  This is especially beneficial for hair that is dye, chlorine, or other chemicals as it can put more stress on your hair and cause it to break or frizz.  Basically just treat a small part of your hair first and see how it reacts.



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About the author

thirsty roots®

Our goal is to share the beauty of Afro-textured hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair it's still black hair and it's beautiful.

6 Comments

  • as a women that relax my hair, I have to say that every hair texture is beautiful and i’m glad I found this site. It really shows hair harmony , it shows beauty natural hairstyles , to nice relax hairstyles i’m so glad us black women can have a place where we all can look for information. Doesn’t matter what our choice is , we’re all individuals and we all have the right to express ourselfs.

  • what is the best @ home relaxer that I can apply myself, but have super straight results.

  • how to correct without damaging? you tried a mild relaxer on hair, but hair didn’t take and scalp is normally very sensitive.do you think trying to re-relax the hair but with upgrading to a regular relaxer be wise? since the mild didn’t work.HELP!!

  • My hair is very dry and brittle at the ends of my hair.Am using olive oil setting lotion on my hair everyday.My hair is growing but it is breaking at the ends of my hair when i come it .I hate cutting my hair at all.I do cut the ends of my hair ,and not a lot.Snip the ends just a little.What is the best relaxer i need to use,do i need to continue using the setting lotion ? My hair is growning and breaking at the ends of my hair.Can you help me.

  • I have short dry brittle and damaged hair. I use super strength relaxers that only last about 3 weeks why is this. I use aragon oil and Doo Grow growth stimulating oil but my hair is still very dry and my ends are damaged really bad. When I try growing it out all I see is damaged ends. I’ve tried using the olive oil moisturizer but it seems to make my hair kinky so I no longer use this product.I don’t use curling irons or flat irons much because my hair looks so dull and lifeless when worn down so mostly I wear it in a short pony tail. can you help me

  • Hello Audrey,
    Please join our community: MyThirstyRoots.com to get advice on your hair from others who may had the same or similar issues.

    However, just from what you explained, I think your hair maybe over-processed from the super strength relaxer and too damaged to fix without starting fresh and cutting it off. I think you should consider doing the “Big Chop”, not to necessarily go natural, but to give your hair a chance to grow in healthy. And when it grows out to about 3 to 6 inches, then you can try a regular strength relaxer (I recommend a trained cosmetologist to apply it) or keep it natural.

    Most importantly, you should try to find a healthy hair stylist in your area to assist you in getting your hair healthy and strong. They will be able to look at and touch your hair to make a better assessment.

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