Why texturize?

Hi All,

Please blame this on my ignorance...but when I think of a texturizer, I think of the things that guys put in their hair to make their hair straight, similar to a perm but not quite. I've noticed when reading some people's threads that they texturize their hair. What is the difference between a texturizer and a perm? Is it less damaging to the hair/scalp? Can you texturize in between perms to stretch out the amount of times you receive one? What are corrective texturizers and why would you need one? Again, as a teacher, I tell my students that there are no dumb questions especially if you are truly trying to enlighten yourself, so help an ignorant sista out

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MY 2 CENTS

I think a texturizer is just a perm with a different name. Basically a texturizer loosens your natural curl pattern to allow for easier styling options with kinky/curly hair, or a wash n go option without going completely straight. You can buy a texturizer product that is not as strong or you can buy a relaxer and leave it in for 5-10 minutes. Its just a relaxer you leave in for a shorter time than you would if you wanted to get your hair straight. You can go curly or straight with this option fairly easy. It is less damaging in that you are not leaving the product in as long as you would a relaxer to straighten your hair. I'm not sure what a corrective texturizer is and the others can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm going to assume it is just reapplying the texurizer product to correct any underprocessing of the previous texturizer. Like say for instance one side of your head is puffy and the other is more laid (like when I did mine) LOL.

Okay I hope that helps some...

A texturizer is when the hair's curl pattern is loosened, a relaxer completely straightens the hair texture. You can use a relaxer to achieve a texturized look, just don't leave it on the hair for too long. Ideally I think that you could texturize your NG to stretch your relaxer but I think that could lead to a lot of breakage if you are not careful. You would have straight ends and curly roots and that would=breakage (of course you can fight this by keeping your hair moisturized and doing styles like braidouts/twistout or wearing your hair straight to camoflauge the textures). It would take alot of work but it's doable. You can do permanent color on texturized hair without too much damage because the bonds of the hair is not completely broken down (obviously you'd still have to do protein treatments etc), you can also do permanent color on straight hair but it's not reccommended, it's a lot of work and your hair is prone to be dry and that = breakage. Of course the ladies on this site could offer you a plethora of tips to combat all these issues.
A corrective would be done if you have over/underprocessed hair, and yes a stylist or the person who applies the texturizer can cause potential damage if you don't apply product right. For more info on texturizers check out these sites www.curve-salon.com or www.jazma.com . BTW a texturizer is also known as a wash and go, wash and wear or a silkner. Checkout my fotki page and you'll see what my wash and wear looks like. Hope this helps!















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Thanks feelinit...that makes sense LOL

Thanks, i'm about to check out your album, right now...

Just for clarification; a texturizer is a RELAXER left in for a couple of minutes so that the hair doesn't become bone straight.

If that's the case then why is there a difference. Why are things like "Dark and Lovely", "TCB", "Soft and Beautiful" called relaxers and then other things are called texturizers, why not just put a relaxer on and leave it in for less time???

Janet' said:

If that's the case then why is there a difference. Why are things like "Dark and Lovely", "TCB", "Soft and Beautiful" called relaxers and then other things are called texturizers, why not just put a relaxer on and leave it in for less time???

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I think that it may be because these companies are playing on consumers ignorance. Some people actually believe that when one's hair is texturized they are natural. These companies can probably better market relaxers to men by calling them texturizers. JMO

MeccaMedinah said:

I think that it may be because these companies are playing on consumers ignorance. Some people actually believe that when one's hair is texturized they are natural. These companies can probably better market relaxers to men by calling them texturizers. JMO

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I was thinking the same thing. The manufacturer is appealing to two different mindsets. Relaxers have become associated with "bone straight" hair only. That's how they are marketed: "We get your hair the straightest". If a person doesn't want straight hair, they won't use the product at all. But if you re-describe the same product as softening and adds curl definition and manageability, that's an untapped market.

You can add "kiddie relaxers" to the same category. They are just as strong as a regular adult relaxer, but they play upon the belief that things that are for children (like children's medicine) must have been calibrated to a child's body.

myco said:

I was thinking the same thing. The manufacturer is appealing to two different mindsets. Relaxers have become associated with "bone straight" hair only. That's how they are marketed: "We get your hair the straightest". If a person doesn't want straight hair, they won't use the product at all. But if you re-describe the same product as softening and adds curl definition and manageability, that's an untapped market.

You can add "kiddie relaxers" to the same category. They are just as strong as a regular adult relaxer, but they play upon the belief that things that are for children (like children's medicine) must have been calibrated to a child's body.

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I agree with everything that you said. The kiddie perm scam needs to be revealed.

Actually some texturizers are alot lighter than relaxers. I've used texurizers that I could leave on for hours and would not straighten my hair. When I had short hair (twa) I eventually started using relaxers to texturize because the texturizers just made it poof with no definition. Relaxers made it silky with big curls.

Okay, so if I use a relaxer for a shorter amount of time , will there be less damage over time?

ethlyn said:

Okay, so if I use a relaxer for a shorter amount of time , will there be less damage over time?

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I think that does contribute to healthier hair. Most people here on the board use a mild relaxer and leave it on for the minimum amount of time needed for that reason. Relaxing the hair "bone straight" takes the hair to the brink, so to speak. There was a thread on here a while back where we discussed how relaxers are meant only to "relax" the natural curl pattern to a certain degree. Things like roller sets, flat irons, and blow-dryers are the actual straighteners.

That's also one of the reasons that stretching out relaxers is so popular.

If you know what you're doing texturizing may most likely be less damaging over time than full relaxing. Good

But if you dont know what you're doing and just leave the relaxer in for a shorter amount of time, you may just end up with underprocessed relaxed hair. Not good. There's a fine line.

Thanks Ladies,

I'm finally getting some clarification on the subject

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model, ur hair looks great..how do u texturize? i need full details...lol..urs looks as good as the curve website.....

Model Chick---
What brand of texturizers do you use? I really like your hair, it's very pretty!! Please share your some of your hair secrets!!! I'm very interested in transitioning from a relaxers to a texturizer.

plz share!!

myco said:

I was thinking the same thing. The manufacturer is appealing to two different mindsets. Relaxers have become associated with "bone straight" hair only. That's how they are marketed: "We get your hair the straightest". If a person doesn't want straight hair, they won't use the product at all. But if you re-describe the same product as softening and adds curl definition and manageability, that's an untapped market.

You can add "kiddie relaxers" to the same category. They are just as strong as a regular adult relaxer, but they play upon the belief that things that are for children (like children's medicine) must have been calibrated to a child's body.

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I didn't know this. I can't believe the Kiddie Kit (from back in the day) was just a scam!

What's the difference btwn a "mild relaxer" and a "texturizer"?? I thought they were the same thing?

MeccaMedinah said:

I think that it may be because these companies are playing on consumers ignorance. Some people actually believe that when one's hair is texturized they are natural. These companies can probably better market relaxers to men by calling them texturizers. JMO

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ITA. Some people honestly just dont know that they are the same thing.