SO....is it the consensus?

[Armyqt]

Is it basically agreed that lye relaxers leave the hair with a little more wave in it than no-lye. Based on posts I've been reading, this seems to be the consensus. I noticed that since switching to lye relaxers, my hair does not get as straight as it used to with a mild no-lye. I used to be able to put in a relaxer and by the time I was done, my whole hair was straight. I'm not planning on switching back because my hair is no longer dry. But I am wondering if maybe...just maybe this has been the reason for this underprocessing I've got going on. Please share your experience if you made the switch from no-lye to lye.

 

[Allandra]

I have several cousins who use lye relaxers, and they have bone straight hair. IMO, it depends on the texture prior to relaxing and the amount of time the relaxer is kept in the hair (if one will still have waves or not). If my stylist kept the relaxer on my hair longer than what she does, my hair would be bone straight (like several of my cousins).

Just my two cents.

 

[pebbles]

Hey Armyqt,

The same is true for me. No-lye relaxers straightened my hair out a lot more than the lye relaxers, but I really don't mind it. The lye relaxers have been great for my hair. It's much less dry and brittle.

 

[Allandra]

I forgot to mention, that I used to use no-lye, but my stylist made the switch to lye (probably 1.5 to 2 years ago). The main thing I noticed was that I no longer suffered from dry hair.

 

[Jade21]

Armyqt,

I have been reading the thread and for what it's worth I just don't agree.

In other words, I wonder if there are not other factors involved because I do have many friends who've made the switch and have not had any problem with underrprocessing...AT ALL. If anything, it has taken time for many of them to find a compatible lye relaxer for their hair. And, I have to say that the complaints have been more on the opposite side: that the stuff gets their hair too straight and it's been a matter of time issues and even how the application has been handled.

Cheers to you, and much love, as ALWAYS,

Jade

 

[Islandgirl]

I don't think so. I think the straightness depends on the strength and the amount of time the relaxer is left on the hair. I have been using lye all my life and i have had my hair bone straight to semi bone straight. The only time I had underprocessed hair was due to the relaxer being used, it was not compatible with my hair (affirm).

 

[honeycomb719]

I made the switch to lye relaxers in Feb, and my hair hasn't been straight. I left the last relaxer(Vitale) in for 18mins regular strength. I don't know what the deal is w/ these lye relaxers

. But, I haven't been happy w/ my results. Not gone give up yet, I'll give them one more try.

 

[adrienne0914]

armyqt, i agree with jade. i believe there are several factors that come into play besides whether a relaxer will make the hair bone straight.

i think it depends on the strength of the relaxer and the amount of time that it's left on. my goal has never been to get my hair bone straight, just to loosen the curls. i think you'd say my hair is underprocessed if you saw it, but i've always assumed that the more wave that's left in, the less damage that's done. my assumption could be wrong though.

 

[myco]

It always seemed weird to me that a "kiddie" mild no-lye relaxer would get my hair so much straighter than Affirm mild, so it had to be something else. I had to look at the whole process of how I care for my hair: wash 2x a week, consistently take vitamins and supplements, include regular deep conditoning protein/moisturizing treatments. I think all of these things make the hair stronger and less quickly processed regardless of the type of relaxer. The few times, that I did go to a hairdresser, they used lye relaxers and my hair was bone straight, which I hated. So the method and length of application factors in also. I know a lot of ladies on this board work really hard to get the relaxer in and out in the shortest amount of time instead of letting it "marinate" on their head.

 

[nita4]

I had the same problem as Amryqt & Pebbles. I have always used a mild relaxer and the no-lye got my hair straighter. Now this was before hair boards and I probably left it in longer too

. The lye left me with more wave which is okay, but...I just assumed that because it was lye my hair would be straighter.

Granted it's no longer dry but I attribute that to my new found knowledge.

 

[ms_kenesha]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
adrienne0914 said:
my goal has never been to get my hair bone straight, just to loosen the curls. i think you'd say my hair is underprocessed if you saw it, but i've always assumed that the more wave that's left in, the less damage that's done. my assumption could be wrong though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree Adrienne I think that this wavyness shouldn't be looked at as a problem because that means that your hair still has some resilency and stretch to it, which will lead to less breakage in the long run.

 

[Guest]

Hi Armyqt

I've always used a mild relaxer and this was done purposely so that my hair would retain a degree of elasticity. Also, when you get touch-ups, I don't care what anyone says,some degree of OVERLAPPING is unavoidable. So the point of someone relaxing to loosen the curl pattern a bit also has added benefits when the person retouches. When the relaxer touches the part of the previously relaxed hair that was just mildly relaxed, then there really should be no problem with the previously relaxed hair becoming overprocessed or breaking.

I just recently relaxed using Revlons Mild. I've used this product for years, and have never, ever had a problem with breakage. Hennalucent, milk and the other natural products I've used to straighten my hair are fabulous, but my hair is very thick and I have found nothing gets hair quite as loose as a relaxer. I only leave the relaxer on for a short period of time and my hair still is thick, but it is much more manageable now, and still has retained a satisfactory degree of elasticity as well