Heat Trained Natural Hair vs. Texlaxed: A Question

[nakialovesshoes]

After browsing some threads today I truly began to ponder my decision on being natural.

I know that people differ on their thoughts about heat trained hair being damaged. But my view is if you have hair that doesn't revert back to its natural state, the bonds are broken & its damaged.

So, a relaxer has to break bonds for it to work. And my question is: which do you think is less damaging - breaking the bonds with heat or breaking them with a chemical? Or is it (as my grandma would say) 6 in one hand & half a dozen in the other?

 

[sunnieb]

Chemicals are less damaging for me.

I'm relaxed and have a head full of hair.

However, the amount of heat it took to straighten my natural hair was just . Way too much heat and work!

Sent from my Comet using LHCF

 

[SmileyNY]

Everyone is different. Heat kills my hair. I was natural for 8 years. During that time I tried wearing my hair flat ironed for a few months and in that short period of time, I lost a lot of hair and my ends were...

Texlaxing 3 times per year is definitely the safer route for me. Even with the texlax... I only flat iron my hair twice per year. Heat kills my poor strands.

With the texlax, my ends are still thick, my hair is still thick and strong, and overall my hair has never been longer. I definitely would not have the same head of hair if I used heat constantly.

 

[Britt]

This is a topic that I often wonder about. I feel like the answers receieved on this forum might be skewed b/c many are against heat or many have hair that can't handle heat and the ones that do love heat are few and far between and are not as vocal. There is a board member here who I PM'd and informed me she went natural but is a strictly straightened natural. She only wears her hair straight and she said her straightened hair is much stronger than her relaxed hair ever was even with the heat and has a better sheen to it than it was when she was relaxed. Someone else I know irl has a beautiful head of hair and when I asked her what relaxer she uses, she told me she's natural. She's a heat trained natural. She said her natural hair is much stronger and being a straightened natural was a good decision for her. She does wash n goes occassionally also.

There are several people I see irl and on tv that wear their hair primarily straight and come to find out they don't relax. A friend of mine if a fine 4b and all through out high school and her adult years relaxers never agreed with her hair. For about 2 year she was getting her hair blow dried and flat ironed and she said her hair was at it's healthiest, and she has very fine hair naturally. At the time I was suprised to hear that she blow dries and gets a flat iron b/c of the heat usage but she said it was a better option than relaxing for her - just costly since she had to get it done at the shop every 2 wks. However, I do know that many people have hair that is sensitive to heat usage and then there are people whose hair and scalp is not bothered by relaxing at all. It's really and truly a toss up - but I'd def for sure like to hear more from heat trained naturals. Naturals who straighten 2x/month.

 

[yaya24]

Watching this thread.
*Placeholder*

 

[Your Cheeziness]

I think relaxers are worse because they can affect your scalp health if not properly applied. But, some of the most GORGEOUS hair I've ever seen has come from straightened, un-relaxed hair.

 

[Britt]

I think relaxers are worse because they can affect your scalp health if not properly applied. But, some of the most GORGEOUS hair I've ever seen has come from straightened, un-relaxed hair.

and my face goes when I find out they are not relaxed Brings me back to when to ATL a few years ago w/ a friend and I went w/ her to get her hair done. There was a chick in there w/ a beautifully, straightened, blunt ends shoulder length bob. I asked her what relaxer she uses. She was like uhhhh no, girl I straighten my hair, I don't relax it . It was funny how she said it. At the time, I was not familiar with naturals who wear their hair straightened and it could look like relaxed hair. It like a foreign concept to me . This salon has several clients coming in for blow drying and flat ironing and they all left w/ swinging beautiful hair.

 

[prospurr4]

For me, my hair is in better shape using chemicals as opposed to heat.

As a texlaxed head, I have more length and thickness than ever. Also, speaking as a DIYer, my heat skills are TERRIBLE. In fact, my scalp never burns during the touch-up process, but if I try to flatiron my hair, I end up burning my hair...my scalp...my forehead....my fingers...

 

[Britt]

For me, my hair is in better shape using chemicals as opposed to heat.

As a texlaxed head, I have more length and thickness than ever. Also, speaking as a DIYer, my heat skills are TERRIBLE. In fact, my scalp never burns during the touch-up process, but if I try to flatiron my hair, I end up burning my hair...my scalp...my forehead....my fingers...

