Is stretching relaxers a hoax?

[queenofmean68]

I have read several posts about stretching out relaxers and they all have this "hoax" in common-----by stretching them out you will experience considerable new growth. Why is that?

My thoughts are this----hair will grow anyway whether you relax every 6-8 weeks or 2-4 months. If you relax every 6-8 weeks and are only getting 1.25cm per month it may seem like you hair is growing very slowly, HOWEVER if you decide to wait 2-4 months, then relax, and discover that your hair has grown 2 inches.
<font color="blue">Let's do the math: 1.25cm * 4 months = 1.9685 or about 2 inches.</font> Which is exactly the same amount of growth you would get if you relaxed every 6-8 weeks. Now that is assuming of course you do not loose a lot of hair due to breakage/shedding.
Personally, I'm not willing to risk any breakage just to get an ego boost in 4 months.

 

[Angelicus]

stretching relaxers = less overlapping = less breakage

worked for me! my hair hasn't been this long since 1995

 

[Nutmeg]

Right. I stretch my relaxer to keep my chemical exposure to a minimum. When you get right down to it, relaxing is harsh (and I also have highlights), so the less I encounter the harsh chemicals, the better.

I never thought of stretching relaxers as unearthing some lost treasure with tons new growth, 'cuz like you said, I don't think that's the case: Hair will grow at the same rate whether you relax 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months. As far as my hair is concerned, it just keeps it stronger and more protected, I think. And there is something kind of fun about after you get your relaxer, because your hair is WAY longer than you expected, because you haven't seen the new growth stretched out.

In the end, it just comes down to individual preference.

 

[kitchen_tician]

[ QUOTE ]
Nutmeg said:
Right. I stretch my relaxer to keep my chemical exposure to a minimum. When you get right down to it, relaxing is harsh (and I also have highlights), so the less I encounter the harsh chemicals, the better.

I never thought of stretching relaxers as unearthing some lost treasure with tons new growth, 'cuz like you said, I don't think that's the case: Hair will grow at the same rate whether you relax 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months. As far as my hair is concerned, it just keeps it stronger and more protected, I think. And there is something kind of fun about after you get your relaxer, because your hair is WAY longer than you expected, because you haven't seen the new growth stretched out.

In the end, it just comes down to individual preference.

[/ QUOTE ]

ITA, word for word

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Nutmeg said:
Right. I stretch my relaxer to keep my chemical exposure to a minimum. When you get right down to it, relaxing is harsh (and I also have highlights), so the less I encounter the harsh chemicals, the better.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree!

I think this is the reason why most wait til their next touch up. If you are worried about breakage, you have to find ways to prevent so much breakage when stretching the time to get your next relaxer. I think when you relax too often (every 4-6 weeks), the chemicals can hinder the growth process. Even if you might get the same amount of growth, I think your hair will be in better condition if you stretch the relaxer because of the less chemical application.
<font color="red">

Think about it this way...there are 52.5 weeks in a year:
Relaxing every 4-6 weeks = approx. 9-13 touchups per year
Relaxing every 4 months = 3 touchups per year</font>

Besides the growth, wouldn't you want less chemicals applied to your hair? This is why I am going to start stretching my relaxers to see the potential my hair has for health and growth.

 

[Eclipse]

I do not think that stretching out relaxers increases growth. Although it does assist in RETAINING the growth.

 

[Armyqt]

What Nutmeg said

 

[Allandra]

Is it a hoax? I don't think so. It works for some, and it doesn't work for some. I'm glad that it works for me. One should do what works out best for their hair.

 

[Allandra]

[ QUOTE ]
Eclipse said:
I do not think that stretching out relaxers increases growth. Although it does assist in RETAINING the growth.

[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly.

 

[ChasingBliss]

For me, stretching relaxers equals surprising new growth, meaning, I spent the last 1 or 2 months with deep waves and shrinkage and I am pleased and surprised to see how the new growth looks when relaxed after going so many weeks without relaxing. The shrinkage tends to make my hair look a little shorter somewhere into the third month or so. But I never thought stretching out relaxers makes hair grow faster.

 

[Karonica]

I think when a person stretches their perm, by the time they do relax, they have a lot more newgrowth than if they go 6-8 weeks. BUT, it's not because their hair grew more. They just had more time to acquire growth before perming. Nobody's hair is growing faster.

 

[shoelover1972]

[ QUOTE ]
Karonica said:
I think when a person stretches their perm, by the time they do relax, they have a lot more newgrowth than if they go 6-8 weeks. BUT, it's not because their hair grew more. They just had more time to acquire growth before perming. Nobody's hair is growing faster.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly

It has worked for me and I agree with all the ladies here. I have retained more length (which of course is different to achieving faster growth) and it is now alot thicker. It does not work for everyone though. IMO Putting harsh chemicals 2-3 times a year seems healthier than say 8 times a year.

 

[Donda]

I'm in the less chemicals the better group. After I started to use Hawaiian Silky I'm going on my 8th week and have NO desire to relax my hair. Maybe I can make it to 10-12 weeks this time. It will be the longest out of transitioning I have went.

 

[Tai]

Since doing my mom's relaxers (this past one is her last) I always stretched hers to about 4 months give or take a week or two. She's never had any problems with breakage.
I tend to stretch my texturizers just as long or longer. On occasion I'd do them earlier when I had a lot of new growth and was wearing very straight looks. But I have found that I can still get almost bone straight looks 3+ months in so long as I'm patient with my hair.

