hello everyone, I hope your summer is going well so far. This year is my healthy hair year so I’ve committed to better hair practices and routines. To go along with the above, I also made sure to upgrade my hair products. I am now looking for brands that have well formulated, well researched ingredients & products suitable for MY hair type, density & texture. These are the brands I have the products I absolutely love and have made a huge positive impact to my hair.
My hair is 4c low to medium density with very fine strands. I have low to medium porosity. I also have a texture release in( since May 2024). I will be listing the products I have been using from the brands. I purchased everything
Olapex- I tried Olapex last year when my shedding/breaking was out of control and I haven’t looked back! I mainly use this before & after my braids. It’s great for prepping hair for long term braids. Olapex works for natural hair that is extremely dry, damaged and excessively breaking/shedding. I love the No0 & 3 as well as No5- conditioner. Full review on Olapex here
Keracare- Keracare is serious brand for natural hair. This year I learnt the importance of ph balanced hair products which made me appreciate the brand even more. The cleansing cream and butter cream is amazing for natural hair! Although as I have a texture release in, the buttercream feels slightly heavy & oily now but prior to the TR it was absolutely fine.
AffirmCare- this brand is from the same parent company as Keracare so Im not really surprised I love this too. I think Affirm is their professional line as I have mostly seen this available in hair salons. I love the light hairdress cream and the Hair Repair Masque. These have been a great addition to my hair since my TR
Briogeo- So everyone knows about the don’t despair repair deep conditioner which is 100% worth the hype by the way but I want to mention 2 other products, the don’t despair repair leave in conditioner and the matching shampoo.
These have been my go to brands this year. some of these products are pricey so do look for discounts when you can. I will be doing full reviews on all the products I have been using but I have linked reviews where Ive done them already.
Hihi everyone, I hope all is well. Today’s post will be on my 1st wash day after my texture release! I have a lot to say, so lets get started
I washed my hair 8 days after my TR. I had planned to keep my ‘silk press’ for at least 2 weeks but my scalp was itchy and flaky from the keracare wax stick so I just had to give in and wash it. For the first wash day, I used the same products I had been using prior to the TR. My main goal was to see if my hair would revert back and if I got heat damage.
Prepoo-African pride aloe & coconut water detangling prepoo (review)
Shampoo- Function of beauty coily hair shampoo (review)
Deep conditioner- TGIN honey miracle ( review coming soon)
Pre poo– since my hair was straight, it was quicker & easier to apply the prepoo to it, I covered the hair for about 20 -30 mins with a plastic cap. My hair started to revert! I was so happy to see the curls coming back and I noticed the elongation and looser curl pattern too! This is not due to heat damage but due to the TR’s ability to cause curl elongation( one of the benefits of TR)
Washing & deep conditioner– the hair was easy to wash, the looser curl pattern meant less shrinkage so it was just ‘easier’ to handle and quicker too. Applying the DC was a breeze too. more curls came through after deep conditioning and my hair felt great afterwards
Thoughts
In terms of shedding and breaking, I feel like it was the usual amount I get and I was expecting a lot more because my hair had just been through this chemical & heat intensive service. On the right are pics of a few wash days prior to TR and I feel like it is the same-ish amount? I had less shedding/breaking prepooing & shampooing after the TR but that was because my hair was straight. It would be interesting to see at the next wash day the amount I get since my hair has not been straightened
My curl pattern is much looser. I opted for the versatile finish meaning I can wear my hair straight or curly. Looking at the pics of my hair on wash day before and after the TR, it is obvious my hair is much looser and because of that, itshrinks less. I enjoyed this whilst I wash washing my hair for sure
Overall, my hair feels so much softer than before. I don’t describe my 4c hair as difficult to manage or dry anymore because I have a good moisture/protein routine in place, and I manage my hair in smaller sections BUT after the TR the ease of which I could handle my hair increased! Still handled in sections but I definitely think less shrinkage has made it easier!. It feels different but in a good way. I was advised not to use olapex/protein on my hair for at least 6 weeks because the TR itself is amino acid based. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein so that makes sense. I will modify my wash days for now: my previous routine was to alternate moisture only & moisture & strengthening deep conditioners every 10 days but I’m now going to do 2 to 1, ie, 2 moisture only DCs to 1 moisture & strengthening DC for the next 6-8 weeks, see how my hair is coping before switching back to alternate washdays
Did I get heat damage?– NO. my hair fully reverted but my curl pattern is much looser with some strands even looking wavy. the looser pattern is the TR release causing curl elongation. I have my usual amount of shedding/breaking and my hair feels soft and conditioned. I don’t feel any roughness along my hair strands and it doesn’t look limp and lifeless
Verdict- The 1st wash day after TR was a success and I’m very happy with it so far. I plan on doing another wash day post at 3 and 6 months post TR.
