Black Hair Styles, Care & Tips Answers Forum

First of all I need you to know from the start that I am quite skeptical of so called "new technology" natural products especially when brought to market by small companies that I have not heard of. I do include our company in this list of companies that people have not really heard of. However, just because we are small doesn't mean we can't have a line that's exceptional and unique and to have developed some pretty innovative application techniques.

To be truly honest with you, our company is a small one that does not posses the research resources it would take, as well the financial resources, to bring truly "new technology" to market in terms of a real breakthrough in relaxers. We like to rely on the tested and the well proven, as we refuse to experiment on our clients and customers, as part of our job is to protect them. Let me put a question to you. If the major companies who make Black hair products (I will not call names but we know who they are) that you and I both know that are valued in the hundreds of millions, at least one in the billions, and who have many high priced cosmetic research chemists on staff are still using sodium hydroxide as their active ingredient in their relaxers, don't you think there is a very good reason for this? Could it be that they have yet to find anything that does a better, is safer or does a more reliable and consistent (this is key) job in relaxing hair? I truly believe this to be the case.

I know when to lead and when to follow and I know we will not be using any "new technology natural" relaxing products on our clients or in any products we manufacture until this "new technology" is co-signed by companies I have known and have respect for, start to formulate using these "new" chemicals. When and if this occurs, and the new chemicals are reported to been proven safe and consistent, and I have personally tried them out on non-paying models, and I have followed their progress and hair over a good period of time, and I personally have real confidence in the new technology. Then and only then will we most likely develop a new relaxer to suit our needs in products based on any new technology active (the chemical that makes the product work).

So you see we are not using "new technology" in our relaxer system, we are relying on sodium hydroxide as our active chemical in our Release® Conditioning Creme Relaxer with some unique modifications and additions to suit our Wash & Wear process. The reason being, as I state in our Q&A archive to be found at www.jazma.com/archive.html , is that although I have tried a number of different relaxers and formulas, including the so called "natural relaxers". Over the years I have yet to find one with the reliability and performance characteristics of a good sodium hydroxide based formula. These sodium hydroxide based relaxers will almost without exception leave Afro textured hair in better over all condition, when used by a skilled and knowledgeable stylist than any other type of relaxer available on the market I have so far encountered, period. An additional advantage of using sodium hydroxide as our active ingredient is this makes our Wash & Wear relaxer system compatible with many other relaxers on the market, a benefit for those wishing to safely convert from a traditional relaxer to our Wash & Wear system.

There are a number of web sites and companies out there offering so called "natural" relaxers, but once a product is applied to the hair and is able to break chemical bonds to cause a permanent change in the curl pattern of the hair, it most defiantly has to contain an active chemical to do this. There are no two ways around this fact. If any company will not tell you specifically and clearly, as we do, what their active ingredient is, even if they claim it is derived from "natural sources" the active ingredient will have a specific chemical name, and start to talk about "trade secrets" or "a proprietary formula" I would be extremely wary. We consider our formula to be proprietary, what all the exact ingredients and the amounts added in our relaxer are, but we have no problem at all about being quite specific what our active ingredient is. According to my brother who has a PhD in chemistry there is only one truly natural relaxer and it is heat, as when we do a press and curl, anything else you are using is a chemical (even water used in wet-setting is a chemical, H2O). To make an informed decision myself as a hair stylist, I personally want to know specifically and exactly what it is I am applying to my clients hair, and just as important I want my clients to know as well.

Nothing makes me happier than when people are skeptical and question our products and what we do. I like people to know what we do is much more about technique and following a system than just a product. At Jazma we have been doing Wash & Wear relaxers for going on 22 years and been teaching our methods at beauty industry trade shows for the past 12 years, We have developed a system and products for achieving consistent great results in what we call Wash & Wear relaxers for Black hair. Most stylists can do shorter hair texturizers and achieve good results their clients are happy with. However, once the hair starts to get longer there are a number of problems that start to present themselves. One of them that I will mention is being able to perform the relaxing service each time consistently so that textures match from one relaxing service to the next, both on the new growth and on the previously relaxed hair. This ensures that there is no friction at these meeting points that will result in breakage if these textures are not correctly matched, from touch-up to touch-up, throughout the whole head, especially as the hair gets longer. We have a way to ensure that this texture matching problem does not take place. This is one of a number of problems we have solved using our techniques, so we are not just "guessing" we have a system in place to ensure consistent results.

With the techniques we have developed we are just trying to save experimentation with timing and application methods because we've been over that ground and overcame those obstacles in the beginning years of perfecting this service. When mistakes are made in timing and application it can mean that someone who has grown their hair out natural, for sometimes years may have to start again. Therefore, these kind of mistakes just can not afford to be made. The penalty is just too high.

You're quite right, I do care about hair. If you've been through our site (which obviously you have) you will see this is the real reason I have pioneered Wash & Wear relaxers. My feelings were, and still remain, is that a large segment of women with Black, Afro, curly textured hair are going to apply relaxers to their hair no matter what anyone thinks or says. They do this for any number of reasons, mainly fashion and ease of style I find and I respect every women's right to make choices concerning their bodies. Therefore, I tried to find a way to give them what they wanted without doing the damage to their hair and scalp that has been going on for far too many years. I do receive many e-mails asking me to promote non-chemical styles, stating that Black women should not be using chemicals on their hair. I do understand the basis of this thinking and respect it, but it is just not realistic to believe all women with Afro textured hair are going to go totally natural. So to me the best way to deal with this was to develop safer and more correct ways of relaxing and to provide as much good information on Black hair care as I possibly can.

Also you have to realize the following about Wash & Wear relaxers if you were to receive one:

1.) The first few relaxers will feel to people kind of like they did not have their hair permed much at all, since the hair when processed Wash & Wear will have a more natural and thicker feeling.

2.) Depending on the length they like, or will like to maintain their hair at, it may take up to a few years to get their hair to a length they are happy with and that will hang into a coily, crimpy curly, corkscrew look they desire.

3.) Most importantly, no one can tell in advance precisely how anyone's Wash & Wear relaxer will finally look, the natural texture of their hair will dictate this, very few people in our salon who have Wash &Wear hair look exactly the same. However, if for what ever reason anyone does not like their Wash & Wear relaxer or gets tired of it, the hair all can always be made bone straight at their next relaxer service with no harm to the hair.

I like to be very honest with people in the fact that this service is not an "instant" one for most people. That to end up with their hair as people envision it will take commitment and time. This last sentence is the key to having healthy Black hair, have a plan, follow it, and be consistent and most of all have patience.

Hope this helps,

Asha