Going to self-relax for the 1st time....Need help!

[thesweetone]

Hello Ladies,

I'm scheduled for my next touchup next Thursday. It's not really the first time that I'll be self-relaxing. I did my own hair every six weeks for about 9 months while I was in college, however, it was not a good experience. I ended up overprocessing my hair and had to cut it off when I returned to a stylist.

I've decided to give it another go because of all the wonderful things I've learned since joining the forum. I'm asking for your help. If you've successfully weaned yourself off stylists and now do your own hair, please share your story. Also please leave two or three tips to help me through the process or bump/refer me to any self-relaxing threads, fotki tutorials, etc. that were especially helpful to you. I'll be using Phyto Index II. I'm off to do a search....

TIA!!!!

 

[shunta]

Hey there, Im trying to get my nerve up to self-relax, too. I havent done it in years. But heres an excellent tutorial. Good luck!

http://journals.fotki.com/SouthernGirlz/

 

[LondonDiva]

I have a photo guide in my album

the password is in my profile

http://public.fotki.com/LondonDiva/lhcf/self_relaxing_tips/

 

[thesweetone]

Thank you Shunta and LondonDiva! Bumping for more responses.

 

[skoloco]

I just self-relaxed for the first time last Nov, and will do it again in another week. One thing that worked well for me was to pre-part my hair. Last time I used bobby pins to keep the hair pre-parted, but I'm going to try loose braids the next time b/c the bobby pins tended to get tangled.

Anyhow, pre-parting allowed me to get the relaxer on quickly; I had about 10-15 minutes to smooth (I left the relaxer on for 22 minutes). Other tips that helped me:

• Protect your relaxed hair. I used Roux Porosity Control conditioner.
• Be careful not to use too little amount of relaxer cream. I did this in the back in some areas and was a little under-processed.
• Doing it at 8 weeks was a benefit because my new growth is no joke. I feel if I waited longer it might have been too much for me to handle for my first time.

All in all, I think I did a pretty good job. I am excited to have another go at it next week because I know what to do to make it better. Good luck!

 

[SohoHair]

I just copied and pasted my self relaxing instructions that I had sent another member via PM a few weeks ago. HTH:

Okay, all the items I need are:

- porosity control
- a tint brush (the kind beauticians use to apply color to hair)
- a timer
- Phyto kit
- gloves (i don't like the ones that come with Phyto, they're a little too baggy
- moisturizing conditioner (i've used Humecto, and Aveda Damage Remedy, but any good conditioner will do the trick).
- clips to secure sections

The wash before I to do my touch up I try and make sure that the new growth is really well detangled, so I won't have any trouble applying the relaxer to the new growth quickly.

Before I relax I section my hair into four sections, two in front, two in back, secure those with clips, and base my scalp with the product that comes in the Phyto kit. I believe it's called corn germ oil or something, the exact name escapes me right now . Then I also apply this to the LENGTHS of my hair, basically everything except the new growth, in order to prevent overlapping. The little tube Phyto gives you is REALLY little, so in order to ensure that the rest of my hair is really protected from the relaxer, I also apply Porosity Control mixed with a little conditioner to the length of my hair. Porosity Control tends to be a little runny and make your hair feel really wet, so I mix it with conditioner to thicken it up. You may want to play around with this mix first because it can be really frustrating to deal with hair that's so slick with Porosity Control.

I mix up the relaxer according to the instructions and let it sit for 5 minutes (that's also in the instructions). I then set the timer (since I texlax I set it to 14 minutes, but for my sister I set it to 24 minues since she wants totally straight hair, but the timing is all up to you). Working quickly, I start applying relaxer to the new growth with the tint brush moving from section to section (I start in the back since that tends to be the area that is 'nappiest'). I use the point end of the brush to separate each section to get to all the new growth and use the brush end to appl the relaxer. Since I texlas I apply REALLY fast and try and get it applied to all my new growth in 8 minutes. I spend the rest of the time smoothing, because without proper something I'll end up with frizzy, unfortunate looking hair.

When the timer goes off I rush over the sink and start rinsing. I ONLY start rinsing the section that I applied the relaxer to FIRST, that way all the sections will be relaxed for approximately the same length of time. After all the relaxer is rinsed out, I use the neutralizing shampoo. I shampoo and rinse until the lather is white and then I shampoo again and let the shampoo sit in my hair for about 7 minutes to really deeply neutralize. I then follow this up with the Milky Reconstructor (also in the kit). After I use it according to the instructions and rinse that out, I apply my moisturizing conditioner, cover my hair with a shower cap and let it sit in my hair for 30 -45 minutes. Then I rinse it out and style as usual!

I know it seems like a lot of info, but I really just broke it down very specifically so that there will be no confusion. Don't be overwhelmed, trust me, if I can self relax, anyone can.

I did 2 test runs before I ever actually self relaxed. I did the same exact thing as in these instructions, basing my scalp, applying porosity control and stuff to the lengths of my hair, etc. The only thing different was that instead of relaxer I applied a mix of regular conditioner and a little mayonaise. The mayo was just to give the conditioner the approximate texture of a relaxer, and it also acts as a light protein treatment! The test run was really just to make me comfortable with the whole experience and to make sure my timing was right.

 

[thesweetone]

Thank you Skoloco & SohoHair! I'm feeling more confident about the endeavor the more I read. And my fiance has volunteered to help me!

 

[deltagyrl]

Biting my nails.
I SO want to self relax but I don't trust myself. Please post an update.

GL!

 

[VirtuousGal]

Bumping...did you do it yet? How did it go?