Continuing to Stretch...

J

Jewell

New Member
My mother is trying to convince me to relax my hair...now! I am 11 weeks post, and my hair doesn't look bad, but she says I should get a relaxer or get it braided to "change up my style." She's against my daily CO washes because she says my hair is too much upkeep, which is another reason why she thinks I should go ahead and relax.

She also says I should get it braided. I have 2 inches or more in new growth, and if I get my hair braided the new growth will be unbearable, plus with the length, I won't be able to get cornrows with hair added without them being super long! Mind you, my mother relaxes her hair every 5 weeks or so, and has an ear length layered bob, so she can't fathom the idea of stretching a relaxer longer than that! Please give me some advice!

My boyfriend is for me stretching, but everyone else thinks its ridiculous. I haven't had a problem handling my hair so far, but I am tired of the discouragement! This lady at work even has something to say about my hair everyday because I do my CO wash in the morning, so when I go to work, its wet. She thinks I should go ahead and relax too...when I told her that i wanted to see how long I could manage my hair without a relaxer, she said, "Well, I never heard of that."

This same woman used to have hair to her waist, and now it barely passes her shoulders, due to poor upkeep. She also gripes along with my mother when she comes to my job about my daily CO washes. Why all the drama over MY HAIR?! All in all, do you ladies think I should continue to stretch to 26 weeks? I haven't had any breakage or problems so far. Thanks so much in advance!
 
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Girl, stretch as long as you can without suffering damage. Can you go 26 weeks? That I don't know. But if you aren't having any problem's now, why not go as long as you can? Don't pay them any attention. Maybe they are trying to be helpful but it looks like they are just getting on your nerves. Focus on what you think is important and keep listening to your sweet boyfriend too (I love that he supports you). I don't know why people feel they have to tell you what to do with your hair. Some people are scared of newgrowth. I don't know why though because new growth is pretty and fun to play in too.:look: Anyway, just keep your hair business between you and your boyfriend for now and enjoy stretching as long as you. Good luck!:)
 
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I say, stretch on! I'm so mad I relaxed thinking it was causing my breakage/shedding when it STILL broke and shed after! I think I had protein overload. *sigh* Keep stretching...for all of mankind...KEEP STRETCHINGGGGG!
 
hopeful said:
Girl, stretch as long as you can without suffering damage. Can you go 26 weeks? That I don't know. But if you aren't having any problem's now, why not go as long as you can? Don't pay them any attention. Maybe they are trying to be helpful but it looks like they are just getting on your nerves. Focus on what you think is important and keep listening to your sweet boyfriend too (I love that he supports you). I don't know why people feel that have to tell you what to do with your hair. Some people are scared of newgrowth. I don't know why though because new growth is pretty and fun to play in too.:look: Anyway, just keep your hair business between you and your boyfriend for now and enjoy stretching as long as you. Good luck!:)
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Hey! I have never stretched to 26 weeks. The longest I've ever gone was 13 weeks, I believe, but I didn't know how to handle the new growth! I am trying to go as long as I can, with 26 weeks being the cut off. I thank you for your encouragement! I think they're scared of my new growth! My mom made the comment that my hair might loc up. :lol: She thought I wasn't combing my hair, but I comb everyday, with conditioner in it. I just don't comb while its dry. If my hair did loc up, she'd be afraid that I might like it and start wearing dreads! :lol:


THANKS TO EVERYONE OFFERING ME ENCOURAGEMENT!!! I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! :p
 
I say stretch as long as your hair can handle it. If my hair could handle 26 weeks, then I would do it myself. I hope your hair turns out great.
 
Girl do you don't let them tell you what to do. I am trying for 12 weeks. I did 19 with my micros and lord was it terrible when I took it down! I didn't have any s curl either but now I do!!!!!!!!!!! What are you doing for this challenge (b/c that is what it is) your regimen please!
 
sweetpeadst said:
Girl do you don't let them tell you what to do. I am trying for 12 weeks. I did 19 with my micros and lord was it terrible when I took it down! I didn't have any s curl either but now I do!!!!!!!!!!! What are you doing for this challenge (b/c that is what it is) your regimen please!
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;) My regimen is in detail in my LHCF journal!
 
