We have so many options now for styling textured hair, why is relaxer popular again?
Everyone can recall a traumatic hairdressers story, right? I mean, I have a few; a wonky haircut that made me scared of getting even a trim. A blow-dry at a European salon that was giving nothing but electric shock chic, a fringe that looked way different to the pic on Pinterest… I could reel ‘em off. But nothing has stuck with me more than my relaxing nightmares – I mean, they were anything but relaxing.
The worst happened when I was about 16 years old and had been having my hair permanently straightened since I was 12, so I wasn’t new to the process. Still, I made the nightmarish decision of scratching my scalp before my appointment. Big mistake - huge. As soon as the mixture was brushed onto my scalp it burnt so badly. Not the tingle those of us that are relaxing veterans will recall, no, a full-on BURN. I alerted my hairdresser to it, politely, and she told me without reservation that the relaxer hadn’t worked yet so I would need to leave it for longer. She then proceeded to pour milk onto my scalp as I shivered in agony and tears streamed out of my eyes – she thought it would help calm the fiery feeling as my scalp bubbled. I was left with very straight hair and a scabby, oozing scalp for days after. I would love to tell you that I never relaxed my hair again, but I continued doing it for seven more years. I did change salon though.
[Hair] chemical addiction
That’s the thing with having your hair relaxed, it can feel addictive, I mean, they don’t call it the creamy crack for nothing. The ease of having straight hair is hard to pull away from, which is why the natural hair movement was such a win for Black women. It was a multi-layered movement that not only showed others the beauty (and versatility) of naturally coily and curly hair, but showed us that we can style our hair without relying on potent chemicals.
Relaxer chemicals are some of the strongest in the business. They have to be to take traditionally thick and dense hair and completely reset the bonds to create a new texture. The potency of the formulations have long come under flack for how damaging they can be to our hair and scalp. Recently a lawsuit in the U.S. has gained momentum regarding the link between chemical relaxers available in the U.S. and uterine cancer after a study by the National Institutes of Health suggested that “long-term use of chemical hair relaxers was associated with increased risk of uterine cancer among postmenopausal women”.
Despite these unnerving claims, the market, which was in decline over the last decade, has seen an increase in popularity, especially on social media. #relaxedhair has tens of thousands of videos showing users relaxing their hair at home, or a 'come with me' salon experience. I scroll through a few demo videos for 'healthy long relaxed hair', the comments are full of users lamenting whether or not to return to relaxer; "I want to relax my hair but I'm scared", writes one commenter on a relaxer root touch-up video. Judging by the number of questions in the 1000+ comments on the video, a lot of others are too.
With the increased enquiries, Jacqui McIntosh, European Education Director for Avlon believes what is trending will reign supreme. “Hair is fashion,” she states. “The trend for a while has been to maintain or manipulate an individual curl pattern, now the trend is wearing hair shorter and smoother in movement. Because of this trend, we have definitely seen an increase in relaxer services […] Fashion will always dictate.”
But is it as simple as ‘trends’ overtaking our quest for playing with our natural hair's look and even its health? “Trends always find their peak,” says Charisse Kenion beauty writer and host of the Beauty Me podcast, when we caught up. “But I don’t think this is going to decline, put it that way.”
The easiest option?
For me, someone who wears her hair straight almost exclusively and many believe is relaxed (it’s not but I do get a semi-permanent texture release treatment twice a year), the choice to silk press my hair regularly is less about keeping up with fashion and way more about ease.
For me, it’s way easier to extend my wash day for, say, an hour longer than having to manipulate and hydrate my coils so they look fresh on days three, four (and beyond) when I wear it curly. So, although you still need to be diligent with trimming and moisturising your hair, I understand the ease of straight hair day-to-day.
Relaxer is a big commitment to go back to though. There is no getting that texture back and I think that's a decision you cannot underestimate. When I was 12, I didn’t understand the permanence of slapping that chemical on my pubescent scalp. I didn’t realise the fact it was changing my hair and my perception of it for good (or at least until I grew it out). I think had I known, or the choice had been mine alone, I would never have relaxed it in the first place. This is why when I see relaxer trending again, it worries me.
Katie Onyejekwe, a skincare expert and aesthetician, also first relaxed her hair as a teenager in the 2000s and has carried on for the past 16 years without a break. “I found my natural 4b hair really difficult to manage,” she says, “I also preferred wearing it straight but couldn’t achieve the style I desired without relaxer due to my natural curl pattern being very tight.”
The salon that Katie goes to is the same salon that I’ve gone to many times. It’s a salon that also offers the treatment that I use to soften my coils for easier straightening. It’s one I’ve written about countless times, praising how easy it has made styling my natural hair, it’s an excellent alternative to relaxers, in my opinion, for straighter style options.
Why would you continue to use relaxer when we now have choices that allow us to enjoy the full scope of our textured hair? I feel a hint of judgement creeping in and I hate it. Other Black women can be our biggest cheerleaders and harshest critics, I think. It spurs me to ask Katie if she’s gotten any negativity for choosing to relax her hair? “My curly-haired friends have told me off in the past for not embracing my natural curls, remarking that using a relaxer is damaging my hair,” she says. “But the way I look at it is this: I would be doing a lot more daily damage trying to manipulate it within an inch of its life to wear it how I prefer. I’ve also been wearing my hair this way for so long that I couldn’t think of having it any other way!”
Her words echo mine – so can’t the same logic apply with relaxer? In line with the rest of the industry, the formulations for relaxers have improved in the past 20 years. For example, Avlon’s relaxer now has a polymer in it to soften hair increase elasticity and improve the hair’s tensile strength. So, the breakage that used to almost be inevitable, doesn’t need to be a part of your hair story as it was with mine and so many others. There is so much more advice readily available for maintaining hair health online now compared to 20 years ago. Plus, here in the U.K., our beauty formulation standards are a lot more rigorous compared to those in the U.S. with many permitted ingredients in the U.S. banned in the U.K.. So, as long as you are using relaxer bought through legit suppliers, some of the suspect ingredients, like types of phthalates, won't be in the formula.
The way that many choose to relax now is different to its heyday too, less rigid, more, dare I say, relaxed? “When people used to relax their hair, it was like clockwork – every six weeks, root out, get it done, whereas with new-age relaxers we are seeing people go for it twice a year,” Notes Winnie Awa, founder of Hair Talk. I even know women that use protective styles to stretch their relaxer appointments to once every 6 months instead of using them as a break from natural hair styling.
Like all trends and beauty moments, the rise in relaxer does feel more personalised this time around. With more knowledge going into our decision making and more freedom to style than ever before, it makes me feel hopeful that finally choices we are making for our hair are truly ours. If you choose to go back to relaxer, I don't think it's down to others to judge or chastise you for a choice about your own hair. My hope though, is that whatever decision Black women make for their hair, it’s because of informed individualism and steadfastness, not due to societal pressure, judgement or scaremongering, which is what it has been based on for too many years.
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