Is it better to smooth the hair upward from the mid back of head toward the front or downward from the mid front of the head to the back... I am confused...
Starting with top - right, finger parting and apply.
Move to the top-left section and repeat process.
After I finished the top-left section, smooth from the sub-section that you started with first, working from back (of that section) to front.
Then quickly smooth the top-right section. Leaving that last because it's smoothing from the relaxer having more time to work.
One thing I always do is make the bottom-back two section smaller. This way I don't have as much hair to relax, so my front sections aren't over cooking erplexed