Relaxed Hair Thread

So I've been thinking about this whole EOTY thing and how a lot of hair goals kind of revolve around that. I think it's bc of the yearly challenges I participate in begin in Jan and end in Dec. I think I'm gonna move away from the EOTY goals. Because at the EOTY, December, I don't really want my hair out! And doing all of the work to relax and then straighten it only to not be able to really wear it out (due to the weather where I am) makes absolutely no sense. I really don't get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Where I live, the fall is the best time to wear my hair out and straightened. I think that's what I'm gonna do. I think Sept-Nov is going to be my "EOTY" relaxer and flat iron. And a May relaxer lines up perfectly with the weather and major events in my life (birthdays, holidays, wedding anniversary). So, beginning 2024, my personal major check in dates will be April/May and Sept/Oct.

Also, I did my virgin relaxer in Oct last year and I think that's a good way to keep track of my progress. So this October, I'll give myself a heat pass so that I can track my retention on the anniversary of my relaxer.
 
MzSwift said:
So I've been thinking about this whole EOTY thing and how a lot of hair goals kind of revolve around that. I think it's bc of the yearly challenges I participate in begin in Jan and end in Dec. I think I'm gonna move away from the EOTY goals. Because at the EOTY, December, I don't really want my hair out! And doing all of the work to relax and then straighten it only to not be able to really wear it out (due to the weather where I am) makes absolutely no sense. I really don't get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Where I live, the fall is the best time to wear my hair out and straightened. I think that's what I'm gonna do. I think Sept-Nov is going to be my "EOTY" relaxer and flat iron. And a May relaxer lines up perfectly with the weather and major events in my life (birthdays, holidays, wedding anniversary). So, beginning 2024, my personal major check in dates will be April/May and Sept/Oct.

Also, I did my virgin relaxer in Oct last year and I think that's a good way to keep track of my progress. So this October, I'll give myself a heat pass so that I can track my retention on the anniversary of my relaxer.
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That makes sense. I like to straighten in the Fall because it's not so hot where my brain resembles a scrambled egg, but not so cold that I'm shaking like a salt shaker. It's just right lol
 
MzSwift said:
I can't stop touching my hair, y'all!! :lachen:


OK, so does anyone know ANYONE who has great hair doing a weekly wash, DC and blow out (no flat iron)??
Even if they go to a salon or Domincan place for it.
Asking for a friend. :look:
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I am washing my hair once a week sometimes twice a week. I will report back end of September. This is my current hair length.
 

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So glad I not only took a lot of pictures, but I wrote detailed notes about what I was doing when I grew my hair out the first time.

I was looking at my old airdrying album and was surprised at the order of my product application. Somehow, I mixed everything up from what I used to do. Well, losing all my hair and growing it back, put me in a different frame of mind. I've been so focused on just getting my hair healthy. Now, I'm back to going for the length.

So, I'll go back to my original way to airdry and apply my setting products in this order:

Carrot Oil
EVCO
Pattern Leave-In Conditioner (replaces my NTM)
Rusk Smoother

I just got my hands on EVCO and my Castor Oil should be delivered today. I can't believe I haven't used any of these in over a year! But, I was dealing with some major life changes and now I'm back to enjoying retaining all that I grow.
 
So I’m still getting what I consider to be excessive breakage. I don’t think I should be getting breakage just moisturizing my hair. :wallbash: This is so frustrating. I guess I’m going to do a 2-step protein treatment tonight because my hair seems moisturized enough. :ohwell:
 
Theresamonet said:
So I’m still getting what I consider to be excessive breakage. I don’t think I should be getting breakage just moisturizing my hair. :wallbash: This is so frustrating. I guess I’m going to do a 2-step protein treatment tonight because my hair seems moisturized enough. :ohwell:
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Oh no, that's terrible. I hope the protein treatment helps.
 
ItsMeLilLucky said:
I haven't made up my mind, but I'm thinking about coming back over here once a year.
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C'mon, cuz! Come join me in the rare relaxers section :)

Now you know that you can stretch, it'll be less scary!
 
Posting this because I know I'm gonna forget lol
1 or 2 hours post. I never know how to count this since I start so late and finish even later :laugh:

I guess I'll know how long my hair is whenever it's time to straighten. This ain't the time, it's still scrambled egg brain season for me :laugh:
 
MzSwift said:
Oh no!
What do you consider to be excessive? How long has it been happening?
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I was moisturizing my hair and had about 60 broken hairs on my white duvet (that’s excessive, right?). I wasn’t using a comb or anything, just my hands to apply product. I did the 2 Step yesterday and got less hair today while moisturizing, but still some. I don’t feel like it’s normal to get breakage just while applying product.

