hihi everyone, I hope all is well! It’s now more than 1 month after my texture release and so now is a great time to share my thoughts on it! I have played around with my hair and had a few wash days too and I have a lot of thoughts to share!
My hair- I have very fine, low to medium density 4c hair. I’ve been natural for 13 years. This texture release would be the 1st time in 13 years I have ever done a chemical service and also the first time I have straightened my hair, done a silk press.
I got my TR done at Maison Style, full review here. One of the main reasons why I did the TR was that I wanted to try something different with my hair this year because I wanted to wear it out more. I wanted to be a heat trained/straight natural so that I can do that easily. After getting the TR and talking with Andree, I have decided not to go down this route. Why?
Because I have very fine hair, my hair is more prone to heat damage. I actually didn’t know this until Andree said at my app. Fine hair has fewer layers compared to coarse hair making it more fragile. I think I have some heat damage in the top area of my hair after the service because its straight and limp as compared to the rest of my hair. And this is with lots of heat protectant and a good routine prior to the TR. Whilst I don’t really wear my hair in its curly state, I still want healthier hair so becoming a straight natural and having lots of silk presses will cause a lot of damage even with a good moisture/protein balance routine.
I have low to medium density hair and this is disguised very well when my hair is in its natural coily state. It feels fuller and thicker. I prefer thicker hair so I was very surprised to see my hair on the lower density side after it was straightened. To be totally honest I did not like that. There’s nothing wrong with having this density, density is genetic however because I prefer a fuller head, I just didn’t like it. I made some clip ins to add extra body but I don’t want to rely on this every time I get my hair straightened. No clip ins in the pic.
My blowdried hair still appears fuller so if anything I can go down the route of a blow dried natural instead of getting silk presses. Blow drying is not nearly as damaging as a silk press in terms of heat damage. Still I would have to be careful on my very fine hair
In terms of the condition of my hair, my hair feels so soft and the curls are more elongated. I don’t have as much shrinkage as before so it makes washing my hair just a little bit quicker. I do like the TR for this.
If you have fine low density 4c hair just manage your expectations of a TR, especially if you haven’t seen your hair silky straight before. I say this because almost 98% of the videos I watched were on 4c coarse high density hair so of course my image of what I thought my hair would look like was a bit skewed especially since I had also never seen my hair straight after I went natural. What about my relaxed days? Well there was only ever 1 time I was able to get my hair proper silky straight because this person actually knew what they were doing lol, all other times my hair was still slightly puffy and honestly my hair was more in braids than relaxed and out. My silky straight relaxed hair was also on the thinner side infact my silky straight natural hair is actually a bit ‘thicker’.
Will I get a texture release again? No. Because the main reason why I wanted one was to aid my straight natural journey and since my hair cant tolerate that much heat frequently, there’s no need for it. Whilst I’m loving the relaxed curl pattern and the condition of my hair, its just not enough to justify the service. Will I change my mind later? who knows
Will I recommend it? YES. If you have coarse high density hair, you will probably love it and benefit from it more
I don’t regret getting the TR, I’m so happy I’m finally trying something different with my hair and taking much better care of it! I will have my 1 month wash day post TR up soon! I’m ending my hair challenge of no braids or wigs as I’m planning to get braids soon for the summer as an actual protective style lol. I’ve had my hair out for the last 6 months and need a mini break. Over the last 6 months too, I have worn wigs for a total of 1 week spread over many days. I’m really proud of myself for it! I don’t remember a time I’ve had my own hair out for this long! and taking proper care of it too.
I really hope you find this post helpful. If you are thinking of getting a TR, make sure you read up on it as much as possible whilst watching as many videos as you can. Try and watch vids of people with the same density & texture as yours, it will help you manage expectations. If you have hair like mine, there isnt that many videos for us fortunately lol so hopefully my posts on TR help
take care