Relaxers for African-American Hair

African-American hair is very curly. Some people have very tight curls, while some have medium curls. Having very tight curls can be very difficult to manage, and on top of that if you have very coarse and dry hair then managing and styling the hair becomes quite a painful task. Many women with African-American hair, or very curly hair tend to use various products, to style their hair straight, or into some softer looking curls. As these kinds of hair offer more styles and looks, you can create many other braid, bun or pony styles using straight or wavy hair. One of the products which is widely used by African-American women, is hair relaxers.

Choosing Best Hair Relaxers
Before we start discussing on how to select the best hair relaxer for African-American hair, it will be good to understand the various types of hair relaxers, and their side effects. There are many side effects associated with chemical base hair relaxers.

The most used are the lye-based hair relaxers, which act fast, give a strong hold. These are considered as best relaxers for coarse hair. Then comes the no-lye based hair relaxers which are milder, but contain another chemical, mostly it has sodium hydroxide as it main active ingredient or sometimes it can be guanidine hydroxide. Both these products damage the hair, while relaxing the hair.

So, what do these hair relaxer products do? They tend to penetrate the cortical layer of the hair which helps to loosen up the curly pattern, this inner layer is what gives the hair shaft the curly shape, elasticity and strength. Using strong chemicals can rip the hair off moisture, its natural oils, strength and elasticity. Sometimes, side effects of hair relaxer also include burning of scalp, and dryness of hair. Hence, using hair relaxers or hair texturizer for long term use is not recommenced. If you are going to use hair relaxers for taming your African-American hair regularly then a natural hair relaxer is advised. Also, take advice from an experienced cosmetologist to check the right product for you. Or you can use homemade natural hair relaxers for milder hair relaxing.

Best Hair Relaxer Products
These were the various types of hair relaxer products, and the side effects of chemical based hair relaxer products. Now, let us look at the best relaxer for black hair.

The top two hair relaxers for African-American hair are Organic Root Olive Oil Relaxer and Affirm by Avon. Both products work great. Organic Root Olive Oil Relaxer is safe to use, and doesn't dry or damage your hair, also it comes with a good hair conditioner, that makes your hair soft and shiny. This is a mild hair relaxer. Affirm on the other hand, is one of the best hair relaxer which helps to relax the hair, and provides a good bounce. It is one of the most used hair relaxer by professionals. Optimum Care Relaxers are another most rated hair relaxing treatment products. But, when buying this product make sure you buy the right strength one.

However, if you want some chemical free relaxers, to avoid any damage to your hair then you can use a lot of natural stuff, like coconut cream, mayonnaise, lemon or cocoa butter. These are easy to use products, which you can use to condition and relax your hair.