Before Meets After - Silk Press On Natural Hair.

One of the beauties of natural hair lies in the fact that you are able to switch up styles and the look of your texture depending on your mood.

 I've had a couple of requests in the last month for silk presses and I happily obliged each one especially because they typically don't last too long in the high humidity and heat of Lagos; however, during the Harmattan season, there was less moisture in the air and so the probability of the hair staying straighter longer was higher.

When you want to straighten your hair, it is imperative you get some sort of protein condition prior to the use of heat appliances. This is because using direct heat (especially the flat iron) will compromise the integrity of the hair structure and since we know that hair is made up of Keratin (protein), fortifying it first before applying heat will lower the risks of attendant heat damage.

The New 'Texture Release' System By Avlon

Avlon Industries (makers of Keracare, Avlon and As I am hair ) recently launched their Texture Release application system in the market. This system is an amino acid based strengthening system which is thermally activated - much like a few others that are already on the market and which I've blogged about, here and here.

On the Avlon page, it says the Texture Release System:

'Is heat activated with amino acids and conditioning agents which goes deep into the hair's fibers to enable styling versatility. This allows the client to have optional textural change with increased combing manageability.This system was formulated for excessively curly hair that needs moisture and conditioners with special attention to the scalp'

You can read more here.

The main difference between this and most of the others ones that I've seen and used is that this system has a deep conditioning step which is missing from other brand's systems. This I really like because it is always advisable to get a deep condition before major heat is applied to your hair as this helps to reinforce the strands.

Update On ORS Strengthening and Straightening System.

So last month, Detuke of tukesquest came over to get her natural hair straightened using the ORS system.( If you missed the post, click here to read it)

I've been following her hair's progress after the treatment and decided to do a quick update on how long the 'straightness' lasted and if her curl pattern was altered in anyway.

 I know a number of people are interested in using this system but there are (genuine) doubts as to whether their hair will ever go back to being curly. So thought this might help by giving you a better idea of what happens after the treatment.

ORS Straightening and Strengthening System - First Impressions.

Okay so I'm sure I've spoken about the amino acid based thermally activated strengthening systems that are getting popular by the minute. At the moment in the salon we use the Design Essentials Strengthening Therapy System as the professional line but of course as with everything, companies will create an 'at home' alternative.

The ORS system is the second at home system I've come across (the first one being the Beautiful Textures one I spoke about in this post) and while it's pretty much the same technique as the Beautiful textures, there's an added product step in this system.

Anyways Detuke who blogs at tukesquest.blogspot.com came in today, all excited about trying out this straightening system. Her plan was to straighten her hair and then fix a weave so straight from NYSC camp, she showed up all smiles and infectious bubbly energy.