Is it OK to Relax the Curl in My Natural Black Hair?

Black hair can be tricky to style: chemical relaxing is one option for easing the process.

Chemicals in hair relaxers can be harmful to children.

Manufacturers have created new, gentler hair relaxers, including organic and chemical-free versions. Instead of harsh sodium hydroxide, products like guanidine carbonate, a mushroom derivative, make new relaxers less likely to cause brittle, dry and damaged hair. Trained stylists can prevent scalp irritation and educate on conditioning treatments to strengthen relaxed hair. Hair relaxers also are not linked to breast cancer--as previously thought. Epidemiologist Lynn Rosenberg of Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center studied 48,167 black women over a six-year period, and found no effects from hair relaxers, including lye-based and other chemically based versions.

Hair relaxers permanently change hair texture.

According to the Environmental Working Group, chemical hair relaxers are one of the most hazardous cosmetics products. Both lye and no-lye treatments can cause scarring alopecia, which permanently damages hair follicles, resulting in irreversible hair loss. Chemical relaxers remove moisture from hair, resulting in brittle strands prone to breakage and splitting. Additionally, the FDA does not monitor all the chemicals in beauty products, so long-term effects of relaxers are still unknown, according to Judy Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies, Ourselves, a feminist health group.

Straightening alternatives, such as flat-irons and blow-drying, are safer, temporary options for removing curl. Hiwot Aberra, owner of Salon Revive in Washington, D.C., recommends that clients heat style rather than chemically relax their hair. Chemically straightened hair must be continually treated or allowed to grow out: the process cannot be undone. Due to risks of permanent hair damage, scalp irritation and chemical burns, search for other hairstyling options to treat curly black hair. Promising new treatments include Brazilian Keratin Treatment and Japanese Thermal Reconditioning, which use less harsh products.

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