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

Just texlaxed!
Currently sitting under the heated conditioning cap.

I'm sooo exhausted y'all. I didn't do a good job with my relaxer BUT I'm happy to have done SOMETHING bc my last relaxer was Dec 27th or so and today is September 28. So I had 9 months of new growth going on. lol

Finally finished prepping last night. I relax in very large sections. This time I only did 6 instead of 8, 3 sections on each side:

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I washed, no DC bc I knew I was relaxing and DCing today. I based my scalp with EVOO, Blue Magic and Vaseline. Applied EVOO and then the Vatika moisturizing and protein conditioners that I want to use up to my hair. I slather conditioner and oil all over and then apply Blue Magic and Vaseline onto the pre-relaxed portion of my hair only and then twist that up:

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Before I relax, I apply another coat of Vaseline onto the twists.

ETA: To apply, I hold out a twist and slather on the relaxer all around the base of the section with my other hand. I do all sections that way first and then I go through each section, hold out a twist and literally squeeze the relaxer into the base of the section, ensuring that my fingers meet each time I squeeze. And then do a pulling motion after my fingers meet, in order to "smooth" the relaxer into the section. Once I do one section, I move on the next. I hope that makes sense. When I'm done I use one finger to smooth all of the sections down onto my head in the same direction.

This is the relaxer applied:

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Took me longer apply this time bc I'm absolutely exhausted. So my relaxer stayed on longer than I wanted. Instead of 8 minutes, it was in approx 10-12 mins as I waited for my water to warm up a bit more.

I neutralized 3 times. Lathering and letting it sit 15 mins the first two times and then 30 minutes the final time. I like to style my hair like this when I'm neutralizing:

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Does anyone else remember this 90's French roll at the top of the head style?? I used to love it but I never had enough hair to actually do it myself. So it's my go-to when I neutralize bc the hair is so moldable. lol. Also, it's a good way to keep the hair from falling down and the water doesn't run down as much while I'm sitting around for 15-30 minutes.

Also, I should note that I skipped my trusty ACV rinse for my final neutralizing. I'm not sure how different my hair will turn out. I won't know for a few days. But I had to skip it bc my son is very sensitive to smells and I traumatized him bc I've been relaxing my hair during the day instead of doing it at night, when he's asleep, like I used to. And the ACV smell mixed with the chemical is too much for him. He's very sweet about it but I don't want to affect him like that. Like, the first time it happened, he quietly put on his jacket and went out into the backyard to swing without either me or Dada and wouldn't come back in until the smell was gone. He usually has one of us out there with him bc he has no other sibling to play with. And now every time I do my hair in the sink I have to promise him that I'm not using the "stinky" hair stuff. So, yeah, Mama is trying to see if I can skip that step - for his sake. :pray:

So then I mixed up my amino acid + baking soda condish to DC with. The baking soda helps to get rid of the faint chemical smell I usually experience after relaxing. I start applying it like a touch up on loose hair:

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And then apply more down to the rest of the hair. Then I bun it up and cover with two plastic grocery bags and a thick shower cap to DC with heat:

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It's very messy so I do it over the sink. As I said, I'm currently DCing. Once I post this, I'll rinse it out in the shower and then get my results pix. Also do my pull tests because it's my TWO YEAR RELAXER ANNIVERSARY. I'll be posting those pics in the other thread but I'll come back and post pix here after I blow dry and flat iron. I plan to do that either tonight or tomorrow. But probably tomorrow bc, I'm exhausted. lol
 
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Results:

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My roots are definitely MUCH straighter than my length. Those extra 4 minutes made a difference for me. I didn't change much else besides reintroducing Blue Magic into the mix. I've washed my hair the day before relaxing before with no problems. Maybe it's bc I also used a lite protein as a mid-step instead of moisturizing condish this time. I remember from my notes before that a protein mid-step resulted in straighter results than when I used a moisturizing one - which is why I decided to stick with a moisturizing DC. **smacks forehead** I can't believe I forgot! I thought the ORS had enough moisture in the mix but I don't think it does.


@demlew

I think I may have discovered something with the baking soda + amino condish mix too. I usually only DC for 20 mins and then rinse. But this time, I was organizing pix and creating the post with it in my head. I believe it was in around an hour. My cuticles were OPEN when I went to rinse it out. Fortunately, I did it in the shower so gravity and the force of the water helped. I ended up applying something very acidic and also did a cold water final rinse. I immediately thought back to your feedback. From now on, I'll be sure to mention the need to only leave it on for no more than 20 mins. So, thank you. :kiss:

Here is my progression:

2022 -- 2023 -- 2024

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@MzSwift gorgeous!

And yes ma'am I remember those 90s French rolls shalacked and hardened within an inch of life! That and a wrap were my go-to styles for a long time.

I had a standing appointment with my stylist to keep the "look". It's hard to think of how hands off I was with my haircare back then. I used to just sit in that chair and let her do whatever as long as the style came out cute.
 
See, that's why I love this community - from my perspective, we're all here to help each other! :grouphug3:
I totally agree - which is why I was so excited to give back after all the tips everyone has given me!

