Getting a silk press is a special moment. When I get my 4C hair pressed (about two to three times a year) I proudly swish my shoulder-length hair back and forth as I admire my coily ‘fro stretched out to three times its length. But after a day and a half (if I’m lucky) that serotonin boost wanes as my hair begins to puff up, leaving me with the look of a subpar blowout. I’m not the only one who deals with this short-lived bliss; Brooklyn-based hairstylist Monae Everett confirms it’s common for type three and four curls to start to shrink and revert back to their natural state after just a few days. That’s why some naturalistas are combating this reality by getting keratin treatments for smoother, longer-lasting silk presses.
Keratin treatments are also said to make coily textures easier to manage when curly. It sounds like a 4C girl’s dream, but “keratin treatments are very controversial if you fancy yourself a natural,” says Everett. Keratin treatments can change the structure of your hair’s follicle, which could mean a change in curl pattern. Many see keratin as being in the same vein as relaxers or texturizers, both of which also loosen curls, though to different degrees (we’ll get to that in a minute). In the case of all three treatments, the underlying connotation of texturism comes into question.