Jewell said:
My mother is trying to convince me to relax my hair...now! I am 11 weeks post, and my hair doesn't look bad, but she says I should get a relaxer or get it braided to "change up my style." She's against my daily CO washes because she says my hair is too much upkeep, which is another reason why she thinks I should go ahead and relax.

She also says I should get it braided. I have 2 inches or more in new growth, and if I get my hair braided the new growth will be unbearable, plus with the length, I won't be able to get cornrows with hair added without them being super long! Mind you, my mother relaxes her hair every 5 weeks or so, and has an ear length layered bob, so she can't fathom the idea of stretching a relaxer longer than that! Please give me some advice!

My boyfriend is for me stretching, but everyone else thinks its ridiculous. I haven't had a problem handling my hair so far, but I am tired of the discouragement! This lady at work even has something to say about my hair everyday because I do my CO wash in the morning, so when I go to work, its wet. She thinks I should go ahead and relax too...when I told her that i wanted to see how long I could manage my hair without a relaxer, she said, "Well, I never heard of that."

This same woman used to have hair to her waist, and now it barely passes her shoulders, due to poor upkeep. She also gripes along with my mother when she comes to my job about my daily CO washes. Why all the drama over MY HAIR?! All in all, do you ladies think I should continue to stretch to 26 weeks? I haven't had any breakage or problems so far. Thanks so much in advance!
Click to expand...




Oh my goodness!! I TOTALLY feel you! My mom is the same way; I am also trying to go w/o a relaxer as long as I can (currently 15 weeks). IMO, I think you should keep going. You are doing a great job, I think the daily washes are really beneficial to you. :up: Your hair is getting healthier because you are streeetttccchhiiinnngg out the time between relaxers. Keep going girl!!

btw, I find it hard to listen to criticism about my hair techniques and what I do to my hair when the people given the criticism have hair that is not thriving and healthy. Keep doing what your doing-->it's working!!! :yay: Praise God!! :woot:

 
Stretch till you can't stretch no more!!!
I am on my 23rd week. I found great ways to stretch. I haven't had any breakage or shedding except the norm from not combing. It has become soo easy to stretch now.
A year ago I would have never thought of going past 6 weeks.
 
I'm going to relax my hair! It was a spontaneous decision! I will continue to stretch my relaxers to at least 12-16 weeks for each touch-up! I am going to get a touch-up tomorrow! I'm super eager to see my hair's progress, which is why I decided to break down and relax. Thanks all for the encouraging words...I'm glad I was able to stretch this far, because for the longest time I had been relaxing every 6 weeks. Special thanks goes out to all the ladies who transition or stretch their relaxers, because the tips have really helped me come this far!

My mother still thinks I'm crazy for waiting this long! :lol: Thanks ladies for the support...I probably could have made it to 26 weeks, but my hair would have looked like a war zone, because each week it looks a little crazier, although its still easy to manage. Kudos! :p
 
I'm sure your hair has made WONDERUFL progress Jewell! Don't worry about what your mom says. My mom is the same way. Just the other day, she asked me: "When are you due for your next relaxer?" UGHGH! I stretch until 14 weeks, but I may perm at 13 weeks since I'm going to a really fancy dinner party this month and I want my hair to be in tip top shape.

But anyway, my hair has THRIVED since I've been stretching my relaxers. My hair is naturally fine in texture, but since I've been stretching my relaxers, my hair is MUCH thicker at the roots now. I think my hair is doing much better from stretching to 14 weeks. Sometimes you just have to do what is best for YOUR hair no matter WHAT people say about you.

I try not to listen to the negative comments/remarks people make. I could care less. It's MY hair. If you're seeing good results from stretching your relaxers, why care what other people think about it?? I swear, some people really are afraid of new growth/natural hair. You would think that we as a group of people would be over that "straight hair is better" crap, but some people still have this ingrained. What I can do however is help to educate young black women like myself that having a little bit of new growth is NOT going to kill you! If you know how to maintain it, you can stretch your relaxers with no problem.

