Oh I am waaaaay sold on lye relaxers and I ain't neva, neva, nevaaaah goin
back to no lye. Everything I've heard about lye is true. My hair is smoother, softer, silkier and shinier! I was afraid that lye would be harsh and make my hair super straight in 2 minutes. This is what I've heard for years until I joined LHCF. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, I still have a bit of curl left. OK before I say more let me just talk about the "phases".
Phase 2: I had waaay much more new growth than I realized and it was thicker than usual. Parting the new growth was diffucult but I managed. In retrospect I also should have applied more relaxer to my hair. I did everything as I should but I was too stingy with the relaxer. I also have to give a shout out to my sister. Usually when I self relax, I go it alone. I use a hand held mirror to see in the back of my head where to apply the relaxer. But this time I was too scared to do that (this was lye, after all). My sister held the mirror up for me so I could see the back of my head and still have my two hands to use. She's the greatest!!! I also stayed within the time frame. I went over by about 2 min on the first section but all other's got the max 10 min. I followed Southerngirl's method to the T; everything that Shamboosie said would happen happened. I didn't get any burns and just when I started the last section, I felt a tingling sensation on the first section. I rinsed, applied the Positive conditioner, then the Neutralizing Shampoo. Then I put my favorite conditioner in for a while.
The most amazing thing about the lye is how it improved my curls!!! I think if i'd let it stay in for 15 - 20 min, my hair would be bone straight. I may do that in the future. But this time around, I got gorgeous curls!!! So nice. It'll be easier to see when I post pics. Anyhoo, phase 2 went off without a hitch. No burns (like I expected), no underprocessing (like I expected) and improved strands (what I didn't expect).
Phase 3: Styling has changed drastically and I'm going to have to adjust. I get my hair straight with a hand held blow dryer and round brush. Then I finish with my flatiron. This time around, my hair dried faster and was smoother and shinier. All this without extra oil or product. This just reinforces what I've heard about no lye. The calcium deposites (from the calcium hydroxide) make your hair dry and dull. And I had to go to great lengths to get that shine before but not any more! This is great. And another bonus: The lye relaxer is already mixed. I can use the rest for my next touch up with out having to go out and buy a whole nuther kit! I love it!!!
Switching to lye was the best thing I could have ever done for my hair. I'd have to say it was a March HIT!!!!!!
pics to come in 1-2 weeks!!!
back to no lye. Everything I've heard about lye is true. My hair is smoother, softer, silkier and shinier! I was afraid that lye would be harsh and make my hair super straight in 2 minutes. This is what I've heard for years until I joined LHCF. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, I still have a bit of curl left. OK before I say more let me just talk about the "phases".
Phase 2: I had waaay much more new growth than I realized and it was thicker than usual. Parting the new growth was diffucult but I managed. In retrospect I also should have applied more relaxer to my hair. I did everything as I should but I was too stingy with the relaxer. I also have to give a shout out to my sister. Usually when I self relax, I go it alone. I use a hand held mirror to see in the back of my head where to apply the relaxer. But this time I was too scared to do that (this was lye, after all). My sister held the mirror up for me so I could see the back of my head and still have my two hands to use. She's the greatest!!! I also stayed within the time frame. I went over by about 2 min on the first section but all other's got the max 10 min. I followed Southerngirl's method to the T; everything that Shamboosie said would happen happened. I didn't get any burns and just when I started the last section, I felt a tingling sensation on the first section. I rinsed, applied the Positive conditioner, then the Neutralizing Shampoo. Then I put my favorite conditioner in for a while.
The most amazing thing about the lye is how it improved my curls!!! I think if i'd let it stay in for 15 - 20 min, my hair would be bone straight. I may do that in the future. But this time around, I got gorgeous curls!!! So nice. It'll be easier to see when I post pics. Anyhoo, phase 2 went off without a hitch. No burns (like I expected), no underprocessing (like I expected) and improved strands (what I didn't expect).
Phase 3: Styling has changed drastically and I'm going to have to adjust. I get my hair straight with a hand held blow dryer and round brush. Then I finish with my flatiron. This time around, my hair dried faster and was smoother and shinier. All this without extra oil or product. This just reinforces what I've heard about no lye. The calcium deposites (from the calcium hydroxide) make your hair dry and dull. And I had to go to great lengths to get that shine before but not any more! This is great. And another bonus: The lye relaxer is already mixed. I can use the rest for my next touch up with out having to go out and buy a whole nuther kit! I love it!!!
Switching to lye was the best thing I could have ever done for my hair. I'd have to say it was a March HIT!!!!!!
pics to come in 1-2 weeks!!!
