Texlaxers: To What Percentage…

[Legend]

Are you texlaxing/relaxing your hair?

I’ve looked at many photos of LHCF’ers that texlax, and have noticed there are many different degrees. Some women’s hair appears very straight, while others retain more their hair’s natural wave and/or curl patterns.

So, about how much are you straightening your hair?

My hair is only texlaxed to about 50-57%, and my stylist, in fact, calls it texturized. My hair experiences shrinkage of about 2-3 inches when it is dry, and has the appearance of unprocessed hair that has been very lightly pressed (or flat ironed), and behaves as such.

What percentage are you texlaxed and how does your hair look and/or behave?

TIA!

ETA: My relaxer is applied and processed in about 10 minutes for touch-ups.

 

[leleepop]

I think my hair is 50-57% like yours. I think I want it a little straighter next time so its still trial and error for me. I still want wave but, i want to be able to rollerset and have smooth results.

 

[snoopy1me]

I estimated 70-80%. Half of my hair is texlaxed as I've started doing my relaxers myself...so the ends are probably 90-95% straight. Now I can actually see the waves from the roots to 2-3 inches down when I wash my hair

 

[Isis]

Mine is about 50%.

 

[secretdiamond]

How can anyone tell what "percentage" their hair is texlaxed?? I have always been confused about this.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I'm guessing it means the process time...the degree of straitness they achieve. If I'm wrong, sorry.

 

[Legend]

How can anyone tell what "percentage" their hair is texlaxed?? I have always been confused about this.

Good question, and one I needed to think about. Please excuse the lengthy response.

I believe it is different for different people. From my own experience (and, ladies, feel free to jump in to correct me ), percentage refers to the amount my hair has been straightened, based on my hair’s texture. This is really something each person should determine for themselves because our hair types differ so much.

A question I ask is, after relaxing, to what degree (or percentage) is my natural texture intact? When I look me hair, which is 4b and coarse, 100% straight is pretty much kink and wave free. 90% still has detectable kinkiness to the strands, but not so much. 80% straight for me, my hair is visibly coarse, but has little shrinkage. 70%, my wave pattern is very visible and my hair is coarse and reflects much less light. At 60% the difference between my new growth and the relaxed hair is detectable, but not by much. 50%, the wave pattern of my hair is very visible and my hair appears quite kinky. The difference between the relaxed hair and new growth is very minimal, and the shrinkage is very noticeable. I haven’t had my hair texlaxed any less than 50%, so I could not describe other degrees for you. But, as I can guess, the less it is relaxed, the closer it will be to my natural state.

Though I put the time my hair is processed in the 1st post, this does not work for everyone. For example, my mother has fine, 4a hair and takes only 10 minutes for her hair to go from natural to 100% straight (this is why she stopped relaxing over 12 years ago ). My hair takes 20 minutes (or more) to get to 100%. So, there is not necessarily a direct correlation between processing time and percentage the hair is straightened. Even on my own head different sections, like my crown, relaxes at different rates (which is why some of my hair is 50% while other parts is 57%)

HTH! Like I said, feel free to correct or supplement my explanation.

 

[secretdiamond]

Good question, and one I needed to think about. Please excuse the lengthy response.

I believe it is different for different people. From my own experience (and, ladies, feel free to jump in to correct me ), percentage refers to the amount my hair has been straightened, based on my hair’s texture. This is really something each person should determine for themselves because our hair types differ so much.

A question I ask is, after relaxing, to what degree (or percentage) is my natural texture intact? When I look me hair, which is 4b and coarse, 100% straight is pretty much kink and wave free. 90% still has detectable kinkiness to the strands, but not so much. 80% straight for me, my hair is visibly coarse, but has little shrinkage. 70%, my wave pattern is very visible and my hair is coarse and reflects much less light. At 60% the difference between my new growth and the relaxed hair is detectable, but not by much. 50%, the wave pattern of my hair is very visible and my hair appears quite kinky. The difference between the relaxed hair and new growth is very minimal, and the shrinkage is very noticeable. I haven’t had my hair texlaxed any less than 50%, so I could not describe other degrees for you. But, as I can guess, the less it is relaxed, the closer it will be to my natural state.