I’m still working on a post about my thoughts on TRs on fine 4c hair, I just need more time to get to know my hair and and play around with it, its only been 2 weeks post TR
I hope you found this helpful, especially if you have 4c fine natural hair!
Catch you later
Some affiliate links used, these will earn me a small commission that goes towards the maintenance of the blog if you buy via them but the price of products remain unchanged.
hihi everyone, I hope all is well. Today I am talking about my experience at Maison style. Lets begin
I decided to get a texture release( lets call it TR from now onwards) back in Dec 23 but because my hair wasn’t in good condition, I gave myself till April to it. I wanted to get it done at Maison Style specifically by Andree because I felt like she had the most knowledge on it from my research. I finally went on the 16th for it!
Pic from AllinLondon
Salon & My experience
Maison Style is based in Tulse Hill South London and led by Andree and her team. They are all about healthy hair care and work both on natural & relaxed hair. I had a 48hr email reminder which was good because I totally forgot I had to do a patch test lol. I called and went in for a patch test which was super quick, it went well so I could proceed with my TR.
I arrived a bit early for my app, and it was busy by the time I got there. There’s parking available on nearby roads but those parking prices man kmt lol. After a few mins wait I had a quick chat with Andree about my TR and she gave me some details about it too. She was able to take one look at my hair and say it was super fine and I don’t know why I found that amazing because sis didn’t even touch my hair lol and it was in 2 large flat twists loool. The chat was eye opening for me and because of this I am changing a few plans I had for my hair this year ( more on this in another post)
Texture Release
The service begun with a shampoo. She (not but Andree and I didnt get her name) clarified then used the TR shampoo. She explained that the TR shampoo needs to be left on for about 5 mins before its washed out. My hair was detangled I cant remember with what though. I asked about conditioning and she explained for TRs they don’t usually do conditioning unless the hair was really dry as the shampoo has a treatment in it( that’s why its left on for 5 mins) and since my hair felt very hydrated (yay me!) and was in good condition, she wouldn’t do this step. It makes sense that the shampoo has a treatment in it because in all the videos I watched on YT, none of them did any conditioning and I always wondered why. I also asked if she could tell me what my porosity was( I already know this) but she said that wasn’t something they really look at in the salon so she didn’t tell me- I thought it a bit strange because I mean if you’re washing my hair you can pretty much just tell me what it is. anywayss…..
