Is Stretching Relaxers Really a Good Thing?

[Cherokee-n-Black]

I've been reading on here about people going long periods of time between relaxers, and I'm just wondering: has conventional wisdom changed re: this practice? I know when I was coming up, it was considered a recipe for massive breakage, due to the weakening of the hair shaft at the point where the NG and the permed hair meet. This last time I went 3 months which was not intentional, and, while I can't say it was disastrous, it certainly wasn't something I'd want to repeat. Every 8 weeks has been the rule for me. Thoughts?

 

[Aveena]

IMO if you relax (not transitioning) stretching to 3 months (or as long as you can) is ideal. In truth 8 weeks is a sufficient stretch for some people and is not necessarily bad.

But if you choose to go longer you can provided you moisturize your new growth and manage the line of demarcation so that you do not get breakage during your stretch.

reasons to consider stretching:

If you use heat on a regular basis.... the risk of overprocessing and heat can be a recipe for thin breaking hair .... you'll just see the breakage at the ends instead on the line of demarcation. I personally am prone to this type of breakage as opposed to the line of demarcation breakage so I stopped using heat regularly.

If you don't use heat then that's even more of a reason to stretch because you can do braid outs and other styles that blend in the new growth better and make stretching easier.

For me a large part of my journey has been beig able to tell when I need to relax vs. suffering while getting no added benefit from the stretch ei. overlapping. THAT right along with moisture/protein balance... it makes all the difference.

 

[SherylsTresses]

Long stretches doesn't seem to work for me. I'm going back to 8-10 weeks.


ETA -- I vary between BSL and MBL with no problem with length (look at my avatar). I am not a supporter of the "non stretchers support club". I'm a supporter of "do what's best for you club". I've tried stretching for 6 months and now to 3 months. It just doesn't seem to work for me. My hair gains length with no problem but it is also getting thinner and thinner even with moisture/protein balance, no heat, detangling w/ lots of conditioner, keeping line of demarcation moisturized, protective styling, trimming, no combing, etc.... It's now as thin as it has ever been. Stretching is just not for everyone due to hair loss the further along we get. But you have to do what works for you. HTH

 

[taz007]

Long stretches do not work for me either.

I relax ever 6-7 weeks. What I do is saturate the previously relaxed hair with either the neutralizer + vaseline OR my Joico Cuticle Sealer + Vaseline. I then slightly under process my hair so that if there is overlapping, there will will not be much damage.

So far so good!

 

[JenBenCal]

I think it can be a good thing if you're willing to put in the work to take care of ng and your relaxed portion. If you're like me when I first stretched, I didn't take care of it properly at all! No conditioning and washes maybe every two weeks or so. I think a co-wash daily and dc once a week are the least someone can do. of course, it also depends on how fast your hair grows out. Also depends on the products you use. There are some great products out there, but you need to find them. Amidst all the variates of products, that can be hard to do. Some people might grow a little faster, meaning waiting 7 months or so to relax would be a bad idea. It depends. But ultimately, I say yes because the less chemicals you're exposed to, the healthier it would seem to be.

 

[beana]

I say disregard the # of weeks and go by the amount of growth. If you have an inch of new growth and your hair is getting hard to handle, then relax it. Personally, I dont believe in super stretching, because for my hair it does more harm than good. If you're able to stretch X amount of weeks and its comfortable for you, then by all means... but dont feel bad if you're not stretching as long as some of the other members. That reasoning hurt my hair, along with CO washes and only combing once or twice a week... spelled disaster for me.

At the end of the day what works for some may not work for you. I believe knowing your hair and responding to what it likes and doesn't like will lead to length and hair health.

 

[Angelicus]

I have found that it doesn't work much for people with short hair. The longer my hair got, the longer I was able to stretch. I usually get a touch-up every 12-16 weeks.

 

[dragongirlmk09]

i waited a month to relax my hair my hair is now shoulder length her is a pic of it and it is thick to next time i am going to try to stretch to two months.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I tend to notice a theme of 'stuck at shoulder length' being the majority of the non stretchers support club. There is the occaisional APL-BSL in those threads but it's not the norm.

