Relaxed Hair Thread

[demlew]

@demlew

Poor thing!

I combed out my locs last year so I know it can be done. Work slowly and work in sections. Take breaks when you need to.

My first advice from years of being on the board is DO NOT WET YOUR HAIR!!

Grab a towel, oils, a rattail comb (preferable one with a skinny metal tip) and lastly, a very slippery condish.

Start with your fingers and part the hair using your fingers. I know ppl like to do quadrants but even that's not enough sections for me when my hair is especially needy. You might need to break those quadrants into quadrants. I prefer to work in rows. Pin or bun the rest of the hair far away from the section I'm working on.

Then in each section you're working on, drench the hair in a heavy slippery oil like EVOO (don't do castor oil, it's too sticky) or Safflower oil, both of which are high in ceramides. Squeeze it into the hair and then rub the section between your fingers from root to tip. Starting at the ends, begin to lightly separate the hair using both hands. If you run into a knot just move up above it and continue to lightly separate. Then go back to the knot and try again to pull apart. I prefer to stick with my hands but this would be the point where you'd break out the tail of the comb to help you work through a difficult knot. With one hand feel for the knot and then hold on to it. With the comb in the other hand, point the metal tail through until it pokes your finger holding the knot. Starting at the very bottom of the knot, stick the tail through it and then wiggle the tail/comb downward toward your ends. Once you get down to the end, go back up and put the tail in again at the bottom of the knot and wiggle it down. Do that over and over again until there is no knot.

Sometimes that will break one big knot into smaller knots and you just have to repeat that process on each smaller one until isn't one left.

Once you're done with that section, drench it in conditioner and then comb through it. Then braid it up and move to the next section.

I hope this is what you meant! GL to you! You can do it!

This is exactly what I needed! Tysm!! I'll try this in the morning. I might have to wear my black slap cap during my 1:1 with my boss - he's seen it before LOL

 

[demlew]

@demlew do everything @MzSwift said to deal with matted hair. I learned the hard way years ago NOT to wet matted hair to detangle.

And I'm with you with the worry about the retiring stylist. In all the years and stylists I had, I remember being lost when the best one moved out of state. I found a lady after her who was pretty good, but she kept moving to different shops.

I love self relaxing because I can depend on me to do my hair the right way and on my schedule. I don't miss my stylist at all.

I will say that I do wish there was a salon that I could go to for a rollerset every once in a while.

I've followed your journey for a while, so I appreciate the wise words. I also see the "Self-Relax tutorial in your siggie that I'll be sure to check-out.

As it is, I pay her mainly to apply the relaxer. She's not creative nor am I, so she blow dries it and then I put it in a bun. I also bring my own supplies and trim it myself!

 

[sunnieb]

@demlew I planned to shut my Fotki down yeeeeaaarrrssss ago. But every time I'd go to cancel, somebody would look at my albums. The self relax album is still the most viewed. I've just accepted that I'll keep it open because people find it useful. I think @Chicoro still has hers open too.

You made me remember a really good "home" stylist I had back in the 90s. She couldn't style to save her life! All of us walked out of there with the standard side part and bump.

But that woman could care for some hair! She took her time with each client. My hair never broke off and actually retained length a little past SL when I went to her. Everybody thought my hair was so long! Lol! It was the 90s.....

 

[Chicoro]

@demlew I planned to shut my Fotki down yeeeeaaarrrssss ago. But every time I'd go to cancel, somebody would look at my albums. The self relax album is still the most viewed. I've just accepted that I'll keep it open because people find it useful. I think @Chicoro still has hers open too.

You made me remember a really good "home" stylist I had back in the 90s. She couldn't style to save her life! All of us walked out of there with the standard side part and bump.

But that woman could care for some hair! She took her time with each client. My hair never broke off and actually retained length a little past SL when I went to her. Everybody thought my hair was so long! Lol! It was the 90s.....

What is your fotki link, please?

 

[demlew]

@demlew I planned to shut my Fotki down yeeeeaaarrrssss ago. But every time I'd go to cancel, somebody would look at my albums. The self relax album is still the most viewed. I've just accepted that I'll keep it open because people find it useful. I think @Chicoro still has hers open too.

You made me remember a really good "home" stylist I had back in the 90s. She couldn't style to save her life! All of us walked out of there with the standard side part and bump.

But that woman could care for some hair! She took her time with each client. My hair never broke off and actually retained length a little past SL when I went to her. Everybody thought my hair was so long! Lol! It was the 90s.....

