![]() ![]() You can cut down on styling time, and heat styles like silk presses will last a lot longer. When done correctly, a texture release can make tight curls and coils more manageable without compromising the health of the hair dramatically. You have changed the biology or chemistry of your hair,” she adds. But “you haven’t necessarily damaged the hair. “Breaking bonds in the hair to loosen your curl pattern could make the hair weaker,” Douglas explains. (Breakage and thinning are the most common types of damage related to texture releases and relaxers.) When it comes to a texture release, it's about inflicting just the right amount of damage to achieve the desired result. Do texture releases damage the hair?Īny treatment that involves permanently breaking the disulfide bonds in the hair will cause some damage. ![]() Because relaxers change the hair texture so dramatically, they require more frequent touch-ups, with about eight weeks in between each treatment to straighten out the roots. Doing so risks causing unnecessary damage to your hair because you won’t be able to properly gauge the amount of time to leave the mixture in - it’s not as simple as leaving it in for a shorter period of time because you don’t know much of the active product is present, Douglas adds.Īs for maintenance, Williams suggests clients come in twice a year for a touch-up on a texture release to make sure new growth at the root matches the rest of the curl pattern. Though stylists have been using relaxers to perform texture releases for years, both Douglas and Michaella Blisset Williams, hairstylist and owner of New York City-based hair studio 718, warn against using an at-home relaxer kit to achieve a texture release. “When I was working on formulating relaxers, we would just put a lower amount of active in a texture release product and change the instructions to say, ‘don't leave it on the hair as long’," says Douglas. Texture releases use less because the end game is not to straighten the hair, but rather loosen the curl. Traditional relaxers use more active because the goal is to get curly hair bone straight. Texture releases (which are also called texturizers but we’re using the term texture release throughout this article) are similar to relaxers in formula - the difference is the amount of active ingredient used. What’s the difference between a texture release and a relaxer? Most, like this one from Avalon, come with a bond-breaking lotion along with a shampoo, conditioner, and a neutralizing solution. The final result is that your hair doesn't have as much curl anymore.”Įxperts advise going to a salon for a texture release service (any treatment dealing with chemicals that have the potential to burn you is best left to the pros), but it is possible to buy an at-home kit. “So relaxer chemistry is all about breaking disulfide bonds, neutralizing the hair back to a lower pH. “The more disulfide bonds you have, the curlier your hair is going to be,” says cosmetic chemist Erica Douglas. The mixture used in the treatment is made of chemicals (namely sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, or lye, which will be referred to as “active” in this story) aimed at breaking the disulfide bonds in the hair, which loosens the curl pattern and texture. What is a texture release?Ī texture release is essentially a mild relaxer. To clear things up, we spoke to experts to find out the main differences between a texture release and a relaxer, what’s involved in getting a texture release, and why there’s so much debate about chemically manipulating your natural curls. ![]() Some recognize the curl-altering treatment as a relaxer, while others stake a strong claim that the two are completely different. The comments on these videos suggest that there is some confusion and contention on what exactly a texture release is. If your TikTok “For You” page looks anything like mine, you’ve recently come across countless videos of women getting a “texture release” or “texturizer” (a hashtag for the latter has more than 10 million views). But in 2023, it seems relaxers have come back in style (not that they ever came close to disappearing completely) but this time, with a quiet rebrand. ![]()
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