10 Relaxer Product Lines That Have Jumped On The Natural Hair Bandwagon

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Say it isn’t so! Relaxer companies or manufacturers want to find new ways to get our money? Am I shocked? Not really, or not at all, because I was sure this was coming.

I wasn’t however sure about how and when and felt they would have just put a few pretty colors on some bottles, throw a few natural and organic words on them, and spoon-feed us their version of natural.

Yes, I’m salty. I’m not a fan of these lines only because I’m a tad bit bitter with having chemicals monthly slathered onto my head and thinking they were safe, or the only way to go.

I digress though, because they didn’t force me to use them and they sure as heck didn’t hold me hostage to them for decades either, so they do as most companies will do to regain their followers. They have adapted with the times, and have reformulated their marketing to incorporate the natural sistas. I guess I should be flattered.

I’m not though, and it’s because I see dollar signs in their eyes more than I see companies trying to create products that will nurture our tresses. Maybe I want them to redeem themselves, or maybe I want an apology for not caring about what they put into their products. Or maybe I just really want to forgive myself and then forgive them by loving their new lines. OK, forgiveness is probably not gonna happen, but I do want to see what they have to offer.

So, we’ve got a list of some well-known (and not so well-known) names that were primarily exclusive in the relaxer game taking on the natural hair world. On a side note, how many times am I going to see the word organic? I’m guessing more time than I will be happy with. Here goes:

1. Dr. Miracle’s 

I know we all remember those awful and cheesy commercials with a wild-haired woman facing the mirror distraught over her hair, and the medicine cabinet opens with a box from Dr. Mircale’s. We all remember it, and we all hated it, but now it seems Dr. Miracle’s believes in the miracles of curls, kinks and coils, and has a line specifically for our natural tresses.

It’s called the Curl Care line and I see they are trying, but I cannot get past this claim on their website about their relaxer line:

THE ONLY RELAXER THAT LEAVES HAIR HEALTHIER THAN BEFORE YOU RELAXED.

Seriously? OK, anyway…some of the products on their curl care line contain mineral oil*, but they kept the peppermint*. The conditioner clearly missed the mark because it has no slip, and we are almost positive you can find a conditioner with a much lower price tag that does what conditioners are supposed to do.

2. Creme of Nature

This line gives me a headache when I think about it because I can actually remember it burning in my scalp. Now they have added a ‘Curls’ section to their line, and their main celebrated ingredient is…Argan oil*.

MADE WITH ARGAN OIL* & ARGAN BUTTER FROM MOROCCO

How true is this? Not sure, but they have a Pudding, a custard, a milk masque, and a butter that are all supposed to style, deep treat and moisturize. They claim no sulfates, parabens, mineral oil* or petroleum.

They now have sulfate-free shampoos, conditioners and more stylers than necessary (if you ask me), and if they use the word “exotic” one more time in their ads, I’m going to scream! They are going overboard with the Morroccan theme but hey, whatever works right?

 3. Silk Elements

Another relaxer brand catering to naturals: the Naturally Silk Elements line is doing pretty well and getting good reviews, although I haven’t seen much on it. They are on the right track with the line being free of sulfates, parabens, mineral oil*, and petrolatum.

I know I’ve been out of the relaxer game for a minute, but this is this the new norm?

Silk Elements MegaSilk Relaxer with Shea Butter*

Throwing around an ingredient that most naturals adore, and use in a relaxer to make it sound less damaging? I think it is my best advice to anyone who is swayed by these notions to check the ingredients to see where shea butter* really is. If it’s at the end of the list, then trust me when I say they should have never been advertised it in the first place. Other than that, I’m done.

4. Dark and Lovely

They actually have two lines out now with the first: “Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Anti Shrinkage”, and the “AU NATURALE ANTI-BREAKAGE” line.  