Thank you from the Fotki peekers like myself

Re hair care: I've gone to her for years and she's always asking me how I care for my hair and "what new things are your hair friends doing"

Years ago, I had really bad seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp to where my hair wouldn't grow past ear-length. I got treated with a steroid shot and then my hair started to grow! She's seen me at that length even though it broke off when I used no lye. She's seen it grow back and then some when I switched to lye. And through it all...she's been there to save me from having mini chia pets in the back (until I learn how to properly do it myself) and to offer to bump my hair lol

 

[demlew]

What is your fotki link, please?

Click on either link in her siggie "How I Self-Relax / 2022 Hair Pics"

 

[sunnieb]

@demlew I love that you knew what I meant when I said "bump" my hair. Not sure if that term is still used. But I know I still use it!

 

[Chicoro]

Click on either link in her siggie "How I Self-Relax / 2022 Hair Pics"

Thank you, @demlew I appreciate you!

 

[sunnieb]

Ever have a moment when you realize your hair feels and looks amazing and you don't know why?

My hair is incredibly soft and bouncy today. My normally parched ends are moist and have movement. I don't think I've done anything dramatically different. I know I haven't tried any new products. What happened? Hmmm...

 

[sunnieb]

Posting a pic of my hair from tonight. It's still soft and bouncy. I remembered the one thing I did differently was to not add anything to my spray bottle. I filled it with water and forgot to add the usual condish. I'm also fighting flyaways and frizz, but Mt hair has done that even when I was a kid.

Not sure if that's it, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

 

[Chicoro]

Ever have a moment when you realize your hair feels and looks amazing and you don't know why?

My hair is incredibly soft and bouncy today. My normally parched ends are moist and have movement. I don't think I've done anything dramatically different. I know I haven't tried any new products. What happened? Hmmm...

Girl, go back and rack your brain and write down some notes of what you did exactly! Maybe something or an AHA will jump out at you!

 

[Chicoro]

Posting a pic of my hair from tonight. It's still soft and bouncy. I remembered the one thing I did differently was to not add anything to my spray bottle. I filled it with water and forgot to add the usual condish. I'm also fighting flyaways and frizz, but Mt hair has done that even when I was a kid.

Not sure if that's it, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

View attachment 486011

So, ahm...you gone write this down somewhere?

 

[sunnieb]

So, ahm...you gone write this down somewhere?

I did! A happy accident.

 

[MzSwift]

I had that dream again, y'all!!! Last night I dreamt that I did a pull test from the back and pulled it over my shoulder down past my belly button! Then I tucked it back under my scarf.

It motivated me so much that I paid attention to the prompts I've been getting to research Collagen supplements. I bought some this morning. I'm currently taking 3g of MSM, which promotes collagen production. So I think I'm gonna just use 2g of each MSM and Collagen and call it a day. I grew and retained very well for years without any supplements but cutting my hair so short has made me want to push a little harder.

Also, I'm it's not sitting well with me to be wasteful so since I have no one to give this Affirm Fiberguard to, I'm gonna use it diluted until I use it up, to get the textured results I want. My virgin relaxer came out much straighter than I wanted so they will be my ends and hopefully won't give me any SSKs. I'm ready for more texture like I used to have:



I'm still gunning for my Isis hair (I hope she is well wherever she is)

 

[Chicoro]

I had that dream again, y'all!!! Last night I dreamt that I did a pull test from the back and pulled it over my shoulder down past my belly button! Then I tucked it back under my scarf.

It motivated me so much that I paid attention to the prompts I've been getting to research Collagen supplements. I bought some this morning. I'm currently taking 3g of MSM, which promotes collagen production. So I think I'm gonna just use 2g of each MSM and Collagen and call it a day. I grew and retained very well for years without any supplements but cutting my hair so short has made me want to push a little harder.

Also, I'm it's not sitting well with me to be wasteful so since I have no one to give this Affirm Fiberguard to, I'm gonna use it diluted until I use it up, to get the textured results I want. My virgin relaxer came out much straighter than I wanted so they will be my ends and hopefully won't give me any SSKs. I'm ready for more texture like I used to have:

View attachment 486081 View attachment 486083

I'm still gunning for my Isis hair (I hope she is well wherever she is)
View attachment 486085 View attachment 486087

Yours looks very close to 'Isis' hair. The only two differences I see are a color difference and a length difference. The thickness, health and shine are all very similar to her hair.

If that dream happened twice, I'd say that's a message confirming your arrival at your dream, hair length destination! I had a similar dream recently, too.

