Explain why your choice between a lye relaxer & no-lye relaxer.

B

BlackHairDiva

Well-Known Member
Ladies,

Today, I had a conversation with a family member and she asked me the difference between a lye relaxer and a no lye relaxer. I have to admit, I have no clue what the difference is. I know one contains lye and the other doesn't but why would one choose one over the other i have no clue.

What do you choose between a lye and no lye relaxer? and why?

What was the results you obtained between the lye and no lye? Is the hair straighter? more moistuirized?

If you were using a no-lye relaxed and changed to lye..why did you stop?
 
Lye made my hair dry and stiff.

No-lye leaves my hair silky and bouncy. :yep:

Sent from my Comet using LHCF
 
From what I've read here on LHCF, and I'm sure others will come to correct this if I'm wrong, lye relaxers are "harder" on the scalp because they process faster and increase your chance of getting burned, while no-lye are easier on the scalp, but can leave mineral deposits which is why it's important to clarify/chelate. For me personally, I started with lye relaxers, and they burned my scalp and broke off my hair. No-lye relaxers have been very good to my hair, although they can dry out my scalp, but oil treatments have all but eliminated that problem for me.
 
I used no-lye for years and when I switched to lye, I noticed my hair didn't get as dry and brittle. My scalp was less itchy and my hair was less porous than with the no-lye relaxers.
 
No-lye uses calcium while lye uses sodium. I used no-lye for years, but my hair was always brittle, resulting in breakage. I switched to lye two years ago with no regrets. I even co-wash my hair the night before and do not suffer burns.

I also stretch up to 14 weeks with proper care. I could never do that with no-lye.
 
Lye burns me way too easily. I use design essentials no lye sensitive scalp and have no problems with burning or dryness.
 
I love lye relaxers as they get my 4c semi straight I am texlaxed I use ors lye regular I used the regular box ors and my hair was very dry I feel like since I started back using lye my hair stays soft and moisturized
 
I go by how my hair feels and responds.

Lye - there is the potential of burning quicker but I combat this by basing my scalp really well so that I don't have issues. Straighter hair. Quicker processing time. Better porosity. Hair not dry and brittle.

Low lye - I have never used no lye although I've used low lye. Scalp almost never burned. Hair took longer to process. Battled moments of under processed hair because my hair didn't get straight within the recommended contact time. Lower porosity. Dryer. Areas prone to breakage.

Porosity -- I assume lye / low lye impacted my porosity although I don't have any proof. My assumption comes from the areas that were likely during the low lye days are lower porosity than those areas that I've guestimated to be lye. The low lye areas are also harder to moisturize, wavier in texture and prone to breakage.

Btw, I'm salon relaxed.
 
I relax at home and I use no lye. After hearing the ladies here talk about how great their hair did with lye I switched. The lye relaxer burned my scalp every time regardless of which brand I used. This resulted in under processed hair as I couldn't leave the relaxer on more than a few minutes. I never burn with no lye and I have washed my hair the day before and still no burns. I don't notice mineral deposits or anything like that. I just do my regular reggie.
 
I use lye because I had the dry brittleness of the deposits that no lye leaves behind. No lye does straighten/process my hair better/faster/easier but it takes so much time and effort to get it soft again afterwards that I avoid no lye.
 
I like to use no-lye relaxers because my scalp burning is pretty much a non-issue. When I first made the switch I did notice that I had what felt like incurable dryness. And after some research, I learned that no-lye relaxers leave mineral deposits on the hair that prevent the absorption of moisture. But using a chelating shampoo removed the calcium/mineral deposits and I don't have to worry about dryness. And I don't worry about burning my scalp when I relax.
 
I choose no-lye over lye mainly because I'm too lazy to base my scalp. Also, Lye leaves my hair WAY too straight and limp. I use a chelating shampoo (ORS creamy aloe), watch my porosity and I'm good to go.

Lastly, I feel that if I ever need to transition without BC'ing , I imagine it'll be easier with no-lye because I'll have more texture.
 
I had been a no-lye user for years, never even realizing that all relaxers weren't made equal. It wasn't until LHCF that I learned of the difference. I had done searches on the differences of both and decided to try it out for myself.

My hair with lye seems much healthier. My processed hair isn't poker straight, but I don't mind that since my strands are fine. I like that lye leaves me with body immediately after relaxing, never limp. I like that there is no strong chemical odor with lye. I don't have to chelate so much as clarify and that's because of the cones I use from other products. I can get my hair moisturized better with lye. I don't experience the scalp burning, but that's because I take my time and base my scalp.

When I used no-lye relaxers, my hair got poker straight and didn't really have body until two or three weeks later. Again, my strands are fine and I looked limp for weeks. I could get away with not basing my scalp because there was no burning, but I had issues with flaking and dandruff. I had to chelate on a regular basis and that dried my difficult to moisturize hair out even more.

My most noticeable observation is from when my new growth came in. Since my no-lye hair was so poker straight, the point of demarcation was super weak and kept me with breakage I had a tough time combating. With lye, the line of demarcation isn't as weak because the relaxed hair isn't so broken down. I don't suffer the kind of breakage I once had.

I use and LOVE Linange by the way.
 
