Stories of Relaxed Hair Reverting???

[MissLeo]

I am posting this because I have either heard of or talked to people who have been able to revert their natural hair using apple cider vinegar on their hair for an extended amount of time or after transitioning for sometime without BC they noticed that their relaxed hair became more curly.

I have heard plenty of people say that it is impossible so I would like to pass on those comments please

So ladies if you have experienced reversion of your relaxed hair or know of someone who has please share your story!

 

[fitnessmommy]

I don't think it's possible since the chemical in a relaxer dissolves/breaks the bonds of the hair. =(

 

[LaFemmeNaturelle]

Relaxed hair cannot revert back to natural no matter what you do. The only way to get rid of relaxed hair is to grow it out and let it break off or to cut it out. Long term transitioners will either become fully natural because they cut the remainder of their relaxed ends or the hair just broke off by itself.


ETA: Oops just read you said you didnt wanna hear the truth. MY bad!

 

[LushLox]

The only way to remove relaxed hair is to cut it off.

 

[Junebug D]

Some people use "revert" when they mean "looks kinky/frizzy/puffy". All those things can happen to relaxed hair, most often when it becomes dried out or damaged, or when it's underprocessed in the first place.

 

[Nayna]

Some people use "revert" when they mean "looks kinky/frizzy/puffy". All those things can happen to relaxed hair, most often when it becomes dried out or damaged, or when it's underprocessed in the first place.

Yea I think that's what they mean and not that the relaxer is completely gone from their hair. Sorry OP but it's impossible to repair the bonds once they have been broken from the relaxer.

 

[MissLeo]

I don't think it's possible since the chemical in a relaxer dissolves/breaks the bonds of the hair. =(

Thank you for your comment. Now I guess I will have to explain further why I am posting this. My mentor who is in her late 40's told me that her mother used to remove relaxers from peoples hair by dowsing small sections of their hair in apple cider vinegar for about 45 minutes. Now the cause of this may be that during this time period people were using lye relaxers that may have had a reversable effect when a strong acid is applied (perhaps the relaxers we use now are more damaging). Another reason for this could be that perhaps people did not get relaxers as consistently as we do now and so the effects of the lye relaxers would not be as permanent and damaging.

Another story is about my best friend who had a texturizer and after using apple cider vinegar rinses (and allowing it to sit in her hair) noticed that her hair was reverting. I also read a similar story of a girl with a relaxer on the web whose hair reverted after using apple cider vinegar.

I understand the chemistry of how relaxers break the chemical bonds of the hair but I have also heard enough stories to know that people have been able to revert their hair. That means that a piece of the puzzle is missing. So ladies if you have heard stories of reversion, no matter how "outlandish" they may seem, please post them.

 

[LaFemmeNaturelle]

Do you mean like this ponytail I got going on in the back?

And would you consider the hair in my siggy to be reversion? I guess I would need to see pics of the people's hair who claim their hair has reverted.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I can't understand why people believe this. It may look like it is reverting, but serious damage could be happening to the hair by ACV's acidic effects. That could be the "reversion" people may believe is happening. When I was natural, ACV actually made my hair have a relaxer like effect in my hair. It was not a strait effect, but a weird texturizing effect. It was posted by someone here that it could cause drying and frizzing. Perhaps doing an ACV rinse on relaxed hair can really bring out the curl in new growth. ACV reverting a relaxer is not factual. Relaxed hair does not go back to its natural state like that. You either have to grow it out via transition or do a BC.

 

[MissLeo]

Cute puff But no, my best friend actually had loosely curled/wavy hair that turned into clearly defined curly coiled hair. What my mentor described was a full reversion and this was done for multiple people.

 

[LaFemmeNaturelle]

Well if the acv seems to be the common denominator in your mentor's and friend's story I think you should go for it if you're interested! Let us know how it works!

 

[MissLeo]

I can't understand why people believe this. It may look like it is reverting, but serious damage could be happening to the hair by ACV's acidic effects. That could be the "reversion" people may believe is happening. When I was natural, ACV actually made my hair have a relaxer like effect in my hair. It was not a strait effect, but a weird texturizing effect. It was posted by someone here that it could cause drying and frizzing. Perhaps doing an ACV rinse on relaxed hair can really bring out the curl in new growth. ACV reverting a relaxer is not factual. Relaxed hair does not go back to its natural state like that. You either have to grow it out via transition or do a BC.

The acidic effects of the ACV would not actually harm or damage the hair (especially no where near the harm that the extremely alkaline relaxer does.) as it is returning it to its natural pH. I wouldn't say that ACV reversion is an undisputed fact either but I also would not say that it is impossible as I have proof from people that it has been possible. Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances that allowed this, but I won't know until I get more feedback.

 

[MissLeo]

Well if the acv seems to be the common denominator in your mentor's and friend's story I think you should go for it if you're interested! Let us know how it works!

Indeed, now all I need is the time and patience to try this. Think I will call my mentor and find out more details about how her mother did it.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

You may want to view these vids prior to apply straight ACV (or any high ACV to water mix) to your hair.

[video=youtube;yT9axA0A6_Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT9axA0A6_Q&feature=channel[/video]

[video=youtube;JAjZjecFPFg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAjZjecFPFg&feature=channel[/video]

Other than that, do post your results following your experiment. I think it could be very educational for other members.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Just be very careful when you do your research and please share your results! I did receive damage from over use of ACV with natural hair.

