Relaxed Hair Thread

I relaxed today:-) :-). I checked my calendar to be sure and it's been 15 weeks since my last relaxer. It was the easiest/quickest application I've had yet :clap:! I used a tip from sunnieb and pre-parted my hair before applying product. I heavily coated my previously relaxed hair with Vaseline to prevent overlapping. I relaxed in less than 18 minutes, which is a first for me. I applied Aphogee 2 minute protein treatment prior to neutralizing. My hair feels really good. I will apply a mixture of amla and brahmi powders tomorrow; for conditioning and to darken my hair.
 
I completely understand that.

It’s kind of part of the reason I don’t want to make a YouTube Channel because there’s going to be a slew of people trying to make the assumption that my hair is damaged.

Or that without a relaxer, my hair density would somehow just double or triple. Regardless of if I’m natural or not, I do not have thick individual strands. I just don’t.

When given a chance to fluff up on its own, it mimics really thick hair just because my overall density is quite a bit, but I decide to straighten my hair, or silk wrap it, it will compress down quite a bit. So I said screw a YouTube channel.

I’d like to be an inspiration too for other fine haired ladies. Even with fine hair being extremely delicate, it’s extremely beautiful when it reaches long lengths and is able to flourish, and my favorite plus side of fine hair, is how virtually weightless it is, even at long lengths.

That’s one reason why I’m still on the fence about a channel. Maybe once I trim my ends, and do some maintaining for a while after hitting my goal.


Don't be skurred, girl!! You would definitely be an inspiration to a lot of ladies out there as I'm sure you are here. But I totally understand about wanting to put your best foot forward. Because there's such a lack of relaxed YTers, I think you'll be appreciated whenever you decide to take the plunge. ;) GL!
 
@MzSwift

I completely understand why you wanted to cut your hair a few weeks ago :nono::ohwell::cry3:.

Oh noo, what happened, mama??!!

I had to put my hair away and I feel so much better. A wig wasn't gonna cut it because I realized that I need a style that doesn't require me to put my hair on in the mornings. I'm usually awakened by an impatiently crying baby so I don't have time to put my hair on. This PS has definitely made me realize how much I miss the simplicity of PSing. I just took out my Havana crochet twists in 45 minutes! They've been in for 4 weeks and I didn't even realize it until I looked at my calendar today. I plan to wash, DC, rebraid and put another set over the weekend. After cornrowing, it only took me an hour to install the crochet twists. Girl, I'm hooked! I might not see my hair for another year!! Lol
 
Oh noo, what happened, mama??!!

I had to put my hair away and I feel so much better. A wig wasn't gonna cut it because I realized that I need a style that doesn't require me to put my hair on in the mornings. I'm usually awakened by an impatiently crying baby so I don't have time to put my hair on. This PS has definitely made me realize how much I miss the simplicity of PSing. I just took out my Havana crochet twists in 45 minutes! They've been in for 4 weeks and I didn't even realize it until I looked at my calendar today. I plan to wash, DC, rebraid and put another set over the weekend. After cornrowing, it only took me an hour to install the crochet twists. Girl, I'm hooked! I might not see my hair for another year!! Lol


I think my hair is overloaded with protein. All was well until my last protein treatment. I woke up to tangled and matted hair. And I don't have time to focus on my hair with the baby. Detangling alone takes days..SMH!

How do you care for your hair while it's in crochet twists?

I may just have to go back to braids.
 
I managed to calm down, put away the scissors and use the time DH was home on my hair instead of sleeping. I put 6 braids and washed in them. Then I DCed with ORS mayo for 1 without heat. It seemed to do the trick and detangling was easy.
In this picture, I have just taken down 5 braids. I have 1 left in the front. My hair is still wet and I just separated it with my fingers.

I'm definitely going back to braids. Probably until baby is older and can entertain herself longer. I enjoy styling my hair and can't wait until I have more time to do it.

Yes, my mirror is dirty. Like I said, I just washed my hair. That's all shampoo and conditioner lol.

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Doing a protein dc on dry hair with Nexxus Emergencee now.

I think doing my protein treatments on dry hair makes it less 'proteiny' once it airdries.

Is that good or bad?
I bought some nexxus emergency last month but haven't tried it yet. I'm still using up my curl junkie protein.
 
I managed to calm down, put away the scissors and use the time DH was home on my hair instead of sleeping. I put 6 braids and washed in them. Then I DCed with ORS mayo for 1 without heat. It seemed to do the trick and detangling was easy.
In this picture, I have just taken down 5 braids. I have 1 left in the front. My hair is still wet and I just separated it with my fingers.

I'm definitely going back to braids. Probably until baby is older and can entertain herself longer. I enjoy styling my hair and can't wait until I have more time to do it.

Yes, my mirror is dirty. Like I said, I just washed my hair. That's all shampoo and conditioner lol.

View attachment 432769
no judgement here, I can't even say my mirror is dirty bc I just washed. Mine is dirty bc I haven't cleaned :look:
 
I also used Nexxus Emergencee shampoo tonight - only because I have it.