If those folks like not stretching, then I love it for them, but since I've seen good results from stretching, I stretch.

 

[brucebettye]

I stretch my relaxer because I am texlaxed and since I don't leave the relaxer in long enough it takes me a good three months before I can tell the difference between my new growth and the texlaxed hair. Then it takes me another three months before it becomes a problem. It has worked wonders for my hair becasue I was ear length and now I am almost APL.

 

[doll-baby]

When I was new to the forum I decide that I was going to stretch my relaxer 12 weeks, I made it to 11 weeks BUT I had major breakage at the line of demarcation . I was very disappointed. So now I only stretch to 10 weeks max.

 

[Solitude]

I've never had a problem with breakage at the line of demarcation, even before joining LHCF, so stretching works well for me. If I continue to relax my hair in the future, I plan to do so only every 4-6 months.

As far as conventional wisdom, I think it's different for different people. It really does seem like the people on here who stretch the longest reach their growth goals the fastest, though. I stretched for five months, reached full SL; I am currently stretching for at least 6 months, and I will hit APL.

ETA: I've been on LHCF for a year and have gone from Chin/Nape length to almost APL by stretching....I always shake my head when I see people writing "I'm stuck at shoulder length, I relax every 6-8 weeks..."

 

[MizAvalon]

As long as the line of demarcation is moisturized properly, then there won't be any breakage.

I'm all for stretching relaxers. The less chemicals, the better.

 

[Tiffanyantt]

Stretching is a really really good thing IMO. It takes a LOT of patience. I've always had thick hair but since I've started to stretch, I've noticed that my hair is much much stronger!!

 

[20Pearls_Girl]

When I was truly relaxed, anything longer than 8 weeks was the beginning of a disaster.

 

[disgtgyal]

Stretching reduces the probability of overlapping which causes weak, thin hair. If you take care of the demarcation line and handle your hair gently, stretching can become instrumental in achieving your hair goals. I stretch usually for 16- 18wks but this last time i stretched for six months without any real issues thanks to joico (so in love with this line, its the reason for me being able to retain healthy ends). This time I plan to stretch for a year, hope i don't get tempted around Christmas.

 

[*Muffin*]

I usually stretch for 3 or 4 months, but this term seems particularly difficult. I seem to have quite more NG than usual, and I have to co-wash every other day to keep it from matting up (IDK whether to accredit the fact that I actually neutralized my relaxer properly 3 months ago or the fact that I've been using a lot of ayurvedic powders and natural treatments for this NG). I can't imagine going any longer than 4 months.

 

[Vanity1]

It is good for me. Every since I started stretching, my hair has been thriving, it is thicker and IMO healthier than it has ever been.

Like everyone else said, if you manage the new growth well, then you should have no problems.

 

[panamoni]

I tend to notice a theme of 'stuck at shoulder length' being the majority of the non stretchers support club. There is the occaisional APL-BSL in those threads but it's not the norm.

If those folks like not stretching, then I love it for them, but since I've seen good results from stretching, I stretch.

Good point. Maybe I should go to 18 or 20 weeks.

 

[FluffyRed]

I think optimal stretching time varies with the texture of your hair.

Mine is extremely nappy, with a tendency to coil.

I could have sisterlocks by just doing repeated cowash-n-gos when natural.

My max stretch is ten weeks. (about 5 x per year) Much more beneficial than the previous 5.5 weeks. (10x/per year) So, 6 inches of hair are getting exposed to harsh chemicals half as often, which makes increased tensile strength, at least that's my hypothesis about the benefit.

Any longer than ten weeks and the coils really start grabbing the permed hair and it's a tangled nightmare!!!

Also, my hair is currently just slightly longer than it's ever been, as it is getting caught under the car seatbelt. (I cut about 2 inches off due to annoyance with this ) I'm seeing benefits. Coming up on a year here.

