First of all, before we even get started, Let me explain to you the diffrence between a Relaxer, and a Perm.

To make is easier to explain;

A Perm is basically a Jerry Curl. White women use perms to make their hair curly, and Black women use to use a perm to make our hair curly. Which is often known as a “Jerry Curl” or a “Texturizer” which is what some men use as well to get their solid gold waves.



Now that we got that straight, lets move on to what we often call perms but are not, which is a Relaxer. A Relaxer is what makes African American hair straight. You know, the box kits you find in the store that you call a perm.

A Relaxer permanently straightens your hair, and a Perm permanently curls your hair. They are two different products, and two different chemicals. You can not have both chemicals in your hair at the same time. It’s either one, the other, or none.

The difference between No-lye and lye Relaxers:

No-lye relaxers are the box kits you find in the stores which you should stay away from and avoid at all cost! That is of course if you don’t want to go completely bald and loose all your hair. No-lye relaxers leave mineral deposits on your hair which prevents your hair from absorbing much needed moisture. Lack of moisture equals dry hair and dry hair leads to breakage. And what does breakage lead too? Well I don’t need to tell you that. Just look at the crown of some of your heads and look at your hair or lack there of.

Not only does No-lye relaxers cause hair loss and breakage, but it also straightens your hair to the point were your follicles no longer have it’s elasticity at all. And one pulling of the strand causes your hair to break off.

Even if you don’t see the effects of your box kit No-lye Relaxed now, you will eventually see the affects as one of my clients years down the road when your hair has no porosity at all. Your hair will become completely dry and brittle and no longer able to retain moisture.



Bottom line, stay away from those box kit, No-lye relaxer marketing schemes and take your behind to a licensed cosmetologist in whom you are supposed to let put in all your chemical services in the first place. Just think about it, have you ever seen your licensed stylist putting a box kit No-lye relaxer in your hair? Well that’s because many of them studied chemistry and know the adversed affects of the chemical. Just stay away!

Lye relaxers

Lye relaxers are called base relaxers by professionals and usually can’t be found in most stores. A good example of a Lye base relaxer would be the Mazani brand which more than lilly can be found in stores. You,ve seen them, they come in little brown tubs with no activator or brown sturing stick required.



Mazani is the only base relaxer I could recommend that won’t make your hair fall out or make it dry and brittle. This is the only relaxer I can recommend that I can actually vouch for and know or predict the outcome for the health of your hair after continuous use. You see, I have very fine hair, which tends not to take to kin to boxed kit No-lye relaxers. So after years of searching and painful events of watching my hair fall out from those No-lye relaxers and so called kiddie “perms”, I was so happy to find a brand that not only kept my hair healthy, but continuously allied my hair to grow, Mazani. Believe it of not, not all black women want to go completely “natural”, so it is nice to find a brand that will allow us to have versatility and keep our hair, and keep it healthy at the same time!

More must reads:

Book coming soon!

Nurse your hair back to health series:
Hair care regimens for relaxed, natural, and color treated hair.

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