Is Your Hair Really Natural If It’s Texturized?

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Dianne Austin

Dianne is the co-founder of Natural Haircare News and Coils To Locs.com. She's been blogging about natural hair ever since she made the decision to break free of the creamy crack in 2012.

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It’s a question that gives one a moment for pause. After all, if a hair texturizer is done right, your hair will look natural; whatever that means for you and your hair type.

Just what is a hair texturizer for those who may not know? The act of applying a mild relaxer to natural hair, but leaving the relaxer in for a short period of time without combing the straightener through the hair is the process of texturizing hair. The goal of texturizing is to give natural hair a more defined curl pattern and length without actually straightening the hair.

A texturizer that is added to natural hair correctly should leave your hair:

With a clearly defined curl pattern while still maintaining the texture identified with a black woman’s natural hair

A stretched coil or curl which adds more length

But more often than not, texturizers result in:

Hair that is overly straightened or processed

Loss of any real curl pattern

Regardless of whether a hair texturizer has been added to natural hair in a way that retains the natural curl pattern, any chemical added to the hair results in a chemical processing which changes the hair strand permanently; even if the relaxer is left in the hair for just a few minutes.

Texturized hair may look natural if done well, but it isn’t.

Now, before we start getting hate mail, as we’ve stated many times before on this blog, there is nothing wrong with relaxing your hair if that’s what you prefer. It’s just that it’s no longer natural.

Opinions? We’d love to hear all viewpoints!

Author: Dianne Shaddock

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural. Not sure of which products are right for your hair type? Visit our solution oriented natural hair products store.