After shampoo, the dilator was put on, then it was under the dryer for 15 mins with a cap then without a cap for another 15, then the releasing lotion is put on(on top of the dilator) then 30mins under the dryer. My hair was washed again before the final blow dry and finish
For the finish, I didn’t know the exact style I wanted so Andree advised to just have a simple finish instead of forcing myself to get a style/cut and regret later. So after a dusting( because my hair was in good condition and didn’t have a lot of split ends yay me), she lightly bumped the ends for volume and I was done! Because my hair is fine, she only did 2 to 3 passes of the straightener and hot comb on my roots in the front. I was happy with this and super happy when she told me to close my eyes when she was doing the front lol because God knows my heart was beating FAST and I felt that heat! She was generous with the heat protectant which made my heart SING
Thoughts
In total I was there for about 4.30 hours, I arrived at 1.40 and left at 6.20. Whilst the TR service has a lot of steps and waiting I think that the salon been so so busy when I went contributed to the long wait. I think if it wasn’t so busy, the whole TR service would be about 2-2.30hrs. The salon is smaller than expected and because she’s popular it was so busy on a Thursday afternoon at 2pm lol, I went in with no breakfast/lunch and less sleep so I was so exhausted afterwards sigh. Andree was really sweet though because she gave me a £5 discount because of the wait. I felt for them tho because there were 2 stylists on the day and they had back to back clients. damn
Do I recommend the salon? Absolutely Andree’s expertise is top notch, I’ve been following her on insta for a while and I love her Tuesday Q&As. I’ve also learnt a lot on TR from her YT videos. I love that her whole vibe is healthy hair practices. She answered all my questions I had on the day. She also sends a video on how to maintain the TR with product recommendations. In terms of how she handled my hair, she was quick but gentle and explained what she was going to do before doing it
Because its small I reckon it will be busy at most times so go prepared- snacks, sleep, parking charges(loool)
How do I feel about my texture release? I CAN RUN MY FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR. I don’t remember the last time I did that without any resistance loool. I haven’t seen my hair straightened in SO LONG. Time will tell if I keep liking it, I definitely have some thoughts.. all good
I’m going to have to do another post on my TR and the chat I had with Andree that is making me tweak my hair plans for the year. I have so many thoughts…
I hope you guys have a blessed day
Check out my review on Elite hair lounge I’m trying to visit a few salons this year so keep your eyes peeled for more salon reviews
Comments Off on Why I decided to get a Texture Release
hihi everyone I hope all is well. After many months of researching about texture releases, I finally got mine done at Maison Style by Andree! Like a few days ago lool
So why did I decide to get a texture release? This year, I really want to unlock my hair’s potential. I’ve been natural for the last 13 years and in the last 2-3 years my hair has taken a back (backkk) seat, I did more braids than usual and wore wigs more often, treating my hair once in a while. At the end of last year, I realized the state of my hair wasn’t great, so I made a decision to put in more effort this year. Lots of previous posts on this. Start here
I decided to wear my own hair out more this year so I could learn more about it and treat it more frequently and this is where TRs comes in. I prefer to wear my hair in a stretched state and I would also like to use heat more on my hair and a texture release (TR) will help with me with manageability. In the last 13 years, I haven’t tried anything new with my hair, not even a silk press girl, so a TR will be a new thing to try.
What is a Texture Release?
According to Avlon, the manufacturers of the system, it is a heat activated Smoothing System that features Amino Acids and Conditioning Agents that crosslink deep into the hair fibers to enable styling versatility. There are no at home kits in the UK, it can only be done professionally.
It is not a relaxer
It is not a keratin treatment
It is not permanent
It is not synonymous with heat damage but can lead to it if not done properly
It is smoothing treatment activated by heat
The ‘active ingredients’ are amino acids and glyoxylic acid
It is semi permanent- it will wash out between 10 to 12 washes but a lot of people say it lasts much longer
My Experience
I got mine done at Maison Style by Andree. I chose her because I felt like she had the most knowledge on the system based on all her videos I have watched and I learnt a lot from her Q&As too. I felt comfortable with my decision to go there. I decided to get the TR done back in December however because the state of my hair wasn’t great, I gave myself enough time to improve my hair’s state so April/May was the D-day! To prep my hair for this, I focused on my moisture/protein balance, got a trim and stuck to a good hair routine. It paid off because my hair felt great before the TR and afterwards too. Whilst shampooing my hair, the lady commented on how hydrated my hair felt! I felt so proud, she said my hair was in good condition. My TR came with a trim and Andree also commented that I didn’t actually have a lot of split ends, I just needed a quick dusting. I am so happy that all the hard work and extra effort I put into my hair over the last few months has paid off and it encourages me to keep going. My length is back to where I cut it last March and I’m still pushing for waist length hair!
Im working on a full review on the salon and I will write more about my texture release experience- stay tuned!
Follow up
I plan to write a few aftercare TR blog posts because I found it difficult to see a lot of videos on this. I watched a few 1st wash days after TR but nothing after that. I will do a 3 & 6 monthly post TR check in as well as ongoing stuff I notice about the change- I really hope you find this helpful. I also didnt see a lot of videos on fine 4c hair with a TR so Im hoping this is also helpful to someone!
That’s all for now. Are you planning any big hair changes? Let me know in the comments below!
