RELAXEDHEADS::::: to self relax? or to salon relax? - lye? nolye?

[sweetsuccess]

hey ladies,
im a transitioner of 14months who is relaxing this weekend and i wanted to know if i can get advice on whether to do my relaxer professionally (since its been so long) or can i do it on my own?!....

do i run the relaxer through my who strand since im 85 percent natural!? or just at the roots?! im ready for a relaxer. im ready to not have to worry about the weather everyday. im ready to just be able to rollerset my hair and leave it without blowing out my edges. please. lol. im tired of the natural life, my hair is ThiIiiIiiIIiiIIckKkkKk and way too much for me to handle natural.

let me know what your recommendations are.... please, to self relax? or salon relax?.. lye? or nolye? .... and which relaxers u suggest.


tIA!!
xoxooo

 

[baddison]

Have you self-relaxed ever, before?? Are you comfortable doing it yourself? There are plenty ladies here who self-relax....including my self. My fotki shows the process I used to perform my very own virgin perm when I ended my 3years being natural. I learned the technique from LondonDiva. There are also lots of fotki's & you-tubes with detailed instructions for self-relaxing. This place is the greatest source of information and D-I-Y guides.

Personally, I relax my hair in sections, as detailed in my fotki. I use Mizani Butter Blends Mild, and I use the eniter set. It is not a "bone-straight" relaxer, and that's especially what I love about it. I relax the curl in my hair to make it easier for me to manage, not to make it so straigth that it just lays flat and sticks to my head. This is typically what happens to me when I go bone straight. So no more....I never did like the "wet cat" look.

Others will chime in with their experiences and recommendations, so I will be watching this thread with you.. Never too late for me to learn something new.....

 

[newflowers]

What relaxer did you use in the distant past? Do you not want to use that one again? I use Phytospecific Index 2 and wouldn't trade it for anything, so no-lye.

Having not found a good one, I'm not really an advocate for salons for relaxers, but i also have been self-relaxing for years and years. However, given that your hair is difficult for you to handle because of the thickness and the amount of hair, you might wish to consider having someone else do it for you, at least this first time. Do you have someone who can at least help you? Perhaps you can do the half and half method discussed in the stickies? Do you know a good salon you can go to?

I would suggest that you coat the relaxed ends with silk, then castor oil or vaseline, especially if you have someone else relax for you because most likely they're going to treat you as a virgin relaxer.

Good luck!

 

[kjeneen]

Have you self-relaxed ever, before?? Are you comfortable doing it yourself? There are plenty ladies here who self-relax....including my self. My fotki shows the process I used to perform my very own virgin perm when I ended my 3years being natural. I learned the technique from LondonDiva. There are also lots of fotki's & you-tubes with detailed instructions for self-relaxing. This place is the greatest source of information and D-I-Y guides.

Personally, I relax my hair in sections, as detailed in my fotki. I use Mizani Butter Blends Mild, and I use the eniter set. It is not a "bone-straight" relaxer, and that's especially what I love about it. I relax the curl in my hair to make it easier for me to manage, not to make it so straigth that it just lays flat and sticks to my head. This is typically what happens to me when I go bone straight. So no more....I never did like the "wet cat" look.

Others will chime in with their experiences and recommendations, so I will be watching this thread with you.. Never too late for me to learn something new.....

@ "wet cat" remark. That's exactly how mines look!

But on the real, if I had it to do all over again I would definitely self-relax. The fact is no one knows your hair better than YOU. Yes stylist may know hur, but your hair is not like everyone else who sits in their chair. I timidly went to get my hair salon relaxed last weekend and am now trying to figure out how to stop the shedding so that I don't loss all of my progress.

So I would say get a good relaxer, find a trusting friend to help you with areas of your head that you cannot see (like the back) and do your hair at home.

Praying God's Best for you

 

[longhairlover]

It depends if a person knows how to self relax and if the salon they are going to is trustworthy and know what they are doing.

I self relax but I was trained by a stylist(my mommy) on how to do it. If I didn't know id go to a salon, but then i'd have to be recommended because not all stylists know how to perm a head right either.

I have been using optimum anti breakage no lye, and when I do relax i haven't had any problems using that line of relaxers it's very conditioning for my hair.

your thick hair reason is why my moms relaxed my hair when i was a child using water and lusters was just starting to tire her out.

but since summer is coming you could just continue wearing buns with your natural hair or any other protective styles.




