Relaxed Heads: How many weeks post relaxer are you and when is your next touch up???

demlew said:
Have you used the Smoother yet? Is the formula how you remember it?
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Yep, I've used it several times and love it just like I used to.

I think the only noticeable difference is they toned down the scent. The product is awesome, but the original version had kind of an 'old white lady' smell. :look:

Not a bad scent, but y'all know what I'm talking about. I really don't smell it as much now.
 
sunnieb said:
Yep, I've used it several times and love it just like I used to.

I think the only noticeable difference is they toned down the scent. The product is awesome, but the original version had kind of an 'old white lady' smell. :look:

Not a bad scent, but y'all know what I'm talking about. I really don't smell it as much now.
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Ooh! I'm excited to check it out.
 
@demlew @sunnieb @LushLox
Hey Ya'll.....now strictly for research purposes, I am trying to find the Rusk Smoother ya'll talmbout. :giggle:

Was out there on Ama- and could not find what you all were referencing?

I'm not familiar with that product or that Line. Is it the Str8 or is it a conditioner or something else? A lot of things came up under " Rusk Smoother"

What color is the bottle/tube? Want to know. Is it the Sensories Smoother, by chance?
 
Relaxed today at 16 wks, 4 days!!
A very smart lady reminded me today that it is important to do check-ins with my hair to make sure we're on track to reach our goal at the EOTY. I was ready to ride out my personal HYH challenge, literally not looking at my hair until the EOTY. But I would've been hurt to be unpleasantly surprised at the end of the year. I had been contemplating doing a dusting. I needed to relax in order to properly take care of that. Gonna do the dusting after I blow out hopefully today or tomorrow.

So, OMG, all relaxers are NOT created equal!!
Prepped hair as usual (Vaseline scalp base, EVOO+cone condish on hair, part down middle, 5 twists on each side)
Used my beloved Motions lye today, regular instead of my usual mild.
Started applying at 12:58 and finished smoothing at 13:03. Started rinsing out at 13:06, so the relaxer was on about 8-10 minutes.
And wow!! The way my hair feels is so amazing! I can absolutely feel the difference between the touch up portion and the hair previously relaxed with Affirm Fiberguard. The Fiberguard hair feels more rough than my Motions hair.
Followed with a midstep moisturizing condish, Motions Moisture Plus
And then three neutralizing poos, leaving each one on 5-10 minutes and then doing a 40/60, ACV rinse before adding in the final poo.
Finished it all up w my amino acid baking soda tx mix. Didn't use heat this time so we'll see if there's a difference.
My hair is light and airy (I'm fine haired), very bouncy and I'm loving the texture that's left.
I'm doing pull tests now as I'm typing, trying not to get too hyped bc I'm liking where it pulls down to. Y'all, I have been feeling SO BALD!!
I'll see how well this turned out once I blow dry and dust. Fingers crossed!
Also, I think I'm liking this summer and EOTY relaxer schedule. Approx 5-7 mths between relaxers. Might be a keeper for me.
Soooo glad I didn't try to force myself to finish that tub of Affirm Fiberguard!

Tips to self for next relaxer:
-Do it at night, after the little one is asleep. smh, I should know better
-DC w heat
-Maybe mix a little oil into the relaxer (depending on how this turned out)

I'll post another photo after my trim - if it looks ok. Otherwise, I'll keep it for my own personal journaling. lol

Prepped hair
1689023357669.png 1689023395053.png

Relaxer applied

1689023783122.png

Post relaxer texture

1689023863300.png

Airdrying

1689023980842.png
 
@MzSwift how did I miss that we relaxed at the same time last time?

Your hair is gorgeous! I agree that it can be detrimental sometimes to go too long between relaxers. For me, 18 weeks is the absolute maximum.

You're pics are giving me the relaxer itch, but I'm going to wait until the weekend when I can dedicate the time to do the entire process with patience.
 
I wish I could get over my "fear":nervous2: of Self-Relaxing especially now since my Stylist is ill :ohwell:

I know all the right and healthy things to do, but fear being under/over processed and damaged (which currently also happens daily at Salons all over the world) has me self-doubting my abilities to do it right.:cry3:
 
@IDareT'sHair it took me several years and a ton of reading/research to finally take the self-relaxing plunge.

