Has anyone stretched.....FOREVER?

[Lioness]

Hey ladies, I am texlaxed, and I'm curious:

Has anyone relaxed/texlaxed/texturized and then not relaxed/texturized/texlaxed etc for more than a year or actual years without doing the Big Chop?

If so,

what struggles did you face in terms of managing the new growth?
why did you chose to not to do a chemical process again?
was your hair in good condition during and after stretching?
Did you have to BC or did you still reach your goals in terms of length?
Where you relaxed, or relaxed bone straight, or texturised or texlaxed?

Thanks in advance for your response

 

[seraphinelle]

That's what I'm doing.
So far 10 weeks feels like forever.

 

[Lioness]

So for how long do you intend to stretch Seraphinelle?

The last time (and first time) I texlaxed was 6 months ago. I actually prefer the thickness of my unprocessed new growth.

 

[seraphinelle]

For as long as I can deal with it for.

I think my first goal is to stretch until I reach full SL. Then I'll look at it again there. That may take me till June. So that'll be 4 months.

I just know that when I get stressed, my hair suffers, and I have exams all through May, so I might have to do something before then.

 

[Lioness]

You can do it!!!!!!

You just need a sound regimen....

 

[JLove74]

I'm currently going on 5 months and decided to go au natural, with out doing the BC.
what struggles did you face in terms of managing the new growth? - my new growth has been very easy to handle, no problems at all

why did you chose to not to do a chemical process again? I started loving the feel of my coils and especially the way they spring back when I pull on them

was your hair in good condition during and after stretching? - I think my hair is much stronger than I had originally though (that's why my stylist tells me). And for me, I can only attribute that to using more natural products for day to day hair care and amla/henna/shikakai/cassia treatments.

Where you relaxed, or relaxed bone straight, or texturised or texlaxed? I'm texlaxed, never liked the bone straight look for me. My hair always got too flat when I was going boine straight

 

[glamazon386]

I called myself doing that and got frustrated and chopped my relaxed hair off.

 

[shynessqueen]

I'm stretching for a year and a half.

 

[sowhut]

I stretched for a year (March 2005 - March 2006).

what struggles did you face in terms of managing the new growth? After i learned to stop trying to comb it and learned proper detangling methods i didnt have much of a problem and then i found lhcf and things really got easier.

why did you chose to not to do a chemical process again? because the relaxers I used seem to take away from my hair's density and (like someone else said) made my hair too flat or straight looking. I also wanted to get a more texlaxed look.

was your hair in good condition during and after stretching? My newgrowth was in pretty good conditioner but my relaxed parts were so/so.


Where you relaxed, or relaxed bone straight, or texturised or texlaxed? I was bone straight.

 

[PatTodd]

I haven't relaxed since last June. I don't really plan on relaxing again until this June, if ever again. I say I am "accidentally" transitioning! Right now I'm right on the fence between wanting to relax bone straight and not ever wanting to relax again!!!

I have stretched this far kind of because I "could" - because I learned how to deal with my hair and keep it smoothly bunned up, and 'cause I like my waves - but I'm thinking about relaxing because I am so B.O.R.E.D.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! erplexed .

I think I am going to try flat ironing for the first time this weekend - if that goes well, at least I'll have options.

Oh, and to answer your specific questions:

what struggles did you face in terms of managing the new growth? Learning how to beat it down with the right combination of water, conditioner, oil and tight scarves.
why did you chose to not to do a chemical process again? I just kind of never got around to it!!
was your hair in good condition during and after stretching? Yes, generally, although I'm sure my ends are a mess!
Did you have to BC or did you still reach your goals in terms of length? My hair is sort of resistant and persistently underprocessed, and I don't get breakage at the line of demarcation, so I don't think I will have to BC if I choose not to relax again.
Were you relaxed, or relaxed bone straight, or texturised or texlaxed? In the past I have been bone straight, or as bone straight as I or the stylist could get it (meaning I always had a slight wave at the root). My last relaxer underprocessed, resulting in texlaxing.

 

[PuffyBrown]

I have not relaxed or texlaxed since early 2006. I am on the fence if I am going to go natural. I want to, but I do not know how to flat iron. I wear my hair in up styles, twist and braids. My struggles are that I have to wait a day to deal with the new growth. After I wash I put in lots of moisturizer. The new growth is really thick and there is not much I can do with it. After the first day it relaxes on its own and I can wear a nat style, flat iron or braid. I am going to make an attempt at going total nat if I can make it work for me. If not I will just texlax again.

I have not relaxed again because my hair is healthier natural.

Nope wont have to BC....never have. I have pretty good growth. My hair has consistently grown at least 1/2 inch (a little more in warmer months) all of my life, without growth products. Since jumping on the MSM, Biotin bandwagon, I can tell that it is growing faster but I think it is thickness and not lenght. I wont be able to tell until I either flat iron it or relax. I don't feel like doing either.

I was texlaxed with Just For Me for Children. I have mixed hair so it is hard to use chemicals on my hair.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

I went about 16 months without texlaxing. I didn't have many struggles with managing my new growth because it comes in very soft. My biggest challenge was the demarcation line where I would get matting and tangles. I texlaxed a few days ago even though the tangles and matting were no longer an issue. I chose to go that long because I wanted to take a break from the chemicals and because it was a sort of transitioning bootcamp for me. I plan to slowly but surely decrease the number of times I texlax each year until I'm no longer texlaxing at all. This is not a process I can jump into...it's something I needed to do gradually so I could get better and better at recognizing what my hair needs and styling it with inches of new growth.

My hair wasn't in the best condition about 6 months into the stretch because I was so impatient with detangling it, and I wasn't using the right products. Now that I've figured out HOW to properly detangle transitioning hair and which products my hair, my hair is in good shape and I feel much more confident that I could transition indefinitely. If I can help it, I don't want to BC...I'd like to trim away the texlaxed hair as the natural hair grows in...that way, I don't have to fight with too much texlaxed hair and I can still maintain my stretched length. I was texlaxed then, and I'm texlaxed now. I'll never go back to being relaxed bone straight.

Great thread!
{DI}