This hasn’t been happening long. It comes and goes. I’ll be fine for a few of weeks and the boom— broken hairs everywhere. I’m thinking that I need to incorporate protein on a more consistent basis (weekly) and see how that goes… But the last time I was using protein often, I felt I was getting breakage from protein overload. :perplexed: I’m not sure how to strike this balance. I’m not using heat, combing or styling. My hair is in a braid or bun under a bonnet almost 24/7 except when I moisturize or wash/DC. I don’t know what else it wants from me.


sunnieb said:
Let us know how your hair is doing. I hate this for you!
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Thank you! :sad:
 
@Theresamonet

Yes, I do think that we all benefit from some form of regular protein in our regi!

OK, so the "spurts" for some reason, make me think that maybe it could be internal. Like hormonal changes due to Menses or ovulation that happen to many women every few weeks. You know our bodies are always going through something! lol. How is your protein intake in your diet? I do notice changes in my hair when I increase my protein intake. And I remember being in a long hair challenge w someone years ago who swore that drinking a lot of milk was key to speedy hair growth and her long, healthy tresses. Maybe instead of risking hard hair or protein overload by doing extra external protein txs, you could see if there are ways to increase your protein internally?

Also, your reply just made me realize that there are so many small things that we don't share on the hair boards bc we don't think about it. And that can cause other women to feel abnormal bc they're experiencing something that doesn't get addressed on here. I'm saying that to say, I always see small hairs when I manipulate my hair. Growing up, before the hair boards and even after starting my HHJ natural and relaxed, I still see small hairs on the conditioner bottle or in the bed. But it hasn't prevented me from having healthy hair overall and reaching goals. Maybe there's this level of hair perfection where someone never sees ANY hairs when they manipulate it but, I haven't reached it. lol. When you examine your hair, do you see any areas of thinning or any other indication of hair stress? It looks so full and pretty in your hair pix so it's hard for me to see anything.

I'm someone who wears my hair pretty confined 80%-90% of the time and I'm pretty much fingers only when I style or detangle. Even then, it is normal for me to see hairs when I'm manipulating it. The majority are shed but some are shorter hairs. But if my hair overall has a natural shine, is soft and bouncy and does not thin over time or show any other sign of a setback, then I don't really stress about them. Maybe some of the ladies who keep their hair straighter or loose will chime in.

GL figuring this out! :bighug:
 
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ItsMeLilLucky said:
Posting this because I know I'm gonna forget lol
1 or 2 hours post. I never know how to count this since I start so late and finish even later :laugh:

I guess I'll know how long my hair is whenever it's time to straighten. This ain't the time, it's still scrambled egg brain season for me :laugh:
Click to expand...

Yay! Welcome back!! :D

I know you can't straighten but it IS braid out season. :biggrin: The extra water will be good for your hair and on days where you don't braid, you can just throw your 1-2 day old braidout into a relaxed "puff"/high ponytail, low ponytail or bun. When I did my first virgin relaxer after 5 years natural, braidouts and mini braids gave me great progress over the summer until my next touchup.
 
Thinking about washing my hair again tomorrow, but this time with my Chelating/Neutralizing shampoo. My hair felt a little dry after I washed it with the Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I was pretty surprised because my hair loved that stuff last year. Ends feel like they need a little help as well. I don't know why my left side seems to process soo much faster than my right. Maybe I parted it weird or something lol
 
ItsMeLilLucky said:
Thinking about washing my hair again tomorrow, but this time with my Chelating/Neutralizing shampoo. My hair felt a little dry after I washed it with the Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I was pretty surprised because my hair loved that stuff last year. Ends feel like they need a little help as well. I don't know why my left side seems to process soo much faster than my right. Maybe I parted it weird or something lol
Click to expand...

If it's feeling dry, maybe you could cowash or just water rinse and then drench in condish and leave it in instead of washing it? That's why I was suggesting braidouts bc...

Another one of those tidbits I don't really see ladies posting about-

The three times that I've done a virgin relaxer, I've always been initially disappointed in the way my hair looked/felt. Whether it was the length, texture or both. Braidouts helped to restore lost moisture and forced me to attend to my hair regularly for a little while. As time went on, my hair seemed to "settle" into being relaxed. I guess it's similar to when someone BCs and the hair seems to be different than it was when transitioning, we used to call it "scab hair" but it really seemed like the hair went into shock. I mean it HAS experienced a sudden change so it's understandable.

