I know many of you self relax with no problems, but I recently read about @
Aireen's horror story of a relaxing session with her stylist. I just wanted to post a few tips, as I do have a cosmetology license and have been a self-relaxer for years. This forum is all about sharing information, so I'm sharing what I know.
Relaxer tips:
1. If on a long stretch, make sure to have detangled 24-48 hours before relaxing, so that the relaxing process can be quick.
2. If you are new to self-relaxing or have color on your hair, be sure to use a mild/color safe relaxer. For the newbies, mild processes slower and gives you time to feel your way through the relaxing session without the fear of damage. I ALWAYS use mild on my hair, regardless if I have color or not, because I like to be extra cautious and want to keep a little volume to my hair.
3. Coat the previously relaxed hair with a heavy oil or conditioner to prevent overlapping.
4. Part the hair into 4 sections, horizontally and vertically. Tie the top two sections and one of the bottom sections up with an elastic or hair clip to keep it out of your way.
5. Hair can be relaxed using comb, chemical brush, or fingers. I prefer fingers because I can better control where the relaxer is going and I can feel my hair better. Try not to get relaxer on your scalp, previously colored, or previously relaxed hair.
6. Starting at the back loose section, start from the top and work your way down, parting in ½” sections. Be sure to get the outside parameters as well. Continue on to the second back section.
7. For the top 2, start from the middle and work your way towards the front. DO NOT RELAX ALL THE WAY TO THE FRONT HAIRLINE! Leave about a 1” section in the front to come back to. The front hairline is fragile and will break easily, so you want to leave that section for last.
8. Relax the fourth section from middle to the front hairline then come back to the first top section and relax the last 1” to complete the entire relaxer session.
9. Smooth.
10. I like to shampoo mine out immediately to avoid any over-processing. Some people like to wait for more processing, but again, I like a little volume.
11. When shampooing, use a pattern method to get all of the relaxer out. I shampoo and massage from right to left, snaking my way down my head from top to bottom, to be sure I get every single inch of relaxer out.
12. Shampoo using neutralizer 3 times. The first time do a mild massage, the second is progressively stronger pressure, using my fingertips, and the third I scratch my scalp in the above pattern to make sure that all of the relaxer is out.
13. DC and style as normal.
ETA: DO NOT USE A RECONSTRUCTOR AFTER A RELAXING SESSION. Using it will cause it to revert to the previous curl pattern and lose your relaxing results. Wait 3 days after a relaxer to use a reconstructor. In 3 day's time, your hair will harden and will permanently be in it's new relaxed state.
Keep in mind that this is just MY method and it has served me well. The biggest issue I see with relaxer breakage is relaxing to the ends, using too strong of a relaxer, or relaxing over previously colored hair using a regular strength relaxer.
Best of luck! :heart2: