summerof1990
Well-Known Member
LOl it's just my personal experience I relax my friend hair and within a week it reverts back. the "new growth" is really reverted back hair? Because how Can it possible grow back within a few days? please explain
I don't think "new growth" is actually new growth
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melissa-bee
Well-Known Member
Maybe her hair was under processed or is resistant to relaxers.
ms-gg
Aka frostoppa
If new growth isn't "new growth," then how does hair get longer? Is the hair growing out from the ends of the hair instead of the roots?
It is a scientific fact that on average, people grow approximately 1/2 of hair a month. Unless someone has some type of physical ailment that causes hair growth to cease, hair grows until the hair strand falls out and the cycle begins again.
Like other posters have suggested, maybe her hair was under processed, but please don't use this one experience to generalize how hair grows.....
It is a scientific fact that on average, people grow approximately 1/2 of hair a month. Unless someone has some type of physical ailment that causes hair growth to cease, hair grows until the hair strand falls out and the cycle begins again.
Like other posters have suggested, maybe her hair was under processed, but please don't use this one experience to generalize how hair grows.....
FlawedBeauty
Well-Known Member
It can't revert. When u get a relaxer u break down bonds that make up th curl. You can't get those back once they are broken during relaxing.
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faithVA
Well-Known Member
OP I have had this same situation and I was relaxed for 25+ years. People can call it whatever they want but it probably is not significant new growth in a week. So it could be underprocessed or it could be like another poster said, you have hair that may be resistant to relaxers.
My hair is resistant to relaxers and it rarely stayed straight for more than 2 weeks at a time. If I would let it air dry it would probably look more texturized than relaxed. And when I had my hair texturized it was the same texture as my natural hair.
But in any case, it really doesn't matter. You hair will grow just fine. You just may not always be able to look at your roots and tell how much new growth you have for the first few weeks.
My hair is resistant to relaxers and it rarely stayed straight for more than 2 weeks at a time. If I would let it air dry it would probably look more texturized than relaxed. And when I had my hair texturized it was the same texture as my natural hair.
But in any case, it really doesn't matter. You hair will grow just fine. You just may not always be able to look at your roots and tell how much new growth you have for the first few weeks.
charmtreese
Well-Known Member
What you are seeing are the effects of underprocessed hair. Either her hair is resistant to relaxers (meaning she has a lot of cuticle layers and the relaxer chemical is not able to break them down fully in the amount of time the relaxer was left on), or user error! Either way, New Growth is not a myth...however, neither is reverting. Her hair probably did revert, but not to it's natural state...it reverted to the underprocessed state it was left in after the relaxer.
pre_medicalrulz
It Always Been About Hair!
Sigh.............................................
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candy626
New Member
This happens to me sometimes. One time I had a stylist relax the first 3-4 inches of my hair bone straight and it reverted back to being curly over the course of a month. I'm not sure about the science behind it but I have noticed a "wear off" effect of relaxers on my hair that does not necessarily correspond with the growth of new hair.
summerof1990
Well-Known Member
I think the relaxers just wear out.
summerof1990
Well-Known Member
Guys to kill my curiosity I'm going to take my friends hair cut it and put a relaxer on it and see if it reverts back or stay straight but then again hair is in a follicle and needs to be in one to grow so I think it may stay straight because of that reason
Even if hair doesn't look relaxed, if you put a relaxer on it IS relaxed...not natural.
qchelle
Well-Known Member
You got some nice friends, because I wouldn't be your friend anymore after this
and a big: "WHAAAAT???" to the rest of your post
FlawedBeauty
Well-Known Member
http://www.dralisyed.com/2008/10/can-relaxed-hair-be-stripped.html
To answer the question--can relaxed hair be stripped?--it is necessary that we first understand the chemistry of the hair, as well as the lanthionization (relaxation) process.
When two or more polypeptides align themselves parallel to each other, and their cysteines (amino acid) combine with each other to form cystine or disulfide bonds across these polypeptides, a keratin fiber is created in the process.
Hair, or keratin according to chemical terminology, is made up of polypeptides. (Polypeptides are made up of amino acids -- the basic unit of protein.) Polypeptides are aligned in a parallel fashion and are cross linked with cystine bonds (also called disulfide bonds). Note that cystine bonds have two sulfur atoms.
When excessively curly hair is chemically straightened with hydroxide-based relaxers, (i.e., sodium, potassium, lithium, and guanidine hydroxide, etc.) approximately one-third of the cystine bonds are changed to lanthionine bonds. The lanthionine bond has only a single sulfur atom; one sulfur atom less than the cystine bond of virgin hair.
Lanthionine bonds are very stable, meaning that they are no longer susceptible to further change. Thus, once cystine bonds have been changed with a relaxer treatment, there is now no way known in science for the lanthionine bonds to be changed back to cystine bonds. In other words, chemical relaxation is a permanent process that cannot be reversed.
Why then do you hear clients saying that their relaxer "didn't take, went back, or reverted"? Or, why do professionals sometimes witness a frizzy appearance on portions of their clients' hair that were previously relaxed? Actually, there are a few explanations.
