ARTec's texturesmooth vs. Phytospecific Relaxer

To Cooldude,

Orc really covered this topic very well. I am not sure I would add much. The truth of the matter is that with every hair treatment there is a double edged sword. While hair color will brighten your overall look and relaxers will remove curls and frizz, the chemicals alter the natural composition of your cuticles. With relaxers, the actual chemical bonds in the hair are literally broken and then reformed to reshape the texture...thus breaking the curl pattern in your case.

Any chemical treatment brings the risk of dryness since chemical treatments alters the sebum balance of the cuticle and often alters the natural mosture balance.

The key to enjoying the benefits of relaxers (or color or perms) is to replace lost moisture. As Orc so wonderfully pointed out above, use good moisturizing products. You might want to experiment with diluting your shampoo formula or using one that is very moisturizing. I personally highlight my hair with does make it more dry. To compensate I use very moisturizing shampoos, rinse out conditioners and leave in conditioners. I also dilute my shampoo formula because my hair is so dry from highlighting.

Many people do comment after relaxing their hair or having it treated with thermal reconditioning that it appears to be "flat". This is because the curl pattern has been reshaped.

Add moisture and this should help with the dryness and some of the flatness. Of course since the goal of relaxing is to remove curl, the result is often going to be a much flatter feel to the cuticle.

You can also add a little texture back by scrunching your hair lightly when still damp and then blow drying on a low speed or letting your hair air dry to get a little movement.

As I said above, I welcome any emails to shelton@hairboutique.com. We also have a very good customer service team for dealing with product questions from our customers. You can either email me or customer-service@hairboutique.com and you will receive a prompt reply.

Best wishes,
Karen

Does anyone have any information as to how to find a salon that offers the Artec TextureSmooth? I'm all for letting the pros handle it, but I'm having a really difficult time finding anyone in the Denver, CO area..

I'm going to use the PhytoRelaxer at home in the interim

It is really helpful reading everyone's advise and feedback. Enough that I'm scared to use the Artec TextureSmooth at home

Hi guys! I recieved my Texturesmooth and I tried it. The results are good. No burns or damage. Although it didn't make my hair stick straight like I was hoping for, it did make it alot smoother and less puffier than it was before. For some odd reason my hair was super straight after the procedure when the hair was wet. However, once it dried it became to wave a bit, but just a little. My hair is very resistant and thick. Overall I liked the results. I can now finally cut my hair short and spike it. :)

In the future I hope to relax my hair again. However, I hope to find a more powerful relaxer for my hair.

Hi Orc. My hair is about an inch and 1/2 long. The front hairs reach my eyebrows. And I tried texturesmooth 2. I dont think number 1 would have done anything. But you say you left ur solution 15 minutes longer? Next time I will try that. I really don't care about burned hair, I just want straight hair!!! Hehehe.

Anyhow, yeah, my hair is a lot nicer now. It's no longer puffy and its straight and I have some movement which is awsome

I know this is an old thread and maybe no one will read this, but I could use some advice on this topic if anyone can help. I had waited the last 4 months to grow my hair out and then relax it, and the 2 products I was deciding between were the Texturesmooth & Phytospecific. I chose to go with the Phytospecific and relaxed my hair last week. It was virgin hair in good condition, about 2 inches long. I think I must have left it in for too long because my hair has been extremely dried out. The max time it said to leave in was 25 minutes, and I left it in for about 22 or 23 minutes, less then the max time but it still fried my hair, which I was very afraid of. I have been conditioning like crazy with Phyto products, but dont know what else to do. Also, I noticed that the person who started this thread had asked a question that was never answered throughout all of these posts, and I have the same question now - Is it safe to use the Texturesmooth on hair that at the ends has previously been relaxed with Phytospecific? 

Thanks