Help! My hair just wont relax (newbie)

[steffimiesha]

First I would like to say i am a newbie and this is my first post ever so please be gentle.

also i have finally created a hair regimen and is working on healthier hair.

at the end of 2010 i cut all my hair of i was bald and decided to go natural 4c texture... i was natural for about a yr, i had a moisture prblem and my hair wasnt doing to well so i decided to relax in october 20011 i used ors lye and the front of my hair relaxed but the back not so much it looks texlaxed, and when its wet it looks like a very lose wave, but the ends r still very curly, so i blow dry and flat iron straight but the ends and back curls back up and basicaly looks like an afro at the ends of my hair. i wore sew ins for the last few months so it didnt really bother me but now that im starting my journey im only doing half wigs and wearing my hair. the ends are very healthy and i no longer have a moisture problem i attempted to re relax yesterday and same thing it did not get straight any suggestions??

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

There are a few things that could be happening, but a few questions, just to get a clearer picture.

Do you mix anything with your relaxer? Like any oils or such?
Was this brand the relaxer you used before you went natural?
What do you do to your hair in the days before relaxing? What products do you put on it?
Do you relax at home or in a salon? If you relax at home, what is your technique, and how long do you spend applying, smoothing, and leaving it to process, respectively?

 

[Onhergrind09]

I also have 4b+ hair and this has happened to me. I would definitely say to not re-relax any time soon, at least give your hair 8 weeks of nurturing before attempting to relax again. When you relax next time I would suggest using a chelating shampoo (a week before your relaxer) to remove and deposits on you hair that would stop the relaxer from penetrating as it should. To better answer your question, what type of relaxer did you use: lye or no-lye? How long did you leave it in for? did you put any product on your hair or scalp before relaxing? what brand of relaxer did you use? All these could have contributed to the results you got.

 

[miss stress]

Yeah we need more info before we can suggest new techniques and products.

 

[steffimiesha]

before i went natural i use to use ORS olive oil NO lye relaxer and my hair always took a relaxer beautifully, but before i went natural it was also much thinner than it is now. it is super full and thick which i love but i just wish it would get straight. i didnt mix anything in the relaxer but i oiled my scalp lighly with oilve oil. i used ORS olive oil LYE relaxer. I also did use a chelating shampoo last week because i knew i was relaxing this week, i did not use one when i relaxed back in october. i only left it on 20 min ( what the container said) because i was super scared of over processing. its still very healthy and as i can see no damage at all

 

[Dposh167]

it's probably your smoothing.
You didn't switch brand...but you did switch formula from no lye to lye.

20minutes of it being left on....and how many minutes were you smoothing?
You really have to smooth the heck outta your hair to get it straight when using lye. I can leave lye on my hair for 20 minutes, but if i'm not smoothing correctly my hair will still have a coil or wave to it

 

[Aireen]

Other than some of what I have read above. Technique helps to get my hair really straight when relaxing. My hairdresser applies the relaxer then distributes it with a fine tooth comb, this helps to make sure it spreads evenly but gets my new growth as straight as possible.

 

[steffimiesha]

thanks guys ill def have to pay attention to smoothing next time, i was so paranoid about the over processing i didnt smooth it as much as i wanted to but it did look pretty straight when it then relaxer was in there, but as soon as i washed it out it was a completely different story

also im soo scared to to the back over because i have to do the entire thing once again not just the roots

 

[Platinum]

I'm a 4b/4c, very coarse and resistant. ORS Lye didn't work for me at all when I relaxed. I would get better results with No-Lye relaxers like Mizani and Vitale.

 

[steffimiesha]

im also thinkin of trying a no lye relaxer when i relax again because thats what i use to use before i went natural, i think that might be another reason it didnt work.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

It takes longer to do it this way, but I think you should also look into doing the half and half technique. If you're only relaxing your hair one half at a time, it'll probably ease your concerns about overprocessing and give you more time to smooth.

And personally, I prefer lye relaxers...no-lye got my hair straighter too (I'm 4a/b), but it also made it thinner and limp. Had me looking like a wet seal LOL. Switching to lye really helped my hair keep some body and strength, even though I had to give up some straightness. It depends on what you want more, I guess.

 

[steffimiesha]

It takes longer to do it this way, but I think you should also look into doing the half and half technique. If you're only relaxing your hair one half at a time, it'll probably ease your concerns about overprocessing and give you more time to smooth.

And personally, I prefer lye relaxers...no-lye got my hair straighter too (I'm 4a/b), but it also made it thinner and limp. Had me looking like a wet seal LOL. Switching to lye really helped my hair keep some body and strength, even though I had to give up some straightness. It depends on what you want more, I guess.

lol at the wet seal comment. ill def try the half and half technique. btw your hair is gorgeous!

 

[sunnieb]

Definitely concentrate on your smoothing technique. I'm able to get bonelaxed everytime because I allow ample time for smoothing.

Also, as another poster mentioned, be sure to chelate/clarify the wash before your relaxer application.

 

[simplybeauty]

I'm a 4b/4c, very coarse and resistant. ORS Lye didn't work for me at all when I relaxed. I would get better results with No-Lye relaxers like Mizani and Vitale.

I agree, I just use ORS lye for the first time and it didn't work for me either

 

[beloved1bx]

i thought i saw a thread recently where a lot of ladies say that they use ORS Lye to texlax. I've tried using that relaxer before and it still left a lot of texture in my hair, much more than I wanted. Then again I haven't self-relaxed often so my technique could've been off (aka not smoothing enough). I made the switch from no-lye to lye because the no-lye was drying out my hair even though I used a chelating shampoo. My stylist uses Mizani Butterblends Lye and I like it so far.