This too !!! A good flat iron job takes a skill full hand. I know if I become a heat trained natural, I'd def have to practice w/ flat ironing b/c I'm a mess w/ it

 

[LovelyBwonderful]

I would say it'd depend on you - how you like to wear your hair, how much time/energy you can devote to it and the strength of your hair.
if your hair is really weak I'd say relax because your hair wouldn't be able to take the heat and being relaxed you could pull your hair straight air drying in a ponytail or a bun
I am a natural and I go back n forth between straightening (sometimes 2-3x a month depending on how I'm feeling) and my staple twist-out or super fluffed twist-out fro. but I only apply heat to freshly washed hair never using more than one pass at 300. I also always do weekly protein treatments and I do admit between heat n color my curls are considerably loosened but definitely still there.
if your hair can handle it I'd def say heat straightened natural - the thickness health n shine of natural hair can't be beat

ETA: I do not think natural hair is "better" than relaxed hair, if my statements came off that way I apologize.I have seen and definitely admired (and at times been slightly jealous and reminesient of my relaxed days) some of the gorgeous relaxed hair I've seen. I love beautiful hair, relaxed natural colored etc. as for me, my hair, even with the fairly regular use of heat, is healthier as a natural.

 

[sunnieb]

As a relaxed head with thick hair, I'm not trying to "beat" naturals.

I see plenty of beautiful, thick relaxed hair on here and IRL.

Our hair shines as well.

Sent from my Comet using LHCF

 

[ravenhairedcharm]

I want to know as well...I've been browsing through relaxed/texlaxed threads. As a "natural" roller sets are my go-to style. I want to be able to have smoother, silkier roller sets. I watched a video by Lisa Akbari on this, but I'm still kind of confused and undecided about what I want to do. If I relax, I want texture, but not the texturized look, just not bone straight so I can preserve the thickness of my hair.

ETA: Honestly when it comes down to it, I think I will stick to heat. I will not be able to use it as much, but I won't get the thinning scalp symptoms of a relaxer. That scares me more.

 

[RocStar]

Like everything else, I think it depends on your hair. For some, relaxing is less damaging and for some heat is less damaging.

I think this is a great article on the debate:
http://thebeautybrains.com/2011/11/06/heat-styling-damage-versus-relaxer-damage-part-2/

 

[Your Cheeziness]

That's an interesting article. One thing that stuck out is the woman says she used heat at least twice a week. That's an outrageous amount.

 

[genesislocks]

Flat-ironed natural here!

I have experience in both the tex-laxed world, and the flatironed world. A few years ago when I was a tex-laxed head, I noticed 3 things about my hair.

As a texlaxed head
PRO: It was pretty long, just below SL (considering I never ever ever took care of it) and I almost never went to the salon

PRO: I didn't know it at the time, but it was super manageable and easy to shampoo & condition

CON: I had breakage...it wasn't alot of breakage at once so to speak, but it was breaking little by little, veeery often, regardless of what I did to improve it.

CON: My strands were long...but my ends were not ideal, I could hardly enjoy my length because I was insecure about the lack of thickness

CON: I had a sensitive scalp. Relaxer on my scalp was like greek fire, I'd be sore for days even if I only left it on for 5 mins (no joke) erplexed



As a flat-ironed natural I noticed...
PRO: My hair has the ideal length and thickness!

PRO: If my strands start shedding/breaking, I can do something about it to remedy the situation. Usually some extra moisture/protein does the trick

CON: Manageability is less than ideal for my hair type. Trust me, I am as low maintenance as it gets. My hair is either in an up-do or it's about to be. But the shampooing, conditioning, drying and then flatironing my dense natural hair is a chore. I have almost zero access to my scalp when my hair is wet, my level 10 security, super-dense roots are not going to let me in anytime soon

Overall, I agree with the previous posts. I think it all comes down to what your hair responds best to. I'm absolutely in love with natural hair, but it has its challenges just like anything else.

You can check out my flat-ironed pic in my avatar
I usually flatiron once or twice a month

 

[whiteoleander91]

If your hair responds really well with heat, I would go with heat training...hmm but you might find it simpler to just relax...ahh IDK lol. If you are leaning toward relaxing, just make sure that is really what you want. As far as damage goes, I think it depends on the person. For my hair, I find heat to be less damaging. Just make sure to keep up with DC's and protein treatments either way. There are plenty of ppl with relaxed hair or heat trained hair that have healthy, beautiful hair. Good luck with your decision!

 

[BadMamaJama]

When I was natural I got my hair flatironed twice in 16 months by the same person.. The first time it was fine. The second time I got heat damage. I decided if I was going to be natural, I couldn't wear my hair straight because it was too risky. I got sick of wearing mini twists so I decided to wear my hair straight. I did a ton of research on heat training and thought about going that route but I'm a fine 4b. My hair does best with no heat so I decided to relax instead of heat training. I already knew my hair and heat don't get along. Not to mention I'm tender headed and I don't have patience! Now I'm relaxed and I don't use heat. Pre hj my hair was healthiest when I would go to the shop and get my hair done every 2 weeks, and that was heat every 2 weeks.

