Relaxed Hair Thread

Hi ladies, I am newly relaxed after a few years natural - I also did a kind of a BC because I had heat-damaged ends, BUT that's what made me realize I wanted to go back to relaxed (well technically, texlaxed), the ends were the favourite part of my hair lol

So, here's where I am now, hovering in BSL h*ll...my one goal for 2016 is to make FULL MBL. I don't plan on straightening that much because I don't think I can keep it up and I am going back to my old relaxer schedule of every 3-4 months.

Thanks for listening!
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I just realized how lazy I have been lately with my hair. I need to snap out of it!! Hopefully by Spring I will be mid back length, which means I need to get back into protective styling. Nothing but buns, buns, and buns for me with maybe the occasional braid out on the weekends. But other than that, it's nothing but buns for me!! I really want this color out of my hair NOW!! But I don't want to dye my hair black or anything, maybe a black rinse or something, I don't know.
 
Hey ladies! Hope you're all doing well. We're nearing the end of the year and I think I'm gonna forego the EOTY reveal. I'm currently putting in mini twists that I hope to keep in for 3-4 weeks. Because my hair was initially texlaxed with a lot of texture, my ends still curl or wave. I grew my hair long using these as a PS (alternating w/wigs) and I'm not interested in hiding it under wigs at this point. It feels so wrong to relax my hair just to put it into mini braids but I've got to get it back into shape. 2016 will be a better hair year for me!
 
Just relaxed my hair today at almost 19 weeks post, using ORS lye. I previously used no lye, but upon learning that Lye relaxers dont dry out the hair as much, I decided to switch! I also dont have a sensitive scalp(in fact, I washed my hair two days ago and was scratching my scalp like mad last night haha, no burning or tingling), so I feel like the ORS lye might be a good match for me! It didn't take as well as I would have liked, however. My problem area is the back of my head...its tighter in texture and more low porosity it seems, but once I rinse out my deep conditioner I'll see how it looks. It certainly felt nice to be able to reach my scalp without struggling lol! Maybe next time I relax I'll go longer than 20 minutes...or maybe I should smooth for 5 minutes instead of barely 2 minutes... We'll see! :)
 
Thank you @sunnieb !
I'm thinking of doing a corrective relaxer in a couple of weeks...my hair just isn't as straight as I want it to be , especially in the back, and im struggling with a lot of breakage at my line of demarcation. The texlaxed portion of my hair is super thick but tangles like no bodies buisiness...it just seems to literally stick together. My bone straight ends are super thin in comparison to the texlaxed hair, and I need a way to combat it. What do yall do to strengthen the line of demarcation? I really wanna use the Aphogee 2 step again, but it's only been about 2 weeks since I used it last...it really slowed down my breakage tho! I was pleasantly surprised and can't wait to use it again.

Also, do any of you guys have issues with single strand knots? I know that a lot of natural ladies struggle with it, but i've been finding a lot of ssk's in my hair...sometimes two knots on one strand of hair. I usually let my hair air dry loose even tho I prefer to blow dry it--It doesn't feel as tangled and rough when I blow try it, it feels a lot more smooth...but im trying to reach BSL in June and I dont want the heat to negatively affect my progress, plus im finding lots of crazy looking splits even though I trimmed about an inch of my hair about one or two weeks ago...
 
Just relaxed on Wednesday after being 13 weeks post. It was time. I was dealing with more than usual shedding and breakage. Going to enjoy my hair being down for a least a week then it's back to bunning and other protective styling. I think I realize that my max right now to stretch is between 12 and 14 weeks.
 
Hi guys, thank you so much for the information you so freely share. My hair is not in its ideal state, but I know it has improved greatly since I found this site and especially this thread.

I haven't posted a picture since I joined because I have a phobia about posting my pictures online, but it seems selfish since you'll so freely share and I feel like I owe it to the community to share too, so here goes.