So, keep on stretching girl.
 
sylver2 said:
Stretch till you can't stretch no more!!!
I am on my 23rd week. I found great ways to stretch. I haven't had any breakage or shedding except the norm from not combing. It has become soo easy to stretch now.
A year ago I would have never thought of going past 6 weeks.
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:: pelts you with rocks::::

No, seriously, come to my house (it's 4500 sq ft so you can live here if you'd like) and help me figure out what I need to stretch. I'm absolutely clueless. *SIGH*
 
Jewell said:
I'm going to relax my hair! It was a spontaneous decision! I will continue to stretch my relaxers to at least 12-16 weeks for each touch-up! I am going to get a touch-up tomorrow! I'm super eager to see my hair's progress, which is why I decided to break down and relax. Thanks all for the encouraging words...I'm glad I was able to stretch this far, because for the longest time I had been relaxing every 6 weeks. Special thanks goes out to all the ladies who transition or stretch their relaxers, because the tips have really helped me come this far!

My mother still thinks I'm crazy for waiting this long! :lol: Thanks ladies for the support...I probably could have made it to 26 weeks, but my hair would have looked like a war zone, because each week it looks a little crazier, although its still easy to manage. Kudos! :p
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I guess we'll be relaxing together; I'm getting a relaxer tomorrow too (Tues.night) since I'm going to Florida Wednesday morning. I'm excited, although I wanted to stretch to 6 months, 15 weeks is the longest I've EVER been so this is still a big accomplishment for me. Maybe next time it won't be so bad and it'll get easier and easier to stretch longer and looonnngger...

I know you'll have excellent progress, I just know it! :yep:

 
Can both of you Jewell and ChosenByGod post pics to your albums so we can see the progress? I just love looking at progress pics!
 
Jewell said:
My mother is trying to convince me to relax my hair...now! I am 11 weeks post, and my hair doesn't look bad, but she says I should get a relaxer or get it braided to "change up my style." She's against my daily CO washes because she says my hair is too much upkeep, which is another reason why she thinks I should go ahead and relax.

She also says I should get it braided. I have 2 inches or more in new growth, and if I get my hair braided the new growth will be unbearable, plus with the length, I won't be able to get cornrows with hair added without them being super long! Mind you, my mother relaxes her hair every 5 weeks or so, and has an ear length layered bob, so she can't fathom the idea of stretching a relaxer longer than that! Please give me some advice!

My boyfriend is for me stretching, but everyone else thinks its ridiculous. I haven't had a problem handling my hair so far, but I am tired of the discouragement! This lady at work even has something to say about my hair everyday because I do my CO wash in the morning, so when I go to work, its wet. She thinks I should go ahead and relax too...when I told her that i wanted to see how long I could manage my hair without a relaxer, she said, "Well, I never heard of that."

This same woman used to have hair to her waist, and now it barely passes her shoulders, due to poor upkeep. She also gripes along with my mother when she comes to my job about my daily CO washes. Why all the drama over MY HAIR?! All in all, do you ladies think I should continue to stretch to 26 weeks? I haven't had any breakage or problems so far. Thanks so much in advance!
Click to expand...

Jewell,

I typed a whole long response a few days submitted and it didn't post:mad:

Anyhow, I started the April daily wash challenge by Perfectdoak and let's just say it's helping my hair a lot.

Besides, you're a LHCF member now. There is bound to be things you've learned about hair that these people have never heard of. :D

Also, it's your hair and therefore don't let anyone talk you into doing something you're not happy with. I'm sure they all mean well though.
 
sweetpeadst said:
Can both of you Jewell and ChosenByGod post pics to your albums so we can see the progress? I just love looking at progress pics!
Click to expand...

I have pics of my touch-up posted. I will post more with my hair out tomorrow...I wear my hair in the braid everyday for the most part, and I was on my way out, running late, so those are the only pics I had time to take!
 
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