First Self-Relaxer. Almost Disaster

[Buttercreme]

I self-relaxed on Monday nite. Well I called myself trying to tex-lax.

I thought it would be so easy. I read all the tips and advice that I could. At nite while trying to sleep, I would re-play over and over again in my head the exact steps I was going to do. Base scalp, set timer, start @ crown, hairline & nape last etc.

But when it came time for the real thing..... I was not prepared. First of all the timer went by so fast. I planned on relaxing a total of 15-20 min. During the last 3 minutes, I still haven't got to the hairline or nape. My DH tried to help by holding a mirror so I could see the back, but I kept overlapping the relaxer. Did not even have enough time to smooth. I am not coordinated enough. I was so paranoid about over-processing, I jumped in the shower and rinsed.

Well lots of sections on my hair did not even receive enough relaxer. I couldn't part small enough or fast enough D/T being 12 weeks post relaxer. The remainder of the relaxer just took the hard kink out of my newgrowth, as it is still wavy. The nape is way underprocessed

I told DH..."I am underprocessed". He said, "It's better than being overprocessed".
I'm afraid to attempt this a second time.

 

[thesweetone]

Michigander!

I was born in Berrien Springs! Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Don't give up on the self-relaxer just yet! I did my first one about three weeks ago. I too came out slightly underprocessed, but I think it just takes practice.

One of the tips that I got on here that helped me the most is, if you are new to self-relaxing, it's probably best not to do your whole head at once. Especially if you are trying to get bone straight like I was attempting. Relaxing in sections allows you to get your hair as straight as you want it without being under the pressure of the clock. I did my hair in three sections, the back, and then the two front sides.

So say you're planning to not have the relaxer in your hair for more than 15 minutes, if you do one section at a time, you can spend 15 minutes on each individual section as opposed to 15 minutes on your whole head. Also, you probably won't even need to leave it on for that long if you do it by section. For me, the back section is the hardest, so it's great to be able to devote a whole 15 minutes to that section and concentrate on getting it straight.

Yes, it takes a lot longer, and you have to be careful not to get the other sections wet when rinsing, but I found it to be worth it.

LondonDiva has an excellent tutorial on this method in her fotki.

HTH! Give it one more try!

 

[baglady215]

LOL that DH knows the difference between underprocessing and overprocessing.

I agree with thesweetone regarding relaxing different sections at different times. I'm going back to this method even though I can get the relaxer in my head in a small amount of time. I just don't have time to smooth. You can even do it on separate days. But don't give up!

 

[trulyurangel82]

I wouldnt give up. It takes practice. I have self relaxed since sept and Im still learning. It gets better each time but Im still pretty much underprocessed in the back.

I believe I need to work on my parting. I was relaxing in big sections erplexed.

Since its taking you awhile to relax your head maybe you should do this. Part your hair so you will have a front and back. Then do subsections in the back and front. Relax the back first. Put a shower cap over the front of your head so you dont get it wet. After the time is up for that section. lean back and wash out the back.

If the front gets wet even with the cap over it you can blow dry it on cool until its dry. Then relax the front like you did the back.

It helps you from overprocessing and for people that are slow at it like me. I know from experience i couldnt do my whole head in one sitting because I get a lot of newgrowth.

 

[trulyurangel82]

ditto. The back is very hard. The front is easy. Im still working on my technique and ive been relaxing since sept.

I think the key to get the back straight is by parting the hair in small sections in the back. I think one reason why my hair is very underprocessed in the back is because I didnt take the time to part well and i was relaxing it in big sections missing spots.

Michigander!

I was born in Berrien Springs! Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Don't give up on the self-relaxer just yet! I did my first one about three weeks ago. I too came out slightly underprocessed, but I think it just takes practice.

One of the tips that I got on here that helped me the most is, if you are new to self-relaxing, it's probably best not to do your whole head at once. Especially if you are trying to get bone straight like I was attempting. Relaxing in sections allows you to get your hair as straight as you want it without being under the pressure of the clock. I did my hair in three sections, the back, and then the two front sides.

So say you're planning to not have the relaxer in your hair for more than 15 minutes, if you do one section at a time, you can spend 15 minutes on each individual section as opposed to 15 minutes on your whole head. Also, you probably won't even need to leave it on for that long if you do it by section. For me, the back section is the hardest, so it's great to be able to devote a whole 15 minutes to that section and concentrate on getting it straight.

Yes, it takes a lot longer, and you have to be careful not to get the other sections wet when rinsing, but I found it to be worth it.

LondonDiva has an excellent tutorial on this method in her fotki.

HTH! Give it one more try!

 

[Buttercreme]

Thanks sweetone, baglady, trulyangel.

I even thought about doing half a head at a time and then doing the other half maybe a week later. But I thought I was superwoman. Capable of doing it all.

Part of me wants to never do it again, but I liked having control over my head. DH said "If you never do it again, how are you ever going to learn and get better".

Yes. He is into my hair as much as I am. Thats why he's my bestfriend.

How soon can I re-attempt this if I get brave again?

 

[baglady215]

I would wait a least a month, doing a lot of deep conditioning treatments in the meantime.

 

[trulyurangel82]

id wait at least 6 weeks to be on the safe side.

Thanks sweetone, baglady, trulyangel.

I even thought about doing half a head at a time and then doing the other half maybe a week later. But I thought I was superwoman. Capable of doing it all.

Part of me wants to never do it again, but I liked having control over my head. DH said "If you never do it again, how are you ever going to learn and get better".

Yes. He is into my hair as much as I am. Thats why he's my bestfriend.

How soon can I re-attempt this if I get brave again?