Speaking of which... @sunnieb - I'm totally sold on the Odele leave-in! I picked up both of the detangling leave-ins at Target. I really like the one with the spray nozzle (even though I'm switching out the nozzle because it sucks). The pump bottle has a little protein in it and my ends dried kind of hard. I'll play around to see if it's a good light treatment a few times per month since I already use henna.
 
@MzSwift gorgeous!

And yes ma'am I remember those 90s French rolls shalacked and hardened within an inch of life! That and a wrap were my go-to styles for a long time.

I had a standing appointment with my stylist to keep the "look". It's hard to think of how hands off I was with my haircare back then. I used to just sit in that chair and let her do whatever as long as the style came out cute.
That is starting to sound like a good plan at this point! Lol I Don’t have the time for all of this
 
5 weeks post and my hair is cruising right along. Now that I'm not unintentionally texlaxed, I feel like I'm well on my way back to BSL within the next 2 years. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and let it grow.

Still plan to relax at 10 weeks, but if my newgrowth stays acting normal, I might go to 12 weeks.
 
8 weeks post and THIS is what my hair is supposed to feel like!

Good amount of newgrowth and some tangles going on. But, that's normal. It's not like what I was dealing with when I was underprocessed. It'll take 2-3 relaxer cycles to get me back to normal.

Thinking of going to 12 weeks if my hair keeps this up. :yep:
 
@ItsMeLilLucky
How was it?

How did it go?:yep:
I meant to reply yesterday, but life be lifing lol It went okay, but I think next time i'm gonna use a comb to help just a bit. Just smoothing with my fingers is not helping. Also I think maybe in 4 weeks im gonna do just my edges. I didnt get them good and its throwing the rest of my hair off lol I did all of my hair at once. It was a bit stressful. Lol.
 
I meant to reply yesterday, but life be lifing lol It went okay, but I think next time i'm gonna use a comb to help just a bit. Just smoothing with my fingers is not helping. Also I think maybe in 4 weeks im gonna do just my edges. I didnt get them good and its throwing the rest of my hair off lol I did all of my hair at once. It was a bit stressful. Lol.

((HUG))
You've seemed to be on a nice little cruise control with your hair for a minute when you were doing long stretches - what happened? Seemed like you reported better relaxing experiences. Are you making changes to your products or processes that have made things different for you? Are you able to revisit those experiences to see what helped?
 
((HUG))
You've seemed to be on a nice little cruise control with your hair for a minute when you were doing long stretches - what happened? Seemed like you reported better relaxing experiences. Are you making changes to your products or processes that have made things different for you? Are you able to revisit those experiences to see what helped?
Thanks Cuz!
I got tired of doing the braids lol that's why I stopped stretching for so long. Now, it's whenever I get around to it, or when my new growth agrivates my scalp too much. I was doing half and half, but now my hair is too long for me to comfortably do it (this is a good problem to have lol), and I try to beat the tiredness. I also ditched the gloves for some weird reason lol. It's like I use them for protecting the previously relaxed hair, but take them off for the relaxer process. Sometimes I actually do wear them for the relaxer process. I guess I'm trying to make the process for me as quick as possible. My ends have been hanging in there.
 
((HUG))
You've seemed to be on a nice little cruise control with your hair for a minute when you were doing long stretches - what happened?
I'm replying again because idk if my answers made sense lol
My arms got tired lol
Seemed like you reported better relaxing experiences. Are you making changes to your products or processes that have made things different for you?
I am making changes. The half and half method was starting to make me a little frazzled lol in regards to the timing. Just trying to streamline it a bit so I don't have so much to remember to do.
Are you able to revisit those experiences to see what helped?
I think I'm starting to realize different things are for different seasons. Now I'm not adverse to revisiting some of the things I've done previously, but maybe some time in the future.

I hope this makes more sense lol.
 
I'm replying again because idk if my answers made sense lol
My arms got tired lol

I am making changes. The half and half method was starting to make me a little frazzled lol in regards to the timing. Just trying to streamline it a bit so I don't have so much to remember to do.

I think I'm starting to realize different things are for different seasons. Now I'm not adverse to revisiting some of the things I've done previously, but maybe some time in the future.

I hope this makes more sense lol.

Absolutely! And I totally understand. :hugxplode:
 
New relaxer: today at 10 weeks post. Not that much growth but beyond 12 weeks makes me shed too much.

What did my hairstylist use?

It was a lot of Color WOW products, a Wella ultimate repair treatment, K18 (trade price £42), Two Olapex including 6, and some oils afterward. She seems to love Color WOW the most so far. She said it was too soon to say for the Wella because it was new.
 
@MzSwift you're right! My normal stretch used to sit around 14-16 weeks once I hit BSL and I was doing my own relaxers - thanks to LHCF.

For now, I'm comfortable with 12 weeks, maybe 14 if I have to because of my schedule. I didn't add any of the oil to the relaxer and I'm back to being fully relaxed and not mildly (and unintentionally) texlaxed. :rolleyes:

I finished relaxing around 1:00 am this morning. :look: So I just rolled my hair up into a top knot and went to bed. Hit the gym when I woke up and that really made all this straight hair not 'pic worthy'. :lol:

I'll trim and take pics later this week. But I'm happy with the results and straightness! :)
 
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