I'm texturized. I use Motions Oil Moisturizer relaxer. I like it because it doesn't overprocess my curls even though my hair is really resistant. My hair laughs at this relaxer and it leaves my hair soft.
 
MochaRose said:
I used no-lye for years and when I switched to lye, I noticed my hair didn't get as dry and brittle. My scalp was less itchy and my hair was less porous than with the no-lye relaxers.
Click to expand...

:lol: I had the opposite effect. I started w a lye... ultra sheen or revlon?:yep:
went to college wanted to try a no lye.
It made my scalp itchy my hair turned
reddish & was very dry
I was washing weekly then....:nono:
I was putting warm olive oil on my scalp then I get dandruff(?) from weekly washing & dcing//
the no lye relaxer didn't last 5 weeks... maybe I was washing it out.... dunno:sad:
my hair was ugly .
Now a
no lye (olive oil) reg is perfect for my scalp and hair + i luv their products.
too.
Hair products have really changed.... they've gotten better.
My Mom said they was the forgotten 25 yrs ago very few AA hair care products....:yep:
In Conclusion:
I think hair texture & scalp sensitivity determine if you are a lye or no lye
person. ( Trail n Error)

Your post gave me a flashback to Chris Rock's Movie HAIR.
when he pulled the dissolved soda can from the lye.. whew!!!:ban::shocked:
 
I use lye. No lye gave me brittle, dry, stiff hair. Lye (linange) gives me more shine, body, and smoothness when I texlax. I don't scratch and I base well pre-relaxer, so burning hasn't been an issue.
 
Last edited:
BlackHairDiva said:
Ladies,

Today, I had a conversation with a family member and she asked me the difference between a lye relaxer and a no lye relaxer. I have to admit, I have no clue what the difference is. I know one contains lye and the other doesn't but why would one choose one over the other i have no clue.

What do you choose between a lye and no lye relaxer? and why?

What was the results you obtained between the lye and no lye? Is the hair straighter? more moistuirized?

If you were using a no-lye relaxed and changed to lye..why did you stop?
Click to expand...

Lye always burned me and left my hair feeling hard

No-Lye leaves it soft and I never get burns anymore.
 
i have used no-one all my life. It would leave scabs, dry hair, dry/itchy scalp and left my hair stick straight with no life and an uneven brownish hair color. :nono:

Switched to lye relaxer (Hawaiian Silky) and loved the results!:weird: it was good on my scalp and left my hair with some wave. And best of all no weird smells!
 
I use no-lye because I'm afraid of the burns I got with lye. I keep saying I want to change over but I'm scared to death of the burning.
 
I was using lye relaxer (Optimum, Revlon) for many years and my scalp would burn extra fast and I also found that my hair would not take moisture at all. I tried many hair products (shampoos, conditioners, daily moisturizers) and had no success at all with keeping my hair moisturized. I wish I could get back all of the money that I spent on hair products. My hair would be dry and it started breaking off.

I decided to put braids in and I transitioned for a year and a half or so and my hair grew to about shoulder length. After the braids, my hairdresser and I decided to use a no-lye relaxer (ORS Regular) or as she calls it "kiddie kit." That was the best decision that I ever made for my hair. My hair feels nice and looks healthy. It most definitely takes the moisturizing products that I use now since I switched to no-lye.
 
I relaxed with no-lye for years and could never retain any length, and every couple of years my hair would simply break off en mass (due to calcium buildup, I now understand). When I switched to lye relaxers, my hair began to thrive and I was able to achieve lengths that I thought I was genetically incapable of, but it can cause problems with my scalp, especially if I self-relax as opposed to getting it professionally done. I just self-relaxed this weekend, and although my hair looks great (and brushing waist length), my scalp is a mess due to bad timing with the relaxer. I balance that out with stretching for 3 months or more (to give my scalp time to recuperate), but I need to learn better/faster relaxing techniques so I can keep having the great looking hair without risking my scalp. :ohwell:
 
AmiJay said:
I use no-lye because I'm afraid of the burns I got with lye. I keep saying I want to change over but I'm scared to death of the burning.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, this does also depend on the relaxer. Relaxer companies are actually making lye relaxers to lessen the chances of burning the scalp. When I used mizani, the newer system never burned my scalp. When I use linange, it actually does burn a bit, but not that much. When I would use TCB and other "professional" brands, I'd be in scab city. Sometimes it just depends on the relaxer.
 
Saludable84 said:
Sometimes, this does also depend on the relaxer. Relaxer companies are actually making lye relaxers to lessen the chances of burning the scalp. When I used mizani, the newer system never burned my scalp. When I use linange, it actually does burn a bit, but not that much. When I would use TCB and other "professional" brands, I'd be in scab city. Sometimes it just depends on the relaxer.
Click to expand...

sauldable84, which Mizani did you use? I might need to try them to get back to lye. I can't fool with the burning. There are some no-lye relaxers that have burned me as well.
 
I use DE regular lye relaxer and for the first time i'm paying close attention to how my hair responds to it.
First of all i have fine hair so any relaxer i believe would leave me with limp hair.

Secondly i realize that lye relaxer leaves my hair soft and is not harsh on my scalp.

As i go along i will make notes on how my hair has thrived while using lye relaxers. Oh and i'm thinking DE regular relaxer is a bit too strong for my hair.
 
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