 

[Embyra]

Why then do you hear clients saying that their relaxer "didn't take, went back, or reverted"? Or, why do professionals sometimes witness a frizzy appearance on portions of their clients' hair that were previously relaxed? Actually, there are a few explanations.
The first is that the hair was insufficiently straightened in the first place. If, indeed, less than one-third of the cystine bonds were converted into lanthionine bonds, the hair may look straighter on the day of treatment, but will eventually appear to revert. To prevent this occurrence, the proper relaxer strength must be selected and adequate time given to the smoothing segment of the process.

The second possible explanation is that something was done to the hair to roughen-up the cuticle, (i.e., improper shampooing, the use of pH-imbalanced products, incorrect combing, and brushing, etc.). Also, due to the fact that relaxed hair is more porous than virgin hair, humidity can give hair that "less-than-straight" appearance, especially in hot and high humidity climates.

The third possibility is a rare phenomenon, which I call "natural reversion." Although this is a hypothesis and not a documented scientific fact, it is one that has been discussed over the years among some in the scientific community. It has been established that when hair is relaxed, the natural arrangements of atoms and molecules of hair in the space are changed. The "natural reversion" theory purports that this new rearrangement of atoms and molecules in the hair is so stressful and uncomfortable for the hair that it fights to return to its original positions. Therefore, within a week or two, the hair may slightly revert back to its original status i.e. some noticeable reversion.

Keep in mind that even as theorized, natural reversion is a very, very rare occurrence that is experienced by only an infinitesimally small number of people. By and large, even if relaxed hair seems as though it has reverted, don't be confused...most likely it hasn't.

Since the early 1980's, there have been at least a couple of products that claimed to strip relaxed hair so that it then could be permanently waved. These attempts were not successful. Equally unsuccessful are the mythical "home remedies" of rising the hair with highly acidic substances such as vinegar.

None of these methods have been scientifically proven to work, and they can actually cause damage by ruffling the cuticle and disturbing the charge balance of amino acids and polypeptides of hair fibers.
Should a client ever want to return his or her hair to its natural state, the only way is to cut off the relaxed portion once there is adequate growth. For those who now have a natural head of hair and are not comfortable with the idea of a permanent texture change, it's best to press the hair to achieve straight styles. Pressing is a "physical" alteration that is temporary. Lanthionization is a "chemical" change that is permanent.

 

[MissLeo]

Hi Coconut, what you say makes sense. It is possible that earlier relaxers were incapable of permanently breaking the disulfide bonds thus allowing for them to be reestablished once the ACV was applied. Similarly, in the story of my best friend, since she had a texturizer which is not as strong or left in as long as a regular relaxer her disulfide bonds may have not been permanently damaged and so the ACV was able to revert her hair. That being the case, people with texturizers may want to watch out for extended ACV applications. Yet and still, if there is a chance that there are any remaining disulfide bonds in my relaxed hair, I'm willing to find out. After speaking with my mentor at length of course

 

[MissLeo]

You may want to view these vids prior to apply straight ACV (or any high ACV to water mix) to your hair.

[video=youtube;yT9axA0A6_Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT9axA0A6_Q&feature=channel[/video]

[video=youtube;JAjZjecFPFg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAjZjecFPFg&feature=channel[/video]

Other than that, do post your results following your experiment. I think it could be very educational for other members.

Thank you, I do recall my mentor mentioning that the ACV was diluted.

 

[1QTPie]

The way science works, you can only prove something as fact by being able to replicate results.

I can say that I've never seen anyone be able to revert their hair without ditching the relaxer. Maybe your mentor can introduce you to those people or show you video of the process.

 

[MissLeo]

The way science works, you can only prove something as fact by being able to replicate results.

I can say that I've never seen anyone be able to revert their hair without ditching the relaxer. Maybe your mentor can introduce you to those people or show you video of the process.

To an extent you are correct, that is how we tend to prove something as relevant in science. However, that does not negate the cases in which treatments have been successful in some patients and not others. It just means that the mechanism of healing is not fully understood and differs from patient to patient.

As the process was done over 30 years ago by my mentor's mother, videos and introductions are not a possibility. However, I did talk to her again about the process and she said it involved using diluted ACV and allowing the majority of the hair to soak (not touching the scalp) for several intervals of 45 minutes in the ACV depending on the hair's response (rinsing with water and combing btwn intervals). She said that for some people it took longer and the use of more intervals but that they all left with their original curl pattern intact. Again, this could be due to a change in the formulas of relaxers over the years wheras now we may use a more potent and damaging relaxer but the fact that they could do this is still interesting none the less.

 

[chocolatedoll18]

it is interesting to think about the possibility that it could be true but i would like to see the proof. im transitioning and my relaxed hair looks as if it is reverting just because of my increased washing (i guess) but i dont use apple cider vinegar, so that makes me think is it just the type of hair the person has plus the vinegar helping it along..... i would like updates if you get any OP

 

[lea86111]

well i guess it could never get to the same state as natural hair BUT when i first relaxed my virgin hair with mizani lye my hair (after a couple of washes) LOOKED completly natural...of course it wasn't but it sure looked it. This hasn't happened with no lye though

 

[MissLeo]

well i guess it could never get to the same state as natural hair BUT when i first relaxed my virgin hair with mizani lye my hair (after a couple of washes) LOOKED completly natural...of course it wasn't but it sure looked it. This hasn't happened with no lye though

Thank you for this info Lea! That may be what makes the difference, lye vs no lye relaxers. Most of the relaxers used years back were lye relaxers.

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

i have an older relative who told me that when she was young (1930s) that relaxers were different than they were today. she said you did not get them that often and i don't think they were as strong as they are now.

when i did a virgin texlax a few years ago with a lye relaxer, i used a diluted ACV rinse after i deep conditioned and my hair reverted some. i ended up having to do a corrective and i left out the ACV step.