They are holding our attention with the “Anti-shrinkage” and the “Anti-breakage”, but whether the claims live up to the test is yet to be seen. The reviews on Amazon.com have been fair and few, so it doesn’t seem that they are getting many takers on these two new lines.

I’m not feeling this line too much either because with a title like Au Naturale, why are they using mineral oil* labeled ever so cleverly as “C13-14 isoparaffin”? I don’t like misleading info.

Not to mention the anti-shrinkage claims, with a commercial featuring a woman who clearly has her hair stretched to capacity, and not from a product that has water in it.

5. Design Essentials

Didn’t know they had a relaxer line – it was kind of hard to find it, but viola, it did. Yes, they are selling the relaxers as well as selling their natural hair product lines. The natural product line seems to be doing rather well and actually getting some praise from well known sites, so it may be worth checking out.

They are using all the good stuff, and none of the bad (no mineral oil* or drying alcohols). A really popular item is their Design Essentials Natural Honey & Shea Edge Tamer that’s got calendula officinalis flower extract, godenseal, henna*, hops and horsetail extract. Yea, it sounds very much like many of our beloved natural product ingredients. Kinda on the pricey side, but may be well worth the splurge.

6. Just for Me

Lawd, they got the babies on the natural hair bandwagon too, and that’s actually a really good thing, even though it should have happened years ago and not just now. They have two main products for natural moms:

The Hair Milk Collection

Naturally Gentle Texture Softener

Yes – you guessed it – the latter is nothing more than a texturizer or a revamped Kiddie Perm. The Hair Milk Collection line touts that it’s infused with Shea butter*, soy milk and honey* but they are kinda on the bottom of the list, so um…no. Not falling for that, since many of the products have mineral oil* and silicones.

It’s cheap but in my eyes not worth it, when you have such amazing lines like Shea Moisture* and Mixed Chicks* who have stepped up to the Natural Hair Plate for the kiddies in hair care lines, and are much more worth the purchase.

7. Mizani

I have actually tried a product from this product line and was not impressed, but you have to be somewhat impressed by their attempt at taking curly and natural hair seriously in their marketing. They are about educating us about our curl type and pattern, and their curl line seems to be selling well, but when you have such titles as this for a mild relaxer:

Mizani Butter Blend Relaxer Mild, Minimal-Moderate Curl Reduction

You have to wonder how far are they willing to go to use the word “Curl” in their marketing to sound less like a regular old relaxer brand? Butter Blend? Curl Reduction? I thought it was just a perm. Oh, and yes, some of their products have mineral oil*, so they are not all natural. I do give them some credit for trying, though.

8. Motions 

Motions was my perm back in the day! Loved it, as it slicked my hair down like no other. Fast forward to ten years later, and I’m surprised to see them jumping on board the natural hair product line bandwagon.

It seems that Motions didn’t fare so well at first with their natural hair line “Motions Naturally You“. They went back to the drawing board and came out with Natural Textures. This line is primarily about straightening your hair without chemicals or hydrating your curls. Too new to know how good it is, but I hear the old formula needed to be changed. Time will tell if this will be any better.

9. Sof ‘n’ free

The vast majority of the line has no parabens, petroleum, mineral oil*, sulfates, or colorants. They are getting great reviews and winning some awards, so it seems they are truly taking this natural plunge seriously, and making a real effort to cater to naturals.

This is a great example of a company trying to stay away from tricks and false marketing, and really honing in on what naturals need. It even sounds like one I might actually try.

10. Lottabody

Ok, Lottabody never had a relaxer, but certainly their main product, the setting lotion, was targeted to women with relaxed hair. I have a bottle in my pantry right now, and used it for my daughter’s hair when I put Curlformers* in.

I’m kind of excited to learn more about this line, even though they are claiming this line can be used by naturals and relaxed women. Taking on more than they can chew? Probably not, since they have one of the best setting lotions ever, and I can only imagine they are doing it right with their new line. I’d try this one in a minute!

So, have you tried any of these lines, and if so, what were your thoughts?