I use no lye, no particular reason, but when i tried silk elements lye relaxer I didn't like it and my hair felt even more brittle than normal.

it's up to you and what your hair likes, and of course your hair will let you know what it does not like

you put the relaxer on the virgin hair only!!!!!!! if you have any relaxed ends left DO NOT PUT RELAXER ON IT! sorry for the bold.

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Wow this is a hard one.....well 14 months is a lot of growth......if your ends are already relaxed u do not need to put the relaxer everywhere....just on the growth, the thing is with stylist, they will charge you an arm and a leg because they believe that your growth is (whether you have been relaxed already) virgin hair and that cost more......so I would suggest a trusted friend or family member who has a relaxer and let them put it in......and I would try to use the same relaxer you used before.....Lye and no-lye are personally choices, I use SE Lye Reg and it burned my scalp like crazy and underprocess and then I used SE no lye sen scalp and it underprocess, but didn't burn....so if you decide to you use lye, base the hell out of your scalp....if you use no-lye use a chelating shampoo and neutralizing shampoo......but the stylist would cost big bucks......and I would try to find someone or do some research on self-relaxing methods that might be right for you......HTH

 

[supermodelsonya]

I just did a corrective today from texlaxed to relaxed. I know, don't throw things at me, but I just couldn't deal with the texlaxed texture. Ugh..I'm so disappointed.

Sorry for the rant. I self relax and have been doing so for the past twelve years. I was also trained in a salon on how to do it. I would only relax the new growth and don't apply relaxer to your relaxed ends.

 

[sqzbly1908]

I just started back self-relaxing last month and I was trippin' with 9-10 weeks of new growth - IMO - with that much new growth (14 months) I would recommend going to a professional and the subsequently doing your own relaxers - but when/if you go make sure they are clear about what YOU want as that you don't want your hard work to be on the salon floor or going down the drain! I personally like Lye relaxers - I used no-lye for a few years and my hair paid for it, dryness, etc....I used Phyto 1 for a while but overtime, I could not get past the build up and dryness - now that I am using lye (Mizani Butter Blend Mild) - there is NO turning back!

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

I use Hawaiian Silky Lye. It doesn't burn me but you have to put it on right. I'd honestly shop around for a professional.

 

[gabrighteyes]

I just started back self-relaxing last month and I was trippin' with 9-10 weeks of new growth - IMO - with that much new growth (14 months) I would recommend going to a professional and the subsequently doing your own relaxers - but when/if you go make sure they are clear about what YOU want as that you don't want your hard work to be on the salon floor or going down the drain! I personally like Lye relaxers - I used no-lye for a few years and my hair paid for it, dryness, etc....I used Phyto 1 for a while but overtime, I could not get past the build up and dryness - now that I am using lye (Mizani Butter Blend Mild) - there is NO turning back!

I agree with the bolded. Let the recommended professional relax this time, then take over your touch ups.

Personally, I self relax with ORS regular with a bit of olive oil mixed in to buy a few extra minutes of processing time.

Good luck to you!

 

[morehairplease]

Wow, congrats on transitioning for 14 months. Honestly, with 14 months of new growth I would seek out a professional(that's just a lot of hair to deal with).

ETA: I see that you are in the Atlanta area, have you posted on the salon review forum/here asking for stylist recs in the area?

 

[Highly Favored8]

Honestly in MHO

If I had a choice to self-relax again. I would transition my hair back to natural.

So, since I am 21 weeks post yes, I can honestly admit that I am very, very, tempted to self-relax.


However, I will wait until 3-21-09 for my relaxer and will allow my stylist to place my relaxer on my head.

 

[shmmr]

Please pardon my mistake if I have this wrong, but aren't you one of those fortunate ladies who goes to Reneice? If so, there is no need to even ask this question, if I'm totally off base....then if you do decide to go to a salon, ask questions, make sure they know what you want and don't be afraid to speak up if they're doing something wrong. I wish I'd done mine myself, but I can't speak for anyone but myself. If you do it yourself, there doesn't seem to be a need to go over the already relaxed parts - doing so might cause damage.

HTH

 

[healthyhair2]

With that amount of new growth I'd definitely salon relax. With a Lye Relaxer. I use Syntonics Lye. I paid a pretty penny to get it done, but it looks good!!. A skilled hair dresser can get to the back of your head better and put the relaxer in faster. Not to mention they can see your whole head when it comes to neutralizing.