Being natural, people say some crazy stuff about people who are relaxed. My hair never fell out or broke off when I was relaxed. Some people want to scare other people because they weren't taking care of their hair and bad stuff happened. I've seen naturals with jacked up hair and I've seen relaxed people who need to cut it all off and start again. I think if a person really knows their hair and does what is best for their hair, they can have healthy hair.

 

[RENIBELL]

Heat works for me, keeps my hair smooth and strong and keeps ssk's at bay.with heat using the right tools and products is very important.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Thanks ladies for the positive responses. I made this thread & then life got hectic & I'm just signing back on.

Forgive me for those that have heard this story before b/c I know I've told it 1000 times. When I moved to Atlanta 10 years ago I was texlaxed w/Affirm & MBL with full hair from roots to ends. I would wash/DC/rollerset every Saturday morning & wrap/oil during the week to maintain.

Never had any breakage. Never had any scalp issues due to an excellent stylist. Never had any splits. Never had any detangling issues. & definitely never had any SSKs. I only had to get a 1/4 inch dusting with each touch-up. I never even needed a real trim.

Of course back then I didn't know about the board or growth aids so I just took supplements. My hair would grow .5 inch or a little more on it's on. So I was retaining 6 a year.

I can admit that I'm lazy. To retain 6 inches in a year as a natural w/o trims, growth aids, & working extra hard at it would be nearly impossible for me.

Natural or relaxed I have very thick hair. My strands are on the fine side so my hair thrives w/o direct heat.

When I 1st BCed for the 2nd time last year, I called my old stylist & begged him to texlax it as soon as it was long enough. Problem is, he's team (straight hair) natural now & feels that heat products have evolved enough that we no longer need the chemicals. He told me to give it a year & we'd revisit the topic.

I have exactly a month before it's my 1 year nappiversary. I have decided to give him a call & beg him to texlax me. I love my curls & when I see a full head of natural hair, I drool. BUT I want the ease of the relaxer back. I want to consistently see progress w/o the setbacks. I want to stop searching for a set routine b/c I know one tried & true that works.

One last thing & I'll stop venting. Someone mentioned to me that they wouldn't get a relaxer after all of this time b/c I'm older & my hair may not take to the chemicals the same. How do y'all feel about this?

 

[nakialovesshoes]

I came back after reading the article. My hair actually doesn't require alot of heat to get it straight but it reverts really easily. And of course to heat train it so that it didn't revert as easily, I think I still would have to damage my hair. SIGH...

I just don't know what I should do!

 

[Napp]

nakialovesshoes maybe you would be interested in a relaxer alternative?

take a look at this thread and maybe you might find something that might suits your hair needs.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=611531

personally i dont want to relax any more but i dont want to be natural either. i tried the heat training thing and in the long run i didnt give me the control i wanted. although my curl pattern didnt change when i was doing it.

these new bkt alternatives supposedly dont break the bonds in the hair but loosen the curl. they also claim that the hair will revert. Its like the in between of a relaxer and heat styling natural hair. its still a new concept so you may want to look into it as time passes before you try to alter your texture chemically or thermally.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

nakialovesshoes maybe you would be interested in a relaxer alternative?

take a look at this thread and maybe you might find something that might suits your hair needs.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=611531

personally i dont want to relax any more but i dont want to be natural either. i tried the heat training thing and in the long run i didnt give me the control i wanted. although my curl pattern didnt change when i was doing it.

these new bkt alternatives supposedly dont break the bonds in the hair but loosen the curl. they also claim that the hair will revert. Its like the in between of a relaxer and heat styling natural hair. its still a new concept so you may want to look into it as time passes before you try to alter your texture chemically or thermally.

Napp - thanks. It's funny you should mention it. I've been following another thread about the [QOD Organiq BKT that's also formaldehyde free & I was thinking that I should try it first. My old stylist was a platform artist for DE before she got out of the business to teach & I like their line. Definitely something for me to consider.

 

[virtuenow]

Relaxer melts my hair off. And heat...well, check out this youtuber's videos for heat train tutorials and method. She's even writing a book on heat training; and she's a member here. Start from the beginning videos then work your way to the most present. https://www.youtube.com/user/Brittanynic16/videos , I tried this method and I learned alot. Mainly that I can't do relaxers and I can't do heat training.

 

[virtuenow]

Article about studies on relaxed & natural hair http://www.happi.com/articles/2010/04/effective-treatment-for-ethnic-hair

 

[Kurlee]

my hair can take a lot of heat, but chemicals (relaxers) ruin it. It gets thin, dry and breaks.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

After browsing some threads today I truly began to ponder my decision on being natural.

