Do you relax early than 12 weeks

[kizzylonghair]

I am SO struggling, I am 7 week post, but hair is NOT breaking, I just have the usual side effects of stretching, gets a lil drier, thin ends (its a Delusion) and I have a full inch of NG. I have 4b fine stranded hair

My plan is to get to 12 weeks but I look RUFF RUFF( those who have read my other post' Anyone feel unglamourous today'

I am really thinking of throwing the towel next week at 8weeks, my non 12 week strectchers still get your goals dont you?????

 

[danysedai]

Try to read the threads about stretching. I was ready to throw the towel when my hairdresser went to the DR for 4 months,I stretched in the end for 17 weeks. I used Mizani Thermasmooth (lightly!!) if I wanted to wear my hair out and buns for protective styles. Think about what you will gain by stretching, you say your hair is not breaking, so that's good. Do a search on stretching, there is a lot of knowledge here
Take it one week at a time,it'll help when you see you can manage.

 

[Pink Hair23]

Are you relaxed bone straight? Because in my experience, if you relax bone straight your hair tends to look worse the longer you stretch. With my 4b hair, the textures are so different it's almost impossible to have that sleek look that I like without heat. So, I just told myself to stop feeling like I look "ruf" and I created styles that blended the two textures as best as possible. HTH

 

[imaccami]

With an inch of newgrowth it wouldn't be hard to relax it without overlapping.

 

[chasturner84]

I agree with reading the stretching threads. I stretch for 4 months and haven't had a problem with looking "presentable" because I choose styles that blend the textures like twist outs and braids outs, rod sets, etc. When I first started my journey there was a point that I thought I would end my stretch early but I stuck it out and now I refuse to relax under 16 weeks because I have found techniques that work for my hair.

 

[taz007]

I am a non-stretcher and relax my hair every 7-8 weeks. It tried to stretch and failed misreably! Now, I just make sure to cover my previously relaxed hair with Vaseline/neutralizing shampoo and base my scalp.

 

[CaramelPrincezz]

I tried stretching for a while and I don't think it's for me. I think it did more harm than good. Now I just relax when my hair tells me to. This time it was about 7.5 weeks. My new growth was out of control. And I think I'm getting to my goals just fine.

 

[lea86111]

With an inch of newgrowth it wouldn't be hard to relax it without overlapping.

agreed! I thought the whole point of stretching was to avoid overlapping and with a whole inch of ng it shouldnt b too hard.

 

[IDareT'sHair]

I'll do 12-16. No Longer.

 

[MAMATO]

Yes some times I do. Specially during the summertime where I get a steady 3/4''-1" per month. I would texlax at the 8-week mark if I dont feel like spending a lot of time detangling my hair in the shower.

 

[NIN4eva]

I've managed to go 12 weeks once.

I've just relaxed this past weekend at 9 weeks because I had enough ng to avoid overlapping. I'm just going that route from now on. I'm going to use my ng length as my sign to relax.

 

[shasha8685]

My minimum for stretching is 12 weeks (I can go longer if need be). Prior to my journey, I used to relax every 4 weeks (faithfully) so this is a huge thing for me, When stretching, it seriously helps to find styles that blend the two textures. My personal favorites are flexirod sets and bantu knot outs. I find that when all of my hair is curly, I don't focus on how straight my new growth isn't.

I also wear phony ponies and other styles that don't require me to be in my hair too often. Again, these styles take my mind off of how straight my hair isn't. Right now I'm keeping my hair braided for the summer and I'm about 20 weeks post. My hair is healthy and isn't breaking, it just has a lot of new growth which can be overwhelming at times.


Anyway, I encourage you to stick it out. Think of how much your hair will benefit from it!

 

[LittleLuxe]

Look up other threads that may help you with stretching and making your hair presentable, for myself however I only stretch up till I have an inch and a half of new-growth period. It works for me. I think stretching is so you can avoid over-lapping and at that amount I'm comfortable not worrying about it.

 

[Aireen]

I relax at 16 weeks now. My hair seems to grow 0.25 inches/month so I honestly wish I had an inch of new growth at 7 weeks because at 4 months I get the same amount of growth as you so I don't really have a choice BUT to wait that long.

 

[brittle_hair]

I just relaxed after 9 weeks, there is a noticeable difference in the length of my hair. I need to update my pic. People at work commented about it and I even gave one of the ladies the link to the site. I personally think I get a good amount of growth with 9 weeks stretch. I also think that the longer your hair gets, the more hairstyles you can do which will draw attention away from your NG.

I would like to to do 12 week stretches but more likely to do them when I get to APL and the length starts to make up for the amount of NG there is.

I also self relax, and I think 9 weeks worth of NG is probably easier to relax than 12 weeks will be - as I would need more time which makes you prone to underprocessing.

 

[kizzylonghair]

Thanks Ladies, Good to know that I am not alone :bouncegre
To update you, I have resisted a relaxer this weekend, instead I have flatiron the bangs on my hair (mainly the roots, on v low hear) It made me feel a lil more better about my hair and MAYBE. I can hang in there

Kizzy xx

 

[SmilingElephant]

I texlax at 10 weeks....but i would like to stretch longer.

