...how does that happen?

[isawstars]

there's a thread about the mistakes we've made in a past... a good amount of ladies said that stretching their relaxer "too long" broke their hair off. I don't understand how that could happen. Can someone explain this to me?

And also, how long is "too long?" I'm going on my 8th week without a relaxer and don't plan on getting one until week 12. Is that risky?

 

[metalkitty]

Its most likely the 'line of demarcation', where the newgrowth and relaxed hair meet. For some reason it can be really tough to manage the two together and keep both moisturized and strong. Its the weakest area of the hair and after a couple months or earlier gets unruly as I bet you know. I don't think 12 weeks is too long of a stretch if you're determined and care for your hair properly, but everyone's different. For me, the key to stretching was using s- curl on the newgrowth to detangle and hydrate. This said, I'm never stretching 6 months again ... HTHS, though.

 

[ThursdayGirl]

I think most people can make it to between 8-12 week no problem... you just need to monitor your hair breakage... if it gets to be a lot... or too frequent, you should probably relax sooner. If you want to stretch your relaxer for a long time, the key is to keep it moisturized, keep a little protein in it for strength and manipulate it as little as possible!

Metal kitty is right! Weakness at the line of demarcation accelerates the breakage.

It is possible to stretch to 12-14 weeks. You just have to listen to your hair

 

[blessed]

thanks very much for the tips

 

[sylver2]

there's a thread about the mistakes we've made in a past... a good amount of ladies said that stretching their relaxer "too long" broke their hair off. I don't understand how that could happen. Can someone explain this to me?

And also, how long is "too long?" I'm going on my 8th week without a relaxer and don't plan on getting one until week 12. Is that risky?

Hi, I guess it depends on each person. I just stretched for 26 weeks recently and did it by finding techniques that work well for me and products for my hair.
Now I stretch regualary 9-10 weeeks and don't even notice it.

 

[DangerouslyShy]

Im going for 16 weeks this time, I did 8 before it was fine...like they said keep it moisturized...

 

[caligirl]

The conditioner makes all the difference! My hair used to LOCK at 3 mos when I was using Moisture Maniac.
Now that I use Kenra MC, I don't plan to relax ever again.

 

[sylver2]

The conditioner makes all the difference! My hair used to LOCK at 3 mos when I was using Moisture Maniac.
Now that I use Kenra MC, I don't plan to relax ever again.

Girl you don't lie..lol, it is mos def the Conditioner.

 

[isawstars]

Weakness at the line of demarcation accelerates the breakage.

I detangle my hair everytime i wash... which is 2-3 times a week. could that create breakage there? I'm doing braidouts almost regularly so i feel like i need to detangle my hair before i wash it.

 

[locabouthair]

this was a BIG problem for me when I had a relaxer. It was on the main reason I went bald when I had a perm. I give it up to all the ladies who have managed to stretch their relaxers for more than 2 months . I could NOT wait longer than six weeks to get a perm. My new growth was so bad and I'm not exaggerrating. I have really coarse, thick hair. Once I had new growth my hair would break like crazy at the demarcation line. I know a friend who gets a perm like twice a year. And she says her hair does break but she's been doing this for a while and in my opinion her hair is thick and very healthy looking. maybe if i used s curl or NTM I might have been able to stretch my relaxers. Damn how I wish I would have known about this site when I was going through my hair drama

 

[candibaby]

I'm at 27 weeks (will be relaxing on wednesday) and I've been doing fine, but mostly because I have been in braids for the past two months. That's my way of keeping my hair from breaking at the line of demarcation.. haha..

 

[Allandra]

I think it depends on the individual. I get my hair relaxed every 4 months with no problems.

Conditioners that offer good slip can help too.

 

[c_octavia]

Weakness at the line of demarcation accelerates the breakage.

I detangle my hair everytime i wash... which is 2-3 times a week. could that create breakage there? I'm doing braidouts almost regularly so i feel like i need to detangle my hair before i wash it.

Try putting cond on your hair before you wash it, and detangling with your fingers. That helped me alot.

 

[shoelover1972]

I now stretch to 20wks. What helps me is S-curl. I normally wear my hair in braid extensions for the last 4wks or so.

 

[brownhaired_bonanza]

Conditioners that offer good slip can help too.

What do you mean by good slip?

 

[isawstars]

Try putting cond on your hair before you wash it, and detangling with your fingers. That helped me alot.

I normally use cholesterol on my hair before washing and detangle... i'll try detangling with my fingers next time. thanks!

 

[Allandra]

What do you mean by good slip?

detangling properties