 

[MzSwift]

Yours looks very close to 'Isis' hair. The only two differences I see are a color difference and a length difference. The thickness, health and shine are all very similar to her hair.

If that dream happened twice, I'd say that's a message confirming your arrival at your dream, hair length destination! I had a similar dream recently, too.

Thanks so much for that, sis!

 

[Theresamonet]

I’m 17 weeks post, and I hate this. Lol I feel natural again. I don’t think I’ll ever go this long again. I think 12 weeks is my limit… I’ll hopefully be relaxing this weekend, if my 3-way mirror arrives as scheduled.

 

[sunnieb]

I’m 17 weeks post, and I hate this. Lol I feel natural again. I don’t think I’ll ever go this long again. I think 12 weeks is my limit… I’ll hopefully be relaxing this weekend, if my 3-way mirror arrives as scheduled.

I hope your mirror arrives!

I used mirrors the first few times I self relaxed. I stopped using them once I got used to keeping track of which twist I applied relaxer to.

 

[sunnieb]

I take a lot of hair pics. Shocker! Lol! I don't post most of them. But I wanted to show this one.



My hair feels soft, but that FRIZZ! I didn't wear it down today. I've been taking it down specifically to take a pic and rolling it back up.

So this tells me I need to add more frizz control in my product lineup. I think some of my cowash conditioners are "smoothing" to help with frizz. I dont want to have to weigh my hair down with moisturizing products all the time. I'll fix this!

 

[MzSwift]

I’m 17 weeks post, and I hate this. Lol I feel natural again. I don’t think I’ll ever go this long again. I think 12 weeks is my limit… I’ll hopefully be relaxing this weekend, if my 3-way mirror arrives as scheduled.

GL w your relaxer this weekend!

 

[MzSwift]

So I bought 3 (or 4) bottles of these when I relaxed in October bc I'm still trying to find an adequate replacement for my beloved Motions CPR (in the bottle, not the jar).



I used it again before installing this set of extensions. I loved the way it smells but I still didn't like the way it made my hair feel.

So I started looking trying to figure why my hair didn't respond well to the plant proteins. Someone mentioned that plant proteins tend to lack the amino acids that animal protein has. My hair loves eggs and full fat yogurt. It's just that those perish quickly so I don't keep them on hand if I'm not eating them. But I do have a bottle of Braggs amino acids that I use for my post-relaxer protein tx. I'm gonna add a tbsp or two to my conditioner mix when I take these extensions out next week.

If I don't like that, I also have some powdered eggs that I keep in my emergency food kit (along w powdered milk). I think I'm gonna try using that for protein.

If it still doesn't work, I'm just gonna do regular amino acid txs in between braids and call it a day. My hair loves those as well as the 10 second water/amino acid tx.

 

[Theresamonet]

GL w your relaxer this weekend!

Thank you! I keep reading your posts, and looking at @sunnieb fotki. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I’ve always been a self relaxer… I guess cause I’m so close to my goal, I’m afraid of anything potentially causing a setback.

 

[MzSwift]

Thank you! I keep reading your posts, and looking at @sunnieb fotki. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I’ve always been a self relaxer… I guess cause I’m so close to my goal, I’m afraid of anything potentially causing a setback.

That's a very legitimate reason to worry!
Since you've done it before, though, I think you've got this!

The prepping is what takes the longest. Because you stretched a long time, I suggest just focusing on making sure you part your hair in a way that makes application easier FOR YOU. That way you don't run out of time before you've finished applying it everywhere. If you put in too many twists, you're more likely to run out of time. But if you don't put in enough, you may not get it everywhere.

To be fair, I haven't run into the problem of not getting the relaxer everywhere, even with big parts bc when I go back in to smooth, I squeeze the relaxer into the section before I smooth it out with my hand. I hope that makes sense. If I don't feel like I have enough relaxer for that section, I just apply more where needed, squeeze it into the strands and then smooth.

Really, once your twists are in, applying is so much easier. It's so easy that at first I felt like I MUST have been doing something wrong. Lol. It literally takes me only 3-5 minutes to apply and smooth my whole head. I find it makes it easier to hold a twist out with my less dominant hand and then slather on the relaxer with my dominant hand.

 

[Fashionista922]

I got sick a day or two before wash day in December and I wasn't able to wash my hair for 3 weeks instead of the usual 2. It threw my 10 week relaxer schedule off by a week. Seems like the best solution this time around is stretching an extra week because I need the two week cadence leading up to the relaxer. And I'd rather relax at week 11 than week 9. And I don't want to wash my hair today at week 8 because it's only 1 week old and that's extra time getting all the new growth laid down again. Relaxed girl problems!