The last few times I went to my stylist for a relaxer, I paid close attention to everything she did. I can honestly say that I take way better care of my hair than she did. Not that she was doing anything bad on purpose. It's just that I was simply another client. One of many.

Self-relaxing means I'm one of one. I have one head of hair and I'm going to take my time and relax right. I can take up to 6 hours to do the whole process (from pre-parting to fully air dried after relaxing). I take my sweet time and take breaks.

There's not a salon on earth that will spend that much time to relax one client. But I do! :)

You'll self relax when you're ready. In the meantime, have you found another stylist?
 
@IDareT'sHair

Cosgining @sunnieb

Also, if you take the plunge do so knowing that you will definitely have times where you over or under process your hair. It's par for the course, to me. But I also know that it's not a death sentence for the hair like I used to think it was. I cut off or damaged my hair unnecessarily, listening other ppl tell me how my hair was supposed to be.

We adapt to our hair depending on its needs. I know to use more protein or more moisture if my hair needs it. I know to use gentler styling techniques to keep hair on my head. That's how we retain hair. We do it all of the time on the hair boards. By working with the hair that we have and not the hair that we WISH we had.
 
sunnieb said:
@IDareT'sHair yes, is the Smoother. It's a peachy color. I usually buy the biggest bottle available because I use a lot of it when I'm stretching.

I planned to order my next batch directly from Rusk. I want them to know it's being used.

Here's the link.
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How do you use it - as a leave-in to airdry or a daily moisturizer? And how does it compare to our beloved NTM Silk Touch (RIP)?
 
I’m 22 weeks post.
Washed yesterday with Epres as pre-wash treatment, ACV rinse after shampooing and then using my deep conditioner.

Since I returned the Dyson air strait, I went back to using my previous routine of combining the Rev Air and the Dyson supersonic, both on low heat. After returning the air strait, it dawned on me to check to see if I could buy the professional concentrator attachment (which I thought I couldn’t before?) , and it has been the best thing for getting my roots straighter! I love it!

Then, I further straightened the roots with my new Babyliss flat iron. I blew out two of my flat irons in Paris, even though I used the adapter/converter. I had to re-buy the L’Oreal Steampod and was going to finish up the rest of my strands with that. But, I ultimately decided that my hair was sleek enough to just put into a short, low pony and avoid more heat. My hair feels so soft!

Sidenote: I know I’m late getting the Babyliss flat iron, but that thing gets super hot!!! even on the lower settings like 15! I see why it’s been a favorite for naturals for silk press,!
I love how it straightened my roots, but wonder about future damage. Would only ever use on my roots.
 
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demlew said:
How do you use it - as a leave-in to airdry or a daily moisturizer? And how does it compare to our beloved NTM Silk Touch (RIP)?
Click to expand...
I use it after washing/cowashing on wet hair only. It's a marvelous detangler and really works to keep my hair from frizzing up when it dries.

It's the first product I apply when I set my hair to airdry.

I'm still mad about the disappearance of NTM! :cry3:

But, I've found the Pattern leave in to be a good replacement. I buy the big bottle at Ulta, but here's the link to their website.
20221019_220123_resized.jpg
 
Just fished relaxing a little while ago. Airdrying now. Love my results! I was a few days shy of being 17 weeks post. I had a lot of newgrowth to work through. Here's my pre-parting pic:

20230715_182044_resized.jpg

There are a couple of areas that are slightly under processed, but that's ok. I know those areas have my toughest densest newgrowth. I felt it during smoothing and wasn't willing to increase my processing time to get it super straight. I think relaxing at 16 weeks is the sweet spot for me. I won't go beyond that on purpose.

Also, I'll trim tomorrow and plan to do a mini trim at 8 weeks post. With the length I've gained, I know I'll hit APL by the end of the year!

I'll post length pics after my trim tomorrow.
 
MzSwift said:
Whohoo @sunnieb !!

Did you use Optimum again? I just saw a YT video, I think, where the lady raves about Optimum.
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For some reason, I couldn't find Optimum this time. I used Soft & Beautiful no-lye. My hair liked it. I hope to go back to Optimum for my next relaxer though.

Since I'm back to stretching, I won't buy large amounts of relaxer like I used to. I'll buy one kit when it's time to relax.
 
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