A couple of months back I attended an anniversary lunch for an entertainment website celebrating their 4th anniversary and in the swag back they gave us a box of Beautiful Textures Naturally Straight. The product allows me to wear my natural hair straight without the usage of perm. This was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It’s been on the shelf for some time so why I had never heard of the product before is beyond me.

To give you a little back story about my hair. I stopped perming or chemically straightening my hair in 2007 after I lost almost all the hair on the right side of my head due to a home perm and dye job done within 9 days of each other. That is a big no-no. I’ve been doing my own hair since the mid 90’s, I knew better. Those actions forced me to wear a comb over that entire summer and ultimately kept me from perming so that I could save what little bit of hair I had left. Thus, my transition from perm to chemical free (except dye) had begun.

I was reluctant about my afro in the beginning because it takes some time to get used to but over time it grew on me and I loved the way my hair looked and felt. It was a new me! Well only outwardly cause on the inside I was the same crazy me. I wondered why I hadn’t done this before? It shouldn’t have taken me losing chunks of hair to see the light. But the only thing about being natural I hated was and is the SHRINKAGE! What is shrinkage? Its when your hair dries and literally shrinks up. The length of your natural hair wet and dry are vastly different. For example, when my hair is soaking wet after I detangle it can touch my shoulders but by the time it starts to dry its now touching the tops of my ears. Its the bane of almost every naturals existence. There are a few who love and accept that our hair does this…most of us do not. So when I got this chemical free straightening product I was anxious to it and see how long my hair truly was. Not to mention I was craving some summertime whip action so it came at the right moment.

I chose the night of an annual male adult show that me and my girls attend every summer to try this product out. I was actually saving it for this particular event. Its our Superbowl of girls night out. The event takes place on the Husdon River and is like a Magic Mike show on steroids…no, more like whatever Leo DiCaprio was on in Wolf of Wall Street. Talk about sensory overload. I won’t get into specifics of this event as its worthy of its own post.

Anyway, I followed the simple instructions, which was a 2 step process. Wash your hair with the cleanser they provide and apply the leave in conditioner. The box give you 2 applications each. So you’ll be able to use the contents of this box about 4 times. After you leave the leave in conditioner in for about 20 minutes you blow dry it out (with a comb attachment), flat iron and style.  Boom! Whatta ya know instant straight hair…minus the scalp burns. It felt nice and different. Not bad different but considering I haven’t seen my hair straight in several years it’s something that would take getting used to.

Once I was done with hair and make-up I really didn’t know how to act with my new hairdo. I loved it! Yet, there was one thing I didn’t like about my new style. It was the fact that I had to actually comb my hair. You see, with my afro I could go 2 or 3 days without combing it. I could just finger style it and go. Or I could wash it and go with it still damp. But not now I had to actually put in effort to styling it and making it look presentable. I had to use blow dryers and flat irons. These things take time. Like an extra 45 minutes of time. Not good when you’re trying to sneak out of the house to Target without the kids knowing you’re leaving. Any mom knows, when the kids see you playing in your hair or getting dressed that’s their cue to get their shoes. Another boo-hoo moment came when I took my hot shower the next day, if you allow your head to sweat (which I did) then your straight hair is back to its curly roots and you’ll have to blow it out all over again. So don’t forget your head scarf.

But I will say the major perks of this product was that I was able to see my how much my hair had grown. I cut all my hair off last year for no reason at all. It was a Thursday and I felt like cutting all my hair off. So to see it at its current length let me know despite its movement being slower than a turtle surfing on molasses it was actually growing. Though a little dry on the ends cause I sleep wild and my satin head wrap never stays on. But, its nothing a little hot oil treatment can’t fix up over the next few weeks.

Overall, it was a welcome change after so many years of seeing myself looking one way. So much so I almost permed my hair over the holiday weekend. Yeah I know…perming after being natural for so long is like a big faux-pas. But the thought of being able to take long hot showers without my roots reverting back would be…wait! *thinks to self* If I perm I’d have to maintain it, not to mention add another 30-40miutes to my dressing routine to curl and style. What mom has that kinda time? So I think I’ll take the $8.00 I would’ve spend on a box of perm or other straightening products and buy a box of wine instead. Yes, that would be the best $8 bucks I could ever spend.

Pros: Straight hair that’s chemical free that won’t shrink when dry.
Cons: Say buh-bye to hot showers and you’ll need more time to get ready.