4 Hair Relaxer Products for Black Women

A head of hair like Oscar-nominated actress Taraji Henson’s that’s full of life with extra body is within our reach. According to Proctor and Gamble’s Essence 2007 poll, black women spend 3 times more on beauty products than other women (a third of which is spent on hair care products). For those of you who relax your hair, to lye or no-lye is always the question. Check out four picks for hair relaxer products for Black women:

Lye relaxers, also known as sodium hydroxide relaxers is the strongest of both kinds of relaxers. It should be used with caution because it can damage your hair if it isn’t used properly. Revlon Realistic Professional Conditioning Creme Relaxer ($5.99, sallybeauty.com) & Elasta QP No Base Relaxer ($4.59, sallybeauty.com) both fall into this category.

No lye relaxers, contain guanidine hydroxide. They’re generally more gentle on your hair, which means there’s less chance of burning and scalp irritation. Two great options are Bantu No Base Creme Relaxer &Cantu Shea Butter No-Lye Relaxer System ($19.99, walmart stores) which is a safe, 7-step, at-home system that delivers value by offering shoppers like us a premium relaxer system typically found at salons. It includes a pre-care protective balm, an anti-breakage pre-care treatment, a deep-conditioning straightening creme, a liquid activator, a neutralizing color indicator shampoo with anti-itch, an intensive reconstructing treatment and a deep-conditioning moisturizing treatment. We know that salon visits can be expensive, so using this system can stretch those visits and start saving you money.

While some choose to think of relaxers as “creamy crack,” we should remember that how we wear our hair is a personal decision and we should be respected and not chided for opting to go straight.

Hue Knew It? I did.