 

[Theresamonet]

I keep scratching my scalp.

 

[Plushottie]

I probably should just search but does anyone have a fav crochet twist brand of hair? Think I want to ps once I have newgrowth.

 

[LushLox]

I'm one of these people who wash and DCs 48-72 hours before relaxer. I don't advocate it or anything, but it works for me - gets my roots very soft and I can comb through easily. I always get very good results bar the odd crown spots.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I'm one of these people who relaxes 48-72 hours before relaxer. I don't advocate it or anything, but it works for me - gets my roots very soft and I can comb through easily. I always get very good results bar the odd crown spots.

I do too. Sometimes even 24 hours a head of time. Don't do that y'all lol

 

[MzSwift]

I probably should just search but does anyone have a fav crochet twist brand of hair? Think I want to ps once I have newgrowth.

I really like buying pretwisted hair on Amazon. The havana/mambo twisted hair is my favorite, even though I don't prefer that style on me. It's so easy to install and care for that I love not having to think about my hair for a month. AND, I can reuse those twists. It takes 30 min - 1 hr to install them once you've done your base. I've done 12 and 18".



My 2nd favorite crochet hair are goddess locs. Same reason as the twists AND they can also be reused a few times.



For loose hair, I'm still trying to find the right one for me. Bouncy Twist hair was the WORST!!! It looks like a twistout on poofy natural hair. I tried twice to make it work bc it's so cute but it was sooo scratchy, I couldn't stand to keep it in for 24 hrs. So I ended up using it to make jumbo individual twists that I kept mostly in an updo.



Right now, I have in some afro springy twist hair, . While I like the passion twist texture and look, they keep snagging on each other and other stuff. Too much trouble for me. If I have to keep fussing with my hair, I'm likely to do something drastic to it. So I keep them up in a high bun that I take down each night and saturate my scalp and half the length of hair with my braid spray tea.



Also, Water Wave has been a very popular one that some ladies can make look very natural. I'm still working on that. lol. I can keep it in for about a month and no major tangles.



I also liked Jamaican Bounce. I found it very soft and easy to wear. Very little tangling. Again, don't really care for the way it looks on me but it served its purpose of protecting my hair while relaxer stretching.

Wow, sorry, I don't have a good photo of it post-cut/shape.


Anyway, HTH!! The way you rock your wigs, I'm sure your crochet style will be HOT! And please remember, to post those lovely pix

 

[Plushottie]

I really like buying pretwisted hair on Amazon. The havana/mambo twisted hair is my favorite, even though I don't prefer that style on me. It's so easy to install and care for that I love not having to think about my hair for a month. AND, I can reuse those twists. It takes 30 min - 1 hr to install them once you've done your base. I've done 12 and 18".

View attachment 486365 View attachment 486357

My 2nd favorite crochet hair are goddess locs. Same reason as the twists AND they can also be reused a few times.

View attachment 486355 View attachment 486363

For loose hair, I'm still trying to find the right one for me. Bouncy Twist hair was the WORST!!! It looks like a twistout on poofy natural hair. I tried twice to make it work bc it's so cute but it was sooo scratchy, I couldn't stand to keep it in for 24 hrs. So I ended up using it to make jumbo individual twists that I kept mostly in an updo.

View attachment 486359

Right now, I have in some afro springy twist hair, . While I like the passion twist texture and look, they keep snagging on each other and other stuff. Too much trouble for me. If I have to keep fussing with my hair, I'm likely to do something drastic to it. So I keep them up in a high bun that I take down each night and saturate my scalp and half the length of hair with my braid spray tea.

View attachment 486369

Also, Water Wave has been a very popular one that some ladies can make look very natural. I'm still working on that. lol. I can keep it in for about a month and no major tangles.

View attachment 486361

I also liked Jamaican Bounce. I found it very soft and easy to wear. Very little tangling. Again, don't really care for the way it looks on me but it served its purpose of protecting my hair while relaxer stretching.

Wow, sorry, I don't have a good photo of it post-cut/shape.
View attachment 486367

Anyway, HTH!! The way you rock your wigs, I'm sure your crochet style will be HOT! And please remember, to post those lovely pix

I adore you sooooooooo much! I love the last one on you the most and the bun. I kinda like the loose hair as me working even remote I try to stay low key. I do like twist but I would see if I can find small ones so it’s subtle.