I just think the fewer times you have to add chemicals, the better it is for your hair.

 

[inthepink]

I don't think it makes hair grow any faster but I've always wondered if a touch-up shocks the hair follicles and makes hair stop growing till it's healed. Sounds silly but I've wondered...going to hide now....

 

[Bobbie]

[ QUOTE ]
Eclipse said:
I do not think that stretching out relaxers increases growth. Although it does assist in RETAINING the growth.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. RETAINING growth is key here. The more times you expose your hair to relaxers (every 4-6 weeks). The more likely you would get overlap and experience breakage.

 

[UmSumayyah]

Hoax is certainly the wrong word. It makes it sound like all the people who say they are stretching are lying just to make everyone else's hair break when they try it.

For me, I do my own touchups and I need to be able to tell where the line is, so I wait 12 weeks. I'd wait 12 even if having someone else do it, since I used to go 16 or more.

 

[levette]

I think that relaxing less will help you in the long run. I recently just went 12 weeks and 2 days before I just got my last touch-up this past Thursday, June3. Next, I want to see if I can make it to 16 weeks without a relaxer. I think that over time relaxing too frequently will cause the hair to break and thin out.

 

[queenofmean68]

If overlapping is such a problem then I would be BALD by now and I have been relaxing my hair for years! Yes, you can get a bad chemical, and yes, you could overlap, but the key is properly taking care of you hair whether it is relaxed or not. And stretching does NOT make your hair grow any faster......if that were really true NO ONE would ever relax their hair.

 

[Tai]

I don't think anyone said that stretching *did* make your hair grow faster. It could potentially reduce the chances of overlapping and overprocessing, which could possibly lead to breakage. Also, some see the benefits of only adding chemicals 3-4 times per year as opposed to 9-13+ times per year.

 

[Ayeshia]

who said that it made your hair grow faster? if it did no one would relax

I had to stretch my relaxers. Only becasue my new growth grows in kinda str8 and doesnt show a definite pattern until the fourth or fifth month. I was never able to tell how much new growth I had until around that time. Anything b4 that and I prolly would have been overprocessed.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

[ QUOTE ]
hairlove said:
I don't think it makes hair grow any faster but I've always wondered if a touch-up shocks the hair follicles and makes hair stop growing till it's healed. Sounds silly but I've wondered...going to hide now....

[/ QUOTE ]
I always wondered the same thing Hairlove.

 

[VelvetRain]

personally I don't see how anyone is able to stretch out their relaxers for months in between unless you have a super fine grade of hair. I normally get a relaxer every 10 or 11 weeks. It is usually around this time I am super frustrated because I can not do a thing with my hair! Besides I am just not willing to go longer for fear of super breakage. Bottom line? Do what works for you as an individual.

 

[Bobbie]

I thought that at first -- but it was the way I was treating my hair. You can't treat hair that is 12-weeks post relaxer like a fresh relaxer.

For example: Combing dry hair is a big no-no -- leads to inevitable breakage.

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobbie said:
I thought that at first -- but it was the way I was treating my hair. You can't treat hair that is 12-weeks post relaxer like a fresh relaxer.

For example: Combing dry hair is a big no-no -- leads to inevitable breakage.

[/ QUOTE ]

TRUE

 

[alliyah4eva203]

i stretch out my relaxers because i want to minimise the amount of times the relaxer is on my hair because it is such a harsh chemical

 

[shoelover1972]

[ QUOTE ]
Poohbear said:
[ QUOTE ]
Bobbie said:
I thought that at first -- but it was the way I was treating my hair. You can't treat hair that is 12-weeks post relaxer like a fresh relaxer.

For example: Combing dry hair is a big no-no -- leads to inevitable breakage.

[/ QUOTE ]

TRUE

[/ QUOTE ]

I treat the re-growth completely different from the relaxed hair. I also do not expect the re-growth to look &amp; 'act' the same as the relaxed hair either.

 

[stacy]

I stretch out my relaxers because: 1)I want to save money, 2) I do think it is better to reduce the number of times your scalp is exposed to the chemicals in a relaxer, and 3) I like for the line of demarcation to be clear enough so that there is little to no overlapping. When I relaxed my own hair, I needed to be able to clearly feel the new growth and where it ended. I'd relax every three-four months. Now, I only go to a professional, but I still wait until I can really feel a difference between the new growth and previously relaxed hair, just not as long as when I self-relaxed. I'm at eight weeks now and since using Surge, I feel a lot more new growth than normal. I'm ready for a touchup NOW!

 

[queenofmean68]

No one in this particular thread has said that it grows their hair faster, in my original post I said
"I have read......"
It seems to me that MOST of the posts in this thread are saying things like "protecting the hair from using too many chemicals" so WHY relax in the first place??? The chemicals break down the bonds in the hair regardless if you relax 4 times a year or 13 times. IMO you have a greater risk of breakage at the point where the natural and relaxed hair meets.

 

[pooh123]

[ QUOTE ]
alliyah4eva203 said:
i stretch out my relaxers because i want to minimise the amount of times the relaxer is on my hair because it is such a harsh chemical

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto what Stacy said. Plus I have a sensitive scalp, hate salons,and save money by stretching out the relaxer. Stretching out my relaxers has been one of the best things I've done for my hair.

pooh123