 

[wheezy807]

Not since starting my hair journey, i never relax less than 12 weeks. It's been 12 weeks at the least (in the beginning). Now i stretch 16 weeks and this year i'm relaxing only twice.

 

[Toy]

I relax every 12wks thats the max for me.

 

[Optimus_Prime]

I stretch 10-13 weeks.

 

[*CherryPie*]

Before LHCF, I use to relax my hair at 4 weeks. My hair grew greatly, and was thicker back then.

I think I'm going back to this.

Stretching does not work for me at all. I never had a problem growing my hair, it was just a little dry. Now that I moisturize properly, that's been taken care of.

 

[Trinity1]

I agree that stretching is not for everyone. I tried stretching and can never go beyond 9 weeks without breakage that gets worse and worse by the day. I moisturize to the max and use protein when needed and it still gets out of control. As soon as I relax the breakage stops. So 9 weeks is all I can do. Plus I need to add that my hair grows exceptionally fast which makes it harder to stretch.

 

[kizzylonghair]

Before LHCF, I use to relax my hair at 4 weeks. My hair grew greatly, and was thicker back then.

I think I'm going back to this.

Stretching does not work for me at all. I never had a problem growing my hair, it was just a little dry. Now that I moisturize properly, that's been taken care of.

Sometimes you just have to listen to your hair and then decide

 

[divachyk]

I think I'm 50/50 on stretching. I use to relax 6 weeks religiously prior to joining LHCF. As soon as I read an article in essence about stretching and seen the same concept discussed online here, I was like, let me try it!!! I'm currently 9 weeks post. My ng isn't out of control where I feel like I must relax. However, the length of my hair seems to be suffering. Some may think I'm crazy but I think my total hair's health was healthier overall before joining LHCF. The nape area is where I struggled the most in the past but overall, my hair was relatively healthy. I just couldn't let well enough be. I allowed myself to dabble in various techniques and think my moisture/protein is unbalanced and causing slight breakage.

 

[kizzylonghair]

I think I'm 50/50 on stretching. I use to relax 6 weeks religiously prior to joining LHCF. As soon as I read an article in essence about stretching and seen the same concept discussed online here, I was like, let me try it!!! I'm currently 9 weeks post. My ng isn't out of control where I feel like I must relax. However, the length of my hair seems to be suffering. Some may think I'm crazy but I think my total hair's health was healthier overall before joining LHCF. The nape area is where I struggled the most in the past but overall, my hair was relatively healthy. I just couldn't let well enough be. I allowed myself to dabble in various techniques and think my moisture/protein is unbalanced and causing slight breakage.

I feel you there, this is the second time round for me, and when I first joined I TRIED EVERYTHING. My hair did turn around, BUT i lost so much hair UNNESSARILY just figuring Sh*t out.
This time round, I have the simpliest of regime and dont care abt anyone raves about

Desribe ur hair? Waht do you think it needs?

 

[negrita desesperada]

Glad to see stretching doesn't work for everyone, I thought it was just me, lol.when I first joined LHCF I learned so many new things, and tried stretching, didn't work for me 6 weeks is my Max.

 

[divachyk]

I feel you there, this is the second time round for me, and when I first joined I TRIED EVERYTHING. My hair did turn around, BUT i lost so much hair UNNESSARILY just figuring Sh*t out.
This time round, I have the simpliest of regime and dont care abt anyone raves about

Desribe ur hair? Waht do you think it needs?

I think I've lost a bunch of hair unnecessarily too with trying to following tutorials. Rollersetting with those metal prong clips is a for me. Air drying without sealing while the hair is damp is a for me. I'm sure this list will get longer as I become seasoned in this HHJ.

I haven't grasped what my hair is to be honest. I need to stick with one product until I finish it so I can get a good analysis. My hair is like a tennis match -- back and forth between feeling super soft but fragile, or coarse, coated but strong. I want to find the middle ground where the hair feels soft and strong at the same time.

 

[Hypnotic_LT]

I stretched foe anywhere to 12-16 weeks.../i know it's hard an usually will use some PS like weaves or braids to last the way...Maybe that will help with the look. I usually enjoy it.

 

[Encore]

I relax when my hair needs. usually 8 weeks now. I did the whole stretching thing and I know what works fir me and what doesn't. It was longer and healthier that way, when I stopped that it started breaking. So I will stick to my 8 week relaxer and today is actually my touch up

 

[Aggie]

Relaxing my hair in less than 8 weeks never worked for my hair. I always waited until at least 10 weeks before I relaxed it. It is very possible to stretch longer than 8 weeks without issues if you try styles like Chasturner84 indicated.

I usually resorted to extension braids for 6-8 weeks toward the end of my relaxer stretch to allow me the ability to make it to 12-14 weeks post relaxer.

Good luck Kizzy.