As you all know we follow hundreds of blogs Afrobella being one of our favorites. A while back she did an interview with Titi Branch, one half of the Miss Jessie empire. We really enjoyed it because for the first time, for me personally I saw where Titi admitted to using a silkner on her hair to get her curls to look the way they do.
If you do not know what a silkener is, it is simply a chemical process that stretches your curls making them more manageable. If you go to the Miss Jessie salon and get a silkener, it involves using sodium hydroxide commonly known as lye to stretch your hair.
This is a mild texturizer, and it can be a life saver for a lot of women who find it difficult to care for there own kinky* texture or want a different look from what their texture would give them. Here is a snippet of what Titi had to say:
“The silkener is a chemical process. We use sodium hydroxide, which is commonly known as lye, and we put it in typically natural hair in order to stretch it out. There has been a lot of controversy about silkeners and chemical processing in the natural hair community. But I think the reason it remains such a popular service is because it really helps people to get what they want, that curly hair sass,” Titi explained.
Titi was very forthcoming making the point that if you have a kinky* texture and you want to have your hair look like Tracee Ross you will have to do something a bit different. When you go to a salon, a great stylist will try her best to give you what you want, they will look at your little magazine clipping and tell you what you will need to achieve that look, chemicals or not.
When Titi was asked why she has a silkener she said:
Because I don’t have time to do my hair, to spend the time that it would take to do it natural. It’s just a personal decision. I want to just be able to wash it, condition it, rinse it out, put product in it, and let it dry and get curly. That’s how I like to do my hair,” she said.
Silkeners are growing in popularity and we thought is there such a thing as a ‘closet silkener’. Would you be ashamed to admit that you used one on your hair for whatever reason? If you do find yourself in the closet we are here to let you know you don’t have to be.
So funny. Me and the lady with the light hair have the same hair!
It’s basically a texturizer?
The Real Person!
Yes it’s Miss Jessie’s version of a texturizer, which Titi, the one with the hair color in the pic, uses herself to loosen her texture.
What is a silkerner
No because my hair will no longer be natural
Never heard of tht
It’s the same thing as if you were using that texterizer it’s all still perm like.
It sounds like “silkner” is a fancy word for texturizer lol. Do what you are comfortable with on your hair. Chemicals stunt my hair growth, so I opt out. But I don’t have a problem with someone else doing it…more power to you.
Yes
they both have beautiful hair.
Maybe if it would look like theirs.
If you do you won’t be natural!
Telling people not to be ashamed that they use a “silkener” but refuse to call it what it is… a mild relaxer. LOL
No one should feel ashamed of what they prefer to do to their own hair. Calling the process silkening or texturising is just a way for people to pretend they are not relaxing their hair. It’s just hair! Be proud to rock it anyway you want to.
I am seriously considering this if I’m ever going to wear my hair out. It dosent cooperate with braid outs, twist outs or wash and goes. It just frizzes up like a poodle. I want that look without all the time consuming prep work! I don’t have that kind of time. Weaves and braids are my constants!
Never! Then my hair would no longer be natural and chemical free. Just because it doesn’t completely straighten the hair like a relaxer, doesn’t mean it’s not the same thing. It’s still altering your natural texture.
Maybe if I had short hair, but my hair is long so NO I would not risk using a “silkener”!!!
Not if it changes my texture permanently
nope i wouldnt. i like learning my own texture.
If you use a chemical process in your hair, you cannot claim to be natural, because you are not natural. I didn’t even know such a thing existed!
I was considering straigtening my hair with coppola keratin straigtening treatment. would you recommend. Can you give me details about the treatment
it’s funny how people try to give a product another name. It’s not a Silkener, it’s a Perm. Call it for what it is and stopping telling those who actually believe it only makes the hair silky. You need to do the same thing with a perm as a “silkener”. Get real. You are no longer Natural, but you are back to using permanent products-IT’S A PERM.
No
Nope, I love my 4a-4c texture the way it is.
Absolutely NOT!!!!
YES BECAUSE I HAVE VERY THICK HAIR AND I NEED ANOTHER SHOULDER SURGERY
What is a silkner?
lye like in a relaxer just not as much same difference new name
A relaxer or perm as some say.
What is a silkener ?
A relaxer.
Oh . okay , thanks. Then I definitely don’t want one !,
Lovely
Nope.
Not putting lye on my scalp just because you call it a silkener its still lye a relaxer in other words
guys actually read the article before asking what a silkener is
Thank you! Ugh!
I usually never do. I don’t like to click links because some give viruses .
it’s a link to her page though idk how you’d get a virus ^^;
Nope nah nah uh nawwwwwwww no
Interesting
No, but my mom who has extremely coily hair might benefit from it.
A silkener is simply a relaxer. If you chose to get your hair relaxed so be it. However there’s no point in you being involved in a “natural hair movement”. If you’re going to be encouraging black women to accept their natural texture you can’t have a relaxer yourself.
It may help you manage your hair better but that’s just what relaxers do.
Isn’t this just a relaxer????
So in other words, people are faking being natural, that’s disappointing,kinda like “passing”
I love my nappy! Lol
Nah. I’m good.
Who cares? It’s your hair, do whatever you want with it.
We care thats why we are talking about it. And “do what u want with your hair” how about looking at both sides before u make a decision. Thats what we r doing
I’ll keep my kinks thank you very much…. this is still adding synthetic chemicals into my natural hair and thats a no no!!
Silkeners are made from lye…just like some relaxers…hmmmm..i think not
Look this is very simple!. You either go all natural and put up with the combing and pain. OR put a little chemical on the hair which is better known as RELAXER. You can call it any fancy name but as soon as you place anything PERMANENT that changes the hair texture it’s called RELAXER. It is what it is!!
I love all hair.
Hell no
No
Nope. Defeats the p purpose
What’s the sense using a silkner…u wouldn’t be a natural any more. My hair is as kinky as it gets. For the past couple of months of daily moisturizing, it’s as soft as can be.
Using a silkner…might as well put a relaxer in your hair and call it a day!
I don’t even use edge gels. Kinda weird having kinky hair with straight edges. I’ve learned to embrace my beady beads!
I personally would take an Intense Moisturizing technique. Leaveing chemicals that permanetly rearrange the curl pattern ALONE.
I did it a couple times then cut it all off and grew back natural.. it’s currently texturized.
I just cut my hair if I don’t like the curl pattern and keep doing that until I see my big cozily curls come back and not the straight hair or loose waves.
Hell no
Hell no