I won't buy anymore - not because it's a bad product, but because Nexxus Therappe shampoo is perfect. I don't need to waste money on specialty stuff.
 
I managed to calm down, put away the scissors and use the time DH was home on my hair instead of sleeping. I put 6 braids and washed in them. Then I DCed with ORS mayo for 1 without heat. It seemed to do the trick and detangling was easy.
In this picture, I have just taken down 5 braids. I have 1 left in the front. My hair is still wet and I just separated it with my fingers.

I'm definitely going back to braids. Probably until baby is older and can entertain herself longer. I enjoy styling my hair and can't wait until I have more time to do it.

Yes, my mirror is dirty. Like I said, I just washed my hair. That's all shampoo and conditioner lol.

View attachment 432769

Ooh, pretty and thick hair! Love it! Yay! I’m glad you were able to get around to it. It’s so hard to find hair time with a new baby.

Yes sis, I resigned that baby has forced me into involuntary long term PSing. I think it’ll be at least 2 or 3 years before I can go back to devoting the time I used to to haircare. Just gotta remember to stay up on my texlaxing 2-3 times a year. I’m hoping it’ll be good for my hair when I finally unveil it.

In my braids I use a mix of mostly water with a squirt of oil and a squirt of condish in a color applicator bottle to moisturize. I don’t wash in the style since I only keep it in for 3-4 weeks in order to reduce buildup. I take it down, clarify, DC with protein and moisture together and the braid it back up for my next PS.
 
I have way too many wigs not to rock them so I think I’m gonna just keep my wig on for my next PS instead of taking it off daily. Every few days I’ll unpin it and use my moisturizing mix on my braids and pop that baby back on. I buy cheap wigs anyway. I’ve never done that before but it’s worth a try. I remember how much retention the lace front ladies used to get even with their wig glued down. And it’s much faster than doing a crochet set...
 
That's so true, it's difficult to find relaxed hair threads.. I was natural for 2 years but it wasn't for me.. So I'm back relaxed as of 2016.. I like my relaxed hair and have no regrets.. Now I'm back to retaining my length and protective styling.

I agree!! It is so hard to,find relaxed hair blogs anymore. Even on this site it’s like everyone is natural. But I like my relaxed hair. I am currently learning to stretch my relaxers and finding the products that work best for me. This thread is my lifeline.
 
Does anyone use keratin blowouts or BKTs to stretch relaxers?

I’ve been thinking about replacing 1 or 2 relaxers with a keratin blowout or a BKT. Not sure which one yet.
 
So I think I might switch relaxer to Motions oil Moisturizer. Mizani seems to have discontinued the butter blends and the Rhelaxer has my hair looking last luster and dry.
 
Hello everyone . Just popping in for an update. I am 10weeks post and had planned to go 16 weeks but I am experiencing breakage so I think I will relax next week. I am doing some deep treatments on my hair today. I did the ORS mayo with JBCO on the scalp and sat under a steamer for 20 mins. Did my shampoo routine and now and I am DC with ORS replenishing. I plan to do a roller set, because I have used too much direct heat lately with blow drying and flatirons. I will not be using either of them for the next six months. Flatironing looked really good but caused my hair to be dry and brittle.

I was toiling with the idea of being a strait natural but that will NOT work for my hair. I need to shampoo and condition weekly. My scalp will not allow me to wear the same style to or three weeks and using excess heart weekly will leave me bald headed.
 
Hello everyone . Just popping in for an update. I am 10weeks post and had planned to go 16 weeks but I am experiencing breakage so I think I will relax next week. I am doing some deep treatments on my hair today. I did the ORS mayo with JBCO on the scalp and sat under a steamer for 20 mins. Did my shampoo routine and now and I am DC with ORS replenishing. I plan to do a roller set, because I have used too much direct heat lately with blow drying and flatirons. I will not be using either of them for the next six months. Flatironing looked really good but caused my hair to be dry and brittle.

I was toiling with the idea of being a strait natural but that will NOT work for my hair. I need to shampoo and condition weekly. My scalp will not allow me to wear the same style to or three weeks and using excess heart weekly will leave me bald headed.

@klsjackson

Were you doing protein and moisture DCing weekly? Did you do any touch up flat ironing during the week? How were you styling your hair?

I’m asking because I’ve been considering weekly or biweekly presses like a lot of ladies did while I was growing up. I’m trying to understand how they retained and grew long hair while using heat weekly. Most of them wrapped their hair at night and just combed it out in the morning — that was it! Knowing what I know now, that’s pretty much low manipulation. Some of my friends wrapped and scarfed as soon as they got home and their hair stayed around BSL and MBL.

I’m trying to figure out why we have become so informed about hair but can’t seem to successfully KISS like that. Lol.
 
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I am contemplating on washing and blow drying on low weekly to stretch my relaxer. Do you think this would damage my hair? I tried self relaxing and i can see my hair is thinning.

