What You Should Know About Natural Hair Texturizers

Texturized hair is famous for being more manageable than black hair in its natural state. So if you're reading this, you might find it hard to manipulate your natural hair, or you must have searched the internet for ways to make it easier to comb. While relaxing your natural hair might be a NO OPTION for you, natural hair texturizers might just be what you need.

And if you are wondering if natural hair texturizers are the perfect solution to loosen your hair, in this article, I will sharing everything you need to know about texturizing your natural hair and making some product recommendations for you too.

What is a Natural Hair Texturizer?

A natural hair texturizer is a chemical product that makes curly hair less curly and is supposed to make it more manageable. It is usually used by people with thick textured hair who are running away from relaxers, to loosen their curls without totally straightening it, or people who are looking for easier ways to manipulate their hair.

You can think of a texturizer as a mild relaxer that loosens your curl pattern instead of totally straightening it. On average, a texturizer can last for 8-10 weeks before a touch-up is required.

How is a Natural Hair Texturizer Different from a Relaxer?

There isn’t a ton of difference between a natural hair texturizer and a relaxer because both come with chemical components. Also, they are both either lotions or cream with an activator. However, a hair texturizer is like a mild-strength relaxer that helps to loosen your curl pattern while a relaxer simply does the work of straightening your hair. Also, texturizers are usually left on the hair for five minutes, and relaxers are left for about 15 to 25 minutes.

A relaxer can be used to achieve the same results as a texturizer by leaving it for less time and at the same time, a texturizer can be used to achieve a relaxer’s result by leaving it on for longer. The result gotten is determined by how long the chemicals are left on the hair.

Is Texturized Hair Still Natural?

Since texturizers are chemicals that permanently change the structure and natural curl pattern of your hair, texturized hair is only a form of mildly relaxed hair. Chemicals are still involved, so texturized hair is not natural hair.

How Do Texturizers Work?

Texturizers work by breaking the keratin bonds in hair strands, which then causes your curl pattern to loosen. Keratin gives hair its shape, elasticity, and curl pattern, so when keratin is weakened, the hair pattern loosens, thus making the hair strands less curly and more manageable.

Texturizers work better with S Curl patterns (4a hair) and short hair than a Z curl pattern, and so depending on your natural curl pattern and hair length, it is not guaranteed that you will get uniform loosened curls with texturizers. Your strands can end up lightly or extremely loose.

Because chemicals are a part of texturizers, applying these harsh chemicals to your hair often tends to make your hair more fragile. And when your hair is fragile, it is more prone to breakage, thinning, and dryness.

Do Texturizers Damage your Hair?

Even if your hair is healthy, there is always a chance that your strands would get damaged when you apply chemicals to them. However, texturizers do not stay that long on the hair to cause this risk. The purpose of a texturizer is to slightly loosen your curl pattern instead of making it completely straight. As with any chemical application, you should expect your hair to be thirsty after your texturizer appointment. Hence, you have to treat your hair to some TLC (Tender Love and Care) with hydrating conditioners and leave-ins.

That said, here are some of the side effects your hair could experience when you texturize it.

Weak or dry hair
Dry and/or irritated scalp
Hair loss
Hair thinning
Hair breakage

How Long Do Texturizers Last?

I know you don’t expect to hear this, but texturizers are permanent. To maintain your texturized hair, you need to apply it every 8 to 12 weeks to loosen the new curls that grow out. There are no strict rules as to when you should go for your next texturizer appointment. You could choose to do so every 3 months, 4 months, or 5 months. The choice is yours, depending on your curl patterns. And if you decide to go back to your natural curl pattern after texturizing your hair, the only way to do that is to get a big chop and grow your hair afresh.

Pros and Cons of Texturizing Natural Hair

While there might be many reasons you decide to texturize your hair, you must be fully aware of the pros and cons of this action.

Pros of Texturizing your Natural hair

Your hair becomes easier to maintain because your curls are loose.
Although texturizing your hair takes it away from being natural, you still get to maintain the original texture that comes with your natural hair since you aren’t eliminating the curls.
If your hair naturally shrinks when it is wet [this is common with 4C hair], you will notice less shrinkage. This further means you don't have to use so many stretching techniques while styling.
Because your curls get loose, you get to spend less time during styling and your hair gets to dry faster than when it was completely natural.
Texturizers give your hair more volume and helps to reduce frizz.

Cons of Texturizing your Natural Hair

As with any product containing harsh chemicals, the chemicals in texturizers can damage your hair and cause breakage, make your strands weaker, and leave your hair dry.
It may slightly change the color of your hair.
Texturizers can’t be reversed to natural hair except by cutting the hair.
If you leave your texturizer in for so long, it totally straightens your hair.
Curls gotten from texturizing may not be uniform, especially if you have a Z-shape natural curl pattern.

How to Choose the Right Natural Hair Texturizer

The active ingredient that changes the hair structure present in texturizers and relaxers is sodium or calcium hydroxide. You should avoid texturizers that do not use an active ingredient, as they can cause adverse reactions. You can know if it contains an active ingredient by checking the label on the package. Also, choosing a texturizer with oils can help add moisture to your hair.

It is also important to select a texturizer that comes with a neutralizing shampoo. When you texturize your hair, the chemicals will continue to straighten your hair even after being washed out with conventional shampoo. A neutralizing shampoo stops this process by re-balancing your hair Ph which has been altered in the tetlaxing process.

Can you Texturize your Natural Hair at Home?

Sure thing!

It is possible to texturize your hair from the comfort of your home. However, I’d recommend that you visit a professional especially to avoid scalp and hair damage in the long run. If you decide to DIY, ensure you read through the terms and conditions of the package and stick to the instructions from the start to finish.

Just like you plan to, Enny Enny made the transition from natural to texturized hair and she documented her step-by-step journey in this video below:

How to Take Care of Texturized Hair

Cleanse your hair and condition at least twice a week.
Wet your hair daily and brush with a wide-tooth brush. Combing your hair while wet removes tangles easily and helps restructure your strands.
Use styling products like gels and mousse moderately so they don't overload your hair.
Sleep in a silk/satin bonnet to reduce friction.

14 Best Texturizers for Natural Hair

Natural hair texturizers are usually called several things including tetlaxers, blow-out kits, chemical straighteners, chemical softeners, curl softeners, kitty perm. We decided to curate the best texturizer brands we know, based on great reviews we saw on the internet. Here are some of them below:

Kenra Platinum Texturizing Taffy 13
Luster’s S Curl Texturizer
Garnier Fructis Style Texture Tease Dry Touch Finishing Spray
Living Proof amp2 Texture Volumizer
Davines This Is A Dry Texturizer Spray
Sebastian Microweb Fiber Elastic Texturizer
L’Oreal Paris Out of Bed Texturizer
Linange Alter Ego Shea Butter Cream Texturizer
Neuma NeuStyling Texturizer
ORS Olive Oil Curl Stretching Texturizer Kit
African Pride Olive Miracle Curls and Coils Texturizer
ORS Olive Oil Girls Soft Curls No-Lye Crème Texture Softening System Kit (Pack of 1)
Soft and Beautiful Botanicals Texturizer
Beautiful Textures Naturally Straight Texturizer Kit