I know that people differ on their thoughts about heat trained hair being damaged. But my view is if you have hair that doesn't revert back to its natural state, the bonds are broken & its damaged.

So, a relaxer has to break bonds for it to work. And my question is: which do you think is less damaging - breaking the bonds with heat or breaking them with a chemical? Or is it (as my grandma would say) 6 in one hand & half a dozen in the other?

My opinion is there is no such thing as heat training. It's bologna, or bologney the way I'd prefer to spell it. If your natural hair no longer is holding a curl, that means it's damaged plain and simple. The hair must be broken down period when it's straightened. Whether it's Keratin treatment, Flat Iron and/or Relaxer doing it. I'd rather relax every 6 months than use heat weekly to maintain a straight style on natural hair.

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

Chemicals are less damaging for me.

I'm relaxed and have a head full of hair.

However, the amount of heat it took to straighten my natural hair was just . Way too much heat!

Sent from my Comet using LHCF

sunnieb
This is the EXACT reason I'm relaxed. It is also the reason I do not want to texlax either. The amount of heat and manipulation required to straighten my natural hair is just entirely too damaging and exhausting. And I know I'd want to do it regularly even if I alternated with wearing my natural texture. Also, I've yet to see a texlaxed person who wears their hair out who doesn't use heat regularly. Regularly for me is 1x per month. And I know for a fact that my hair hates direct heat rollersets are literally my saving grace.

OP, I'd have to agree with your granny on this one, I think it just depends on how your hair responds to both. Some ladies' hair handles heat very well while others tolerate chemicals well.

 

[luckiestdestiny]

I find that flat ironing is less damaging as chemicals are unpredictable unless you do them yourself (then you're in the hands of a stylist and so is your hair). Even then there's your scalp (and chemicals), etc. That doesn't mean I'm anti chems. If you want to do it go for it. But for me I prefer flat iron (for health). Now if we're talking speed I'm sure that the answer would be different.

I am in the 4s and I don't have to turn it up high. It's all about technique and product. Avlon kera care has a creme press that is fab and I can put my iron in the 300 range and still get it straight without reversion for 3 weeks. ONLY with this creme. And yes it reverts, and no there's no damage. BTW I keep my hair braided up way more than I flat iron.

Decided to click edit so you can see how it looks.

I get mine on Amazon but I'm sure you can find it where Kera care is sold http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E0Z5W6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I rub a little between my fingers so that it melts (like butter) and then I run it down each sectioned area from root to tip. I divide to make sure I didn't miss any hair, and then comb through and flat iron.

 

[MsSanz92]

Definitely heat training works for me. I'm transitioning back to natural and am considering using heat on my hair regularly. Whenever I relax my hair, it's breakage city.

 

[NappyNelle]

Thanks ladies for the positive responses. I made this thread & then life got hectic & I'm just signing back on.

Forgive me for those that have heard this story before b/c I know I've told it 1000 times. When I moved to Atlanta 10 years ago I was texlaxed w/Affirm & MBL with full hair from roots to ends. I would wash/DC/rollerset every Saturday morning & wrap/oil during the week to maintain.

Never had any breakage. Never had any scalp issues due to an excellent stylist. Never had any splits. Never had any detangling issues. & definitely never had any SSKs. I only had to get a 1/4 inch dusting with each touch-up. I never even needed a real trim.

Of course back then I didn't know about the board or growth aids so I just took supplements. My hair would grow .5 inch or a little more on it's on. So I was retaining 6 a year.

I can admit that I'm lazy. To retain 6 inches in a year as a natural w/o trims, growth aids, & working extra hard at it would be nearly impossible for me.

Natural or relaxed I have very thick hair. My strands are on the fine side so my hair thrives w/o direct heat.

When I 1st BCed for the 2nd time last year, I called my old stylist & begged him to texlax it as soon as it was long enough. Problem is, he's team (straight hair) natural now & feels that heat products have evolved enough that we no longer need the chemicals. He told me to give it a year & we'd revisit the topic.

I have exactly a month before it's my 1 year nappiversary. I have decided to give him a call & beg him to texlax me. I love my curls & when I see a full head of natural hair, I drool. BUT I want the ease of the relaxer back. I want to consistently see progress w/o the setbacks. I want to stop searching for a set routine b/c I know one tried & true that works.

One last thing & I'll stop venting. Someone mentioned to me that they wouldn't get a relaxer after all of this time b/c I'm older & my hair may not take to the chemicals the same. How do y'all feel about this?

Based on this post, I would relax to make my hair life easier. You have a stylist that cares about the health of your hair, you prefer to wear your hair straight, no scalp issues, and your hair retains thickness either way... sounds like you are an ideal candidate to relax IMO.