I think you can do it with consistency in your regimen. You will have to stay up on your moisture-protein balance. But I don’t think it’s impossible or complicated. It’ll take some trial and error to find the techniques and regimen that works for you, but once you get it, I’m sure you can maintain it. :)

How did you self relax (half and half vs all at once, bone straight vs texlax)? Have you been consistent with a cleansing and conditioning regimen?
 
I am contemplating on washing and blow drying on low weekly to stretch my relaxer. Do you think this would damage my hair? I tried self relaxing and i can see my hair is thinning.

I've seen it done, but as always depends on the state of your hair.

If your hair is thinning, I'd be cautious about blowdrying weekly right now. How does your hair like airdrying? The ladies here taught me how to airdry my hair while stretching my newgrowth and it worked like a charm.

I was 13 weeks post when I airdried like this after every wash to keep newgrowth stretched and detangled:

IMG01849-vi.jpg


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……...I'm trying to figure out why we have become so informed about hair but can’t seem to successfully KISS like that. Lol.

@MzSwift Reference the bold, yes, me too :). I am slowly remembering everything I did to my hair when it was very long and relaxed. The primary 'thing' I did was to keep my hands out of it, i.e. low manipulation. Nexxus products were a staple, I didn't blow dry that often, and I had it trimmed regularly. HOWEVER, I am now over 50 and my over 50 hair is not the same as my 30+ hair; it just isn't. I am successfully re-growing but the process is much harder than I remember it being :-(.

I am on my way back to simplicity :)……..
 
@klsjackson

Were you doing protein and moisture DCing weekly? Did you do any touch up flat ironing during the week? How were you styling your hair?

I’m asking because I’ve been considering weekly or biweekly presses like a lot of ladies did while I was growing up. I’m trying to understand how they retained and grew long hair while using heat weekly. Most of them wrapped their hair at night and just combed it out in the morning — that was it! Knowing what I know now, that’s pretty much low manipulation. Some of my friends wrapped and scarfed as soon as they got home and their hair stayed around BSL and MBL.

I’m trying to figure out why we have become so informed about hair but can’t seem to successfully KISS like that. Lol.
@MzSwift
I think I have a pretty good regimen going. I have found what works for me. I do a pre poo with Red Pimento JBCO and Vatika oil applied to dry or damp hair and sit under a steamer for 20 minutes. Then I shampoo with Kera Care 1st Lathter and Kera Care Hydrating Detangling Shampoo. I follow with Aphogee 2 min for 2 mins LOL and use French Perm Stablizer for 30 and rinse out to keep porosity in check. I then apply my DC which is ORS replenishing or Humecto and sit under warm dryer 15 - 30 minutes depending on what week it is. I rinse and apply my leave in Aphogee green tea and keratin and Chi Silk Infusion and roller set with diluted Lottabody.

That seems like a lot but it is simple and doesn’t take long. The longest time is spent rollersetting and waiting for that to dry. I have been following that for the last 2 years with good results, but I wanted to do something simpler and quicker so I was DC on dry hair and shampooing then using a leave in conditioner and heat protectant to blow dry then flat iron. My hair looked really nice. I was flowing swinging, LOL but I could tell when it was wet that the texture had changed slightly and I was having some breakage when I had not had any for a long time and my ends were just bone dry not matter what I did. I did this for like 4 weeks in a row. So I now know every week is a no no for me. Maybe once a month. I will use more moisture for the next two wash days.
And no I did not use the flatirons again after I did my hair only once a week and I wrapped my hair at night.
 
Relaxed my hair last night. This is one of the only few times I throughly part my hair.

In another thread I was explaining how I don’t allow myself to do that the majority of the time due to breakage. I should’ve maybe removed shed hairs before applying. After rinsing quite a few shed hairs came right on out, but I don’t mind.


Haven’t m
……...I'm trying to figure out why we have become so informed about hair but can’t seem to successfully KISS like that. Lol.

@MzSwift Reference the bold, yes, me too :). I am slowly remembering everything I did to my hair when it was very long and relaxed. The primary 'thing' I did was to keep my hands out of it, i.e. low manipulation. Nexxus products were a staple, I didn't blow dry that often, and I had it trimmed regularly. HOWEVER, I am now over 50 and my over 50 hair is not the same as my 30+ hair; it just isn't. I am successfully re-growing but the process is much harder than I remember it being :-(.

I am on my way back to simplicity :)……..

Ooooooo! Definitely ditto on that.

I think this is also the reason why I’m hurrying up and getting rid of every last thing in my stash. I buy all these products, but I only use two or three at a time until I run out and move on to the next. So I figured I should just buy 2-3 three products from a particular line I like, and use them up and then buy more.

I spent this last month doing box braids and I loved how I didn’t have to do much with my hair for a week or a week and half. I can’t cornrows or do rollersets that well; but I think it’s a plus because it cuts down on manipulation quite a bit.

At the moment I’ve been co-washing frequently, and just air drying and throwing my hair up in a bun, and I’ve been seeing more and more length stay put.


So definitely agree with the KISS aspect of haircare.
 
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