The first is that the hair was insufficiently straightened in the first place. If, indeed, less than one-third of the cystine bonds were converted into lanthionine bonds, the hair may look straighter on the day of treatment, but will eventually appear to revert. To prevent this occurrence, the proper relaxer strength must be selected and adequate time given to the smoothing segment of the process.
The second possible explanation is that something was done to the hair to roughen-up the cuticle, (i.e., improper shampooing, the use of pH-imbalanced products, incorrect combing, and brushing, etc.). Also, due to the fact that relaxed hair is more porous than virgin hair, humidity can give hair that "less-than-straight" appearance, especially in hot and high humidity climates.
The third possibility is a rare phenomenon, which I call "natural reversion." Although this is a hypothesis and not a documented scientific fact, it is one that has been discussed over the years among some in the scientific community. It has been established that when hair is relaxed, the natural arrangements of atoms and molecules of hair in the space are changed. The "natural reversion" theory purports that this new rearrangement of atoms and molecules in the hair is so stressful and uncomfortable for the hair that it fights to return to its original positions. Therefore, within a week or two, the hair may slightly revert back to its original status i.e. some noticeable reversion.
Keep in mind that even as theorized, natural reversion is a very, very rare occurrence that is experienced by only an infinitesimally small number of people. By and large, even if relaxed hair seems as though it has reverted, don't be confused...most likely it hasn't.
Since the early 1980's, there have been at least a couple of products that claimed to strip relaxed hair so that it then could be permanently waved. These attempts were not successful. Equally unsuccessful are the mythical "home remedies" of rising the hair with highly acidic substances such as vinegar.
None of these methods have been scientifically proven to work, and they can actually cause damage by ruffling the cuticle and disturbing the charge balance of amino acids and polypeptides of hair fibers.
Should a client ever want to return his or her hair to its natural state, the only way is to cut off the relaxed portion once there is adequate growth. For those who now have a natural head of hair and are not comfortable with the idea of a permanent texture change, it's best to press the hair to achieve straight styles. Pressing is a "physical" alteration that is temporary. Lanthionization is a "chemical" change that is permanent.
To answer the question--can relaxed hair be stripped?--it is necessary that we first understand the chemistry of the hair, as well as the lanthionization (relaxation) process.
When two or more polypeptides align themselves parallel to each other, and their cysteines (amino acid) combine with each other to form cystine or disulfide bonds across these polypeptides, a keratin fiber is created in the process.
Hair, or keratin according to chemical terminology, is made up of polypeptides. (Polypeptides are made up of amino acids -- the basic unit of protein.) Polypeptides are aligned in a parallel fashion and are cross linked with cystine bonds (also called disulfide bonds). Note that cystine bonds have two sulfur atoms.
When excessively curly hair is chemically straightened with hydroxide-based relaxers, (i.e., sodium, potassium, lithium, and guanidine hydroxide, etc.) approximately one-third of the cystine bonds are changed to lanthionine bonds. The lanthionine bond has only a single sulfur atom; one sulfur atom less than the cystine bond of virgin hair.
Lanthionine bonds are very stable, meaning that they are no longer susceptible to further change. Thus, once cystine bonds have been changed with a relaxer treatment, there is now no way known in science for the lanthionine bonds to be changed back to cystine bonds. In other words, chemical relaxation is a permanent process that cannot be reversed.
Why then do you hear clients saying that their relaxer "didn't take, went back, or reverted"? Or, why do professionals sometimes witness a frizzy appearance on portions of their clients' hair that were previously relaxed? Actually, there are a few explanations.
The first is that the hair was insufficiently straightened in the first place. If, indeed, less than one-third of the cystine bonds were converted into lanthionine bonds, the hair may look straighter on the day of treatment, but will eventually appear to revert. To prevent this occurrence, the proper relaxer strength must be selected and adequate time given to the smoothing segment of the process.
The second possible explanation is that something was done to the hair to roughen-up the cuticle, (i.e., improper shampooing, the use of pH-imbalanced products, incorrect combing, and brushing, etc.). Also, due to the fact that relaxed hair is more porous than virgin hair, humidity can give hair that "less-than-straight" appearance, especially in hot and high humidity climates.
The third possibility is a rare phenomenon, which I call "natural reversion." Although this is a hypothesis and not a documented scientific fact, it is one that has been discussed over the years among some in the scientific community. It has been established that when hair is relaxed, the natural arrangements of atoms and molecules of hair in the space are changed. The "natural reversion" theory purports that this new rearrangement of atoms and molecules in the hair is so stressful and uncomfortable for the hair that it fights to return to its original positions. Therefore, within a week or two, the hair may slightly revert back to its original status i.e. some noticeable reversion.
Keep in mind that even as theorized, natural reversion is a very, very rare occurrence that is experienced by only an infinitesimally small number of people. By and large, even if relaxed hair seems as though it has reverted, don't be confused...most likely it hasn't.