... so back to what I was saying, lol. For a couple of weeks maybe you could try water rinsing or cowashing every 1-3 days and then drenching the hair in a cheapie moisturizing condish (seal it in as well) and then braid into 5-8 plaits to dry (you could do cornrows too). For some reason, the frequent extra water seemed to bring my hair back to life a lot faster after the shock. Also, I liked to take my braids out when they're about 90% dry bc the texlax texture helped to create extra fullness. Wet bunning is also probably the ideal option bc it's quick, easy and it keeps your ends protected. And your buns will be sleek without too much brushing bc you're rocking a fresh relaxer. :cool2:

I saw lots of ladies growing long hair by wet bunning and alternating cowashing w a moisturizing cheapie and a protein cheapie to keep the moisture/protein balance in check.
 
I finished my cornrows ystdy. I did 13 instead of 6-7 that I usually do. I hope they last longer. I'm 3 weeks post and I pretty much have no new growth. This is what I'm used to. So I'm revisiting what I was doing Feb-May bc that kicked my growth into overdrive.

Cornrows, HYH, GHE. Increased water rinses. Visualizing.

Still using Ayurveda mixes for my products and MT on my scalp.

I'll be checking in in Oct for my relaxer anniversary. And then again in Dec for EOTY challenges. After that I'm only looking at my hair in May and Oct. lol
 
@MzSwift If it's feeling dry, maybe you could cowash or just water rinse and then drench in condish and leave it in instead of washing it? That's why I was suggesting braidouts bc...

I was being paranoid about if I rinsed out all the relaxer lol. I felt if I chelated/neutralize it again, I'd feel better mentally lol. But it felt better after I moisturized. Even the ends lol. Must’ve been the blow-dry that made it feel dry. I love the texture and thickness even while wet. My thing is that I'm scared I won't be able to replicate the results when it's time to touch up.
 
ItsMeLilLucky said:
@MzSwift If it's feeling dry, maybe you could cowash or just water rinse and then drench in condish and leave it in instead of washing it? That's why I was suggesting braidouts bc...

I was being paranoid about if I rinsed out all the relaxer lol. I felt if I chelated/neutralize it again, I'd feel better mentally lol. But it felt better after I moisturized. Even the ends lol. Must’ve been the blow-dry that made it feel dry. I love the texture and thickness even while wet. My thing is that I'm scared I won't be able to replicate the results when it's time to touch up.
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Oh great!! Yay!

Aww, I see so many ladies put so much pressure on themselves to replicate the results during touchups when they texlax. It was so bad that I delayed texlaxing the first time bc all of the research and posts said it was important. But I found that it wasn't really. :look::duck: To be honest, when I was natural, I had different patterns on the same strand of hair! So I want to encourage you to not add any extra stress to this process/journey if you don't need to. Keep up your healthy hair practices and your hair will be fine - even if you don't get exactly the same results.
 
@ItsMeLilLucky yes ma'am! Life shole nuff be life-ing! I'm settling down and things are falling into place. Getting my hair/body and overall health in order is my top priority now. :pulpdance:

So, the EVCO worked miracles on my ends! Now I see why I used it daily. My hair loves it!

Here are my ends yesterday after I took out my daily bun. Finally not looking crispity at the end of the day! I also have some Castor Oil now. Reading my old posts to see what I did with it.

20230803_223544_resized.jpg
 
Just combined

75% hair tea mix
25% scalp oil mix
2 droppers of peppermint oil
2 droppers of cayenne pepper oil
a few drops of lavender for scent

into a 4 oz applicator bottle to make it easier to apply in cornrows in just one step.
Whew, my pores are open! Scalp is breathing! lol
I hope I wasn't too overzealous w these blood circulating EOs. lol
 
MzSwift said:
Just combined

75% hair tea mix
25% scalp oil mix
2 droppers of peppermint oil
2 droppers of cayenne pepper oil
a few drops of lavender for scent

into a 4 oz applicator bottle to make it easier to apply in cornrows in just one step.
Whew, my pores are open! Scalp is breathing! lol
I hope I wasn't too overzealous w these blood circulating EOs. lol
Click to expand...
Feels like your scalp chewed 5 gum :lachen:
 
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