help me decide please

[felicia]

should i get layers and my hair dyed back black or get a relaxer first. The thing is my hair has been badly damaged due to some stupid experiment i tried. I want to cut it right away bc it looks awful and I'm worried that the split ends I acquired will futher the damage. I want layers to save the length (and i was doing so well , pout). I have lots of new growth now and i wonder if once i get a perm it would mess the layers up or if hed even be able to do them bc my hair is so thick in there. The other problem is I want to extend my relaxer, i'm at 6wks now, but if i have to get the relaxer before the cut i wont be able to. so, what should i do?
thanks

 

[Nyambura]

Hmmm... these are good questions.

I've heard that you should always color a perm, not the other way around. So that means you should relax first and then color afterwards. The advice Tracy aka LHCF Color Guru gave me that wound up saving my hair was to wait at least 2 weeks before coloring...and then wait 8 weeks from the coloring date before relaxing. It may seem tedious, but it's not. Even the stylists at the salon were amazed, saying they'd never seen hair my length (at the time, nape length) that was so healthy after being relaxed and highlighted. In the meantime, if you really need to color your hair dark, why not use a rinse? I've only used Sebastian's Colourshines (aka Cellophanes) but others on the board have also fared well with Adore.

If you have lots of new growth, why don't you relax it? That way, when you get a trim your layers won't be messed up (like they might if you get a trim pre-touchup). Don't extend a relaxer just for the sake of extending it. Some of the LHCF longhairs relax every 4 months, some 3 months, some 8 weeks. It's about whatever your hair requires.

It sounds like you're frustrated. I can relate. In the meantime, if you can, douse those ends with moisture and tuck them into a protective style (a bun, a drawstring phonytail or a french twist) so they won't be exposed to the air (which is drying) and won't be subjected to unnecessary friction, brushing against your collars, shirts, coats, bag strap, seat belt, etc. The bonus is that since your hair is tucked away into a nice and neat protective style, you won't be able to see how awful it looks (it may or may not be as bad as you think). Good luck, Felicia!

 

[felicia]

Thanks

. I'm going to go with what u said. I don't think he'd be able to get a comb through this stuff right now anyway

 

[Karonica]

Relaxer first! Sometimes if you dye hair and then relax, your color could change! I know that with my mom, I put a semi in hers, and a few weeks after relaxing, the color washed out almost completely.

 

[model_chick717]

I've also heard that it's better to cut right after a perm/touch-up because new growth can make a cut inaccurate...good luck!

 

[felicia]

Thanks guys

I'm going to get a relaxer(my mother does it) and go get it cut the day after.