 

[Cherokee-n-Black]

Interesting. I do have friends with BSL and WL hair who stretch about 3 months, but the texture of their hair is somewhat different from mine. My hair grew a great deal when I stopped getting relaxers for 2 years post dominican blow out trauma, but the relaxed portion got really stringy (I never did the bc) This most recent grow out has occured amidst faithful relaxing every 8 weeks, so I'm definitely not stuck at shoulder length. But personally I think the stuck at shoulder length is probably due to needing a better protective styling method. That's what seems to make the difference for me. Well, thanks for the perspectives. Admittedly "when I was coming up" there weren't anywhere near the number of great products and proven techniques we have now.

 

[prospurr4]

Stretching, along with texlaxing and staying away from direct heat, has significantly increased the health and thickness of my hair.

I used to touchup every 6-7 weeks, but now I stretch to 13-15 weeks.

 

[RosesBlack]

Now that I've figured out how to keep my moisture/protein balance, what my hair does and doesn't like long stretches are getting way easier for me. Now that my hair is healthier I find it is easier to stretch and make sure my hair isn't matting or tangling and I'm not using heat to compensate. I <3 stretching my relaxers now. It also has made it so that as my hair grows more of my texlaxed texture shows and I love it.

 

[Stormy]

When I was relaxed, stretching for 8 and no more than 10 weeks seemed to be best for me and my hair. I think stretching really is a good thing, but the amount of time depends on the person's hair, your moisturizing and protective styling methods and... how much you can deal with. I mean after 16 weeks I could barely get a comb through it!

 

[spelmanlocks]

Stretching works for me, but every now and again I have a time where it turns out disastrous and I have major breakage, tangling and matting. You have to be very careful.

 

[SherylsTresses]

Stretching reduces the probability of overlapping which causes weak, thin hair. If you take care of the demarcation line and handle your hair gently, stretching can become instrumental in achieving your hair goals. I stretch usually for 16- 18wks but this last time i stretched for six months without any real issues thanks to joico (so in love with this line, its the reason for me being able to retain healthy ends). This time I plan to stretch for a year, hope i don't get tempted around Christmas.

A styist in LA used Joico products on my hair and it turned out lovely. I might purchase the entire line....

 

[jerseygurl]

I usually stretch for about 12 to 13 weeks. Before LHCF and Cathy Howse, it was maybe every 6 weeks. The longest I've stretched for was 6 months with the aid of braids.

This has been said before but it bears repeating, if you are going to stretch your relaxer, take it a week at a time. Do not go by what other members are doing because that could be disastrous. Many ladies do not do this and are surprised when they get breakage. Then you get posts saying "I followed LHCF advice and stretched my relaxer only to get massive breakage"

I think stretching my relaxer is a good thing, my hair is healthier and longer. I went from relaxing every 6-8 weeks to relaxing 3 to 4 times a year. My goal is to get to twice a year without the aid of braids or any extension hair

At the end of the day do what works for you. None of the suggestions given on this site are written in concrete, they are more like guidelines.

 

[Fine 4s]

A friend of mine who's been turned on to healthy hair care practices for a year now stretches for 12 months approximately (applies a relaxer once a year) and is now dayum there waist length from somewhere between SL and APL. The longest her hair has ever been! She's always had nice thick hair though when we were in college but later on stopped taking care of it. Now that she's back on it, her hair is the BOMB and dark!

Given the kind of work that she does, she mostly keeps her hair in box braids or another protective style, nothing fancy a bun is the fanciest she'll go actually. She'll keep each braid well moisten and when her hair gets too mushy or stretchy, she'll do a protein treatment. My point is protective styling + long stretches may be the key for some.
I should have taken a picture to share. Next time....

 

[MoniLynn]

My hair is chin length so it is really hard to find protective styles while stretching. I have only stretched 1 time to 12 wks but I used heat once a week to tame the ng which I know wasn 't good. I usually go 8-9 wks. Any ideas on what I can do/use to maintain ng to possibly stretch longer??

 

[♦K.O♦]

My hair likes stretching. Six months post is usually when a relaxer is needed. Beyond six months, I don't have any breakage, but it takes me much longer to do my hair, and the whole point of relaxing/texlaxing is to save me styling time. My relaxed hair is pretty low maintenance.