Do you ever feel tired of your natural curls or coils and want a different look? Do you want your curls to stretch out and relax a little? Recently, one of our clients reached out and asked for my thoughts on texturing hair. Texturizing your hair is like lightly perming your hair and might be appealing when transitioning from a short natural style to longer hair. This is because longer curly or coily natural hair may seem daunting to manage. Before you take the plunge, you might want to consider the nine points I've shared below. Hopefully this will help you decide what is best for you long term.

1. Texturizing can help you ease the coil in your hair thus making it easier to manage.  Check out Are You Reading Your Product Labels? to learn more about ingredients you might find in a texturizer.  
2. To texturize, you still need to apply chemicals (like sodium hydroxide and similar) to your hair.  The only difference is that it's left in your hair for a much shorter period of time than perming.
3. If the stylist leaves the texturizer on for too long, then you'll be getting a permanent relaxer in your hair.
4. To texturize your hair, you need to permanently break the chemical bonds in your hair.  The difference with a perm is that you break less hydrogen/sulphide bonds (that way you don't get a straight style)
5. Texturized hair will be dryer than your natural hair so you'll need to pay close attention to moisturizing your hair often so that it doesn't dry and break off
6. Because texturized hair is already weakened, you want to avoid heat treatments which can further dry, weaken and break your hair
7. You'll need to get chemical touch ups to texturize new growth
8. If you have new growth, you need to be very careful when combing so that you don't break the weaker texturized hair as the comb makes its way through the new growth close to the scalp, to the texturized hair. If b'y this point of the article you're thinking that it's not worth putting so much at risk.  Check out:  "My Coily Hair Is Ridiculously Easy To Manage."
9. An excellent moisturizer and rehydrator will be really important to help you keep your new stronger growth soft and reduce shedding when combing or styling.  

Many folks still perm and texturize their hair.  Just keep in mind that some of the chemical used will get to your pores through your scalp.  There aren't enough studies to show the long term effect with repeated use, or the damage endured by the follicle due to the chemicals. 

I notice that sometimes with age, chemical treatments or frequent high heat treatments will thin the hair. Our clients who wish to perm or texturize their hair typically use the Naturaz styling moisturizer religiously to moisturize and deliver nourishment to the hair.  Others use the Naturaz Rehydrating Mist & Detangler especially on new growth.  If you can get away with fewer re-touches, you'll likely have more volume but if you wait too long, the new growth can break the older, texturized hair, when combing. 

Do your research and seek advice if tentative then make your decision to texturize or not to texturize.  Ultimately, your health is the most important and hopefully your hair will be a reflection of it. 

Please leave a comment below or reach out to customerservice@naturaz.com with any questions. 

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