relaxer

noun

re·​lax·​er ri-ˈlak-sər 

plural relaxers

: something or someone that relaxes or produces relaxation

What makes the neck relaxer so good is how it stretches your spine and neck.

—Thomas Price

Another reliable relaxer is autogenic training, a kind of self-programming that creates the relaxation response through suggestion.

—Lonny J. Brown

[Relief pitcher Tommy] Hunter will take a few days off from throwing before resuming work. The spasms typically go away with rest and muscle relaxers …

—St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press

especially : a usually chemical treatment used to straighten curly and especially kinky (see kinky sense 1) hair

I have naturally curly hair, but I prefer to wear it straight—I always have. Getting a relaxer was pretty much my only solution to making styling my hair a shorter and easier process. But, naturally, they're not for everyone.

—Andrea Navarro

If you have natural hair, then you may have considered getting a hair relaxer at some point. After all, taking care of your curls can be time-consuming, which can make having sleek, super-straight hair straight out of bed sound pretty appealing. And with the relaxers growing in popularity once again … you may be particularly curious about them right now.

—lorealparisusa.com

Hair relaxers have been around for over a century and are used to chemically straighten hair by getting into the cuticle and cortex layers. During this process, the curly, wavy, or kinky hair patterns are straightened out, resulting in that quintessential straight, sleek look.

—Del Sandeen

Examples of relaxer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2023, the FDA proposed a ban on using formaldehyde in chemical relaxers. —Claretta Bellamy, NBC news, 12 Feb. 2026

Chemical relaxers—another product commonly used to style Black hair—that permanently straighten curly or kinky hair have previously been linked to higher risk of uterine cancer. —Aude Konan, Scientific American, 11 Feb. 2026

Fischnaller immediately flew home to upstate New York, hopped up on painkillers and muscle relaxers that did little to quell her discomfort. —Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026

Wise led a study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Epidemiology on hair relaxer use in relation to the incidence and growth of uterine fibroids. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

relax + -er entry 2

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above