Though I put the time my hair is processed in the 1st post, this does not work for everyone. For example, my mother has fine, 4a hair and takes only 10 minutes for her hair to go from natural to 100% straight (this is why she stopped relaxing over 12 years ago ). My hair takes 20 minutes (or more) to get to 100%. So, there is not necessarily a direct correlation between processing time and percentage the hair is straightened. Even on my own head different sections, like my crown, relaxes at different rates (which is why some of my hair is 50% while other parts is 57%)

HTH! Like I said, feel free to correct or supplement my explanation.

^^^ This is by far the best explanation for this I have read! Thank you for taking the time out to explain this to me. I esp. love the bolded part. That makes so much sense.

 

[Legend]

^^^ This is by far the best explanation for this I have read! Thank you for taking the time out to explain this to me. I esp. love the bolded part. That makes so much sense.

No problem!!! I was attempting to post a picture of my hair taken with my cell phone in the 50% range for you, but, alas, my battery just died and I'm still work. When I get home, I will upload the picture for a visual reference.

 

[Legend]

No problem!!! I was attempting to post a picture of my hair taken with my cell phone in the 50% range for you, but, alas, my battery just died and I'm still work. When I get home, I will upload the picture for a visual reference.

My other phone decided to start working again, so I was able to take a new picture. It's not the greatest shot (please don't ask what angle it was taken ). But, it does show the texture well. BTW: That's my hair after a roller set.

ETA: ...and I am only 2 weeks post touch-up.

 

[JenniferMD]

Texlaxed is when you are relaxed but your hair doesn't come out completely straight so it's a combination of relaxed and texturized. With that being said, I don't think anyone can accurately answer the question b/c you can't texlax on purpose.

 

[Legend]

Texlaxed is when you are relaxed but your hair doesn't come out completely straight so it's a combination of relaxed and texturized. With that being said, I don't think anyone can accurately answer the question b/c you can't texlax on purpose.

IMO: I believe most people can. I actually have it done as a salon service. My stylist of over 5 years pretty much knows my hair, its behaviors, how to process my hair, and how long each section takes to straighten to 100%. She can also see how straight my hair is while processing. I get consistent texlax results every time! But you are right: there is a fine line between texlaxing and texturizing, and in many instances the terms may be used synonymously by many. (I'm among the "many" )

I believe if you self-relax/texlax (which I did for many years) you can accurately gauge how long each section should process to get the results you desire. Every head of hair is unique (see the example of my mother above) but for the first attempt at self-texlaxing, using processing time as a gauge may be fair for most people who have previously relaxed their hair straight. For example, if you know your hair takes about 15 minutes to get to 100%, processing for about 7 minutes would *likely* take you to 50-60%.

True, there is some trial and error involved, but once you figure out it takes, say 8 minutes to get my hair to 60%, and I must apply the relaxer with added oil to my edges first and my crown last, touch-ups thereafter will be fairly consistent.

However, one must also account for factors like humidity, hair's moisture content, protein, the condition of the scalp, etc. that can effect relaxer efficacy. To counteract these conditions, I actually check the weather forecast before getting my hair done to make sure conditions are optimal (paranoid, I know ) and have a consistent pre-relaxer ritual. *shrug*

 

[Denim And Leather]

Texlaxed is when you are relaxed but your hair doesn't come out completely straight so it's a combination of relaxed and texturized. With that being said, I don't think anyone can accurately answer the question b/c you can't texlax on purpose.

Interesting you said that, because I self-relaxed for the first time ever in my adult years this morning, and unintentionally underprocessed my hair, which left my hair texlaxed at about 70-75%.