Since the early 1980's, there have been at least a couple of products that claimed to strip relaxed hair so that it then could be permanently waved. These attempts were not successful. Equally unsuccessful are the mythical "home remedies" of rising the hair with highly acidic substances such as vinegar.
None of these methods have been scientifically proven to work, and they can actually cause damage by ruffling the cuticle and disturbing the charge balance of amino acids and polypeptides of hair fibers.
Should a client ever want to return his or her hair to its natural state, the only way is to cut off the relaxed portion once there is adequate growth. For those who now have a natural head of hair and are not comfortable with the idea of a permanent texture change, it's best to press the hair to achieve straight styles. Pressing is a "physical" alteration that is temporary. Lanthionization is a "chemical" change that is permanent.
Charla
New Member
I thought this question sounded familiar. http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=562209
Anyway, what appears to be new growth could actually be texlaxed hair, i.e., under processed hair. But the relaxer doesn't wear off and reversion doesn't occur on chemically treated hair.
Anyway, what appears to be new growth could actually be texlaxed hair, i.e., under processed hair. But the relaxer doesn't wear off and reversion doesn't occur on chemically treated hair.
LaidBak
New Member
If I'm not mistaken, the tighter your natural curl is, the faster you're going to notice the new growth. For example, if your hair makes one complete coil in 1/8 of an inch then you're going to notice that ripple in your roots faster than a person who's hair completes a coil in a 1/2 inch. I hope I am making sense. Just something I pondered about once because I am one of those people that notices NG after about 2 weeks. *shrug*
Carrie A
Well-Known Member
It's just hair that's not relaxed bone straight. When I was relaxed I never had bone straight hair. It always curled into a ringlet even with the relaxer sitting for a long time and with overlapping (relaxing the whole head every time). I didn't really get what bone straight was until hair boards lol.
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ms-gg
Aka frostoppa
You didn't answer my question though-if that is the case, how does hair grow and people get longer hair? What end of the hair strand is the hair growing at if your theory is correct?
Theresamonet
Well-Known Member
What about people who don't have relaxers though...How do you explain their "new growth"??
How do you get hair to relax in the first place if you never have new growth?
How do you get hair to relax in the first place if you never have new growth?
lolascurls
New Member
lol! OP is just bored!
Anyhu, lets go to this fantasy island of no new growth + relaxer reversion:
- If new growth wasn't real...one colour job would last forever!
- One relaxer fits all... hairdressers would be out of jobs everytime they did a virgin relaxer!
- Your friend's hair would be down to her butt with all that "new growth"! (every week, hunh?
)
- All relaxers ladies would go camping with naturals after a couple of months off the "creamy crack" since it "just wears off"!
This alternate reality doesn't gel for you?
Didn't think it would.
Anyhu, lets go to this fantasy island of no new growth + relaxer reversion:
- If new growth wasn't real...one colour job would last forever!
- One relaxer fits all... hairdressers would be out of jobs everytime they did a virgin relaxer!
- Your friend's hair would be down to her butt with all that "new growth"! (every week, hunh?
)- All relaxers ladies would go camping with naturals after a couple of months off the "creamy crack" since it "just wears off"!
This alternate reality doesn't gel for you?
Didn't think it would.
RoseTintedCheeks
New Member
silenttullip
Well-Known Member
*wonders if my bonds were made of steel back in the day cause I know my hair reverted even after the amount of time most would consider overprocessing*
op next time tell her to try a super or soft & beautiful botanicals relaxer
It's the only one that actually "broke down" my bonds for any considerable amount of time. My hair laughed at the others.
As for people without relaxers... I've braided my hair a few times just to have what some call new growth at my roots the next week... I'd take the braids down after 3-4weeks and measure... Nada not one inch... Now I'm NOT saying my hair doesn't grow nor am I saying I don't believe in new growth BUT what I'm saying is I don't think that fuzzy thick stuff at the root (natural/relaxed/texlaxed/loc'd/etc) is necessarily new growth. Sometimes I think it's just fuzzies *don't nethang me pwease*
op next time tell her to try a super or soft & beautiful botanicals relaxer
It's the only one that actually "broke down" my bonds for any considerable amount of time. My hair laughed at the others.
As for people without relaxers... I've braided my hair a few times just to have what some call new growth at my roots the next week... I'd take the braids down after 3-4weeks and measure... Nada not one inch... Now I'm NOT saying my hair doesn't grow nor am I saying I don't believe in new growth BUT what I'm saying is I don't think that fuzzy thick stuff at the root (natural/relaxed/texlaxed/loc'd/etc) is necessarily new growth. Sometimes I think it's just fuzzies *don't nethang me pwease*
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Anakinsmomma
Well-Known Member
You didn't answer my question though-if that is the case, how does hair grow and people get longer hair? What end of the hair strand is the hair growing at if your theory is correct?
Don't hurt yourself ms-gg. This smells a little like....
Anne26
panda
Ok, this is weird and I don't have an explanation for it but, when I was a teenager (a little less than ten years ago) I relaxed my hair, over and over again on the length over the course of a few months, and it always curled back to some extent, after a period of straighter hair (1b).
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