Starting with a fresh relaxer since I joined to my last relaxer.

Eta. Uploaded is in a infinity loop. Will keep trying

Okay that worked. First was self relaxed. Second is after I took out self installed braids during the summer and the last was in October. Relaxed and trim.

Editing yet again to include dates. First upload was Jan '15, second was June '15, and Oct '15.

PS - Including one from July when it is straight. Sorry for the darkness. My sister's fault.
 

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I need a new style. I thought it would be the Curlformers but my hair is a dry crunchy mess two days later. This is definitely a one or two day hair style. Braid outs, Bantu knots, twists outs and all that have always been a no for me. I'm trying to lay off the buns but what's left? :think:
 
I need a new style. I thought it would be the Curlformers but my hair is a dry crunchy mess two days later. This is definitely a one or two day hair style. Braid outs, Bantu knots, twists outs and all that have always been a no for me. I'm trying to lay off the buns but what's left? :think:

What is it about the "out" styles (bantu, twist, braid) that doesn't work for you? Is it that they don't last or they don't look right?

I wear the "out" style the first day, then pin it up or wear half up/half down style on day 2. If I want to go another day without cowashing, I wear it in a ponytail/puff on day 3. I don't like to go too many days without water touching my scalp/hair. Pineappling hasn't ever really worked to preserve my "out" style.
 
@MzSwift It becomes hard to moisturize, brittle, and just dry. I've tried heavier products and sealants, going under the dryer, setting products, everything. My hair has never really responded well to textured styles ever. They always resulted in me just having to wash my hair again. I did what you mentioned (updo with the textured style) a few days ago and needless to say I look like I don't love myself right now :look: but I've been too lazy to wash.

ETA: Yeah the pineapple was a fail for me too. It's a neat technique but my next day hair was laughable lol. I did a Curlformer set which ended up looking/behaving like beach waves or even a braid out. I just look like such a fail currently :lachen:
 
Waist length is definitely on my goal list next year. I shared a side pic since I'm currently fat :look: so idk if you can tell but I'm not far at all. Some pieces are already MBL.
 
You are definitely right. I have been feeling quite exhausted lately.

I hope you get to the bottom of any internal issues. That's tough.

It's also colder/drier season so there's another factor at play. If you're concerned you may not have properly neutralized, maybe you can do an ACV rinse to ensure the relaxer is totally neutralized. I've only been in the relaxed game for 1.5 yrs but doing the vinegar rinse has been very helpful when I'm worried about my hair being properly neutralized.

When in doubt during a hair issue, I like to start from scratch (clarify, protein tx, moisturizing DC, M&S and then PS) to be sure I'm covering everything.
GL, sis!
 
@MzSwift It becomes hard to moisturize, brittle, and just dry. I've tried heavier products and sealants, going under the dryer, setting products, everything. My hair has never really responded well to textured styles ever. They always resulted in me just having to wash my hair again. I did what you mentioned (updo with the textured style) a few days ago and needless to say I look like I don't love myself right now :look: but I've been too lazy to wash.

ETA: Yeah the pineapple was a fail for me too. It's a neat technique but my next day hair was laughable lol. I did a Curlformer set which ended up looking/behaving like beach waves or even a braid out. I just look like such a fail currently :lachen:

LOL, I understand.

BTW, I didn't get to see the pic you posted Ms. MBL. Where'd you put it? Did you take it down already?
 
I don't plan to relax again until March so I'm going to start flat ironing more toward the end of my stretch. I think I last relaxed about 6-7 weeks ago - wow, time is flying! My 2016 goal is to relax in March, June, September and December. I'll be checking in here for ideas and support.
 
@MzSwift its in this thread on the 30th. I won't claim it just yet since I personally don't think enough of my hair is there currently. I'm definitely more than BSL though. I don't want y'all to call me delusional so I'll just wait patiently before I go around posting MBL updates :yawn: :look:
 
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