 

[JenniferMD]

IMO: I believe most people can. I actually have it done as a salon service. My stylist of over 5 years pretty much knows my hair, its behaviors, how to process my hair, and how long each section takes to straighten to 100%. She can also see how straight my hair is while processing. I get consistent texlax results every time! But you are right: there is a fine line between texlaxing and texturizing, and in many instances the terms may be used synonymously by many. (I'm among the "many" )

I believe if you self-relax/texlax (which I did for many years) you can accurately gauge how long each section should process to get the results you desire. Every head of hair is unique (see the example of my mother above) but for the first attempt at self-texlaxing, using processing time as a gauge may be fair for most people who have previously relaxed their hair straight. For example, if you know your hair takes about 15 minutes to get to 100%, processing for about 7 minutes would *likely* take you to 50-60%.

True, there is some trial and error involved, but once you figure out it takes, say 8 minutes to get my hair to 60%, and I must apply the relaxer with added oil to my edges first and my crown last, touch-ups thereafter will be fairly consistent.

However, one must also account for factors like humidity, hair's moisture content, protein, the condition of the scalp, etc. that can effect relaxer efficacy. To counteract these conditions, I actually check the weather forecast before getting my hair done to make sure conditions are optimal (paranoid, I know ) and have a consistent pre-relaxer ritual. *shrug*

Looks like we just have two different definitions of texlax. I don't use texlax and texturizer synonymously so that's where the problem lies. I'll exit this thread now...sorry.

 

[amy1234]

I'd say about 50-60% but I would like it to be around 80% now.

 

[divya]

I texlax/texturize...but i have no idea what percentage.

I only put relaxer on my roots and no more than a minute after applying, it's washed out. It's still quite curly.

 

[Candy_C]

i'm texlaxed to around 60-70%

my hair is still very wavy i would call 50% texturized though...just my opinion

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I texlax/texturize...but i have no idea what percentage.

I only put relaxer on my roots and no more than a minute after applying, it's washed out. It's still quite curly.

Please CG, can u tell me if u smooth it in yr hair or do u just let it sit? I'd like to try yr method of texlaxing.

 

[SilkyandSmooth]

I'm not sure of the percentage. I just know that my hair still has a lot of curl/wave to it with minimal frizz. Shrinkage is still an issue too, but it's not nearly as bad as when I was natural.

ETA: Oh yeah, you can texlax on purpose. I did.

 

[*Happily Me*]

approximately 50%

 

[divya]

Please CG, can u tell me if u smooth it in yr hair or do u just let it sit? I'd like to try yr method of texlaxing.

Smooth it in first in sections and then comb the roots once. It shouldnt take too long. Then wash right out. Let me know how it goes.

 

[CLASSYEBONYGIRL]

Bumping!!

 

[asummertyme]

mines is about 50-60%..i still have alotta texture..

 

[shaydufblu]

I *guess* mine would be about 50%, maybe a little less. I still have my curl pattern, except now my hair 'hangs' instead of being a big pouf. Legend, I want to see more pics of your hair! I will pm you.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

i think im 50%

 

[prospurr4]

I would say that I'm about 50%.

 

[brucebettye]

If you take a look at my siggy it is not alot. I leave my perm and conditioner mix on my hair for about 20 minutes and I still can have a big fro. I like it that way.

 

[theprototype]

If you take a look at my siggy it is not alot. I leave my perm and conditioner mix on my hair for about 20 minutes and I still can have a big fro. I like it that way.

WOW! If that's what your hair looks like texlaxed, I wonder what it would look like natural. Beautiful hair

 

[vkb247]

I knew this was an old thread because I think most people don't do the percentage thing anymore. I mean I am texlaxed and my hair looks really natural if I airdry with only moisturizer but if I add gel, thoroughly wet it, or straighten it then it is very different from how my natural hair would be.

Especially if you don't know what someone was starting with than how would knowing their % make any difference?

 

[isawstars]

i put 30-40% but i really have no idea. that might be wrong actually *shrugs*