secretdiamond said:It's funny you say only 12 when I'm proud of myself for making it to 12. LOL. I've made it to 12 easily b4, but I just cant go past that. I guess it depends on your hair's responsiveness. If it starts breaking and become too unmanageable at 12, then I relax, however, if my hair is still going strong, I'll go longer. It seems that you have successfully gone 20 wks post b4, so you should be fine. Just stick to a good regimen and monitor your hair. HTH
MizAvalon said:I stretch to 20 weeks but you have to do what's best for your hair. I started slowly though. First 12, then 14, 16, etc. I feel like 20 is *just* enough before I start going crazy. I'm currently at 16 1/2 weeks and will be relaxing at the end of the month.
Samaria said:At one point I stretched alll the way to 8 months(DUE TO LACK OF FINANCES!!!) when I relaxed my hair it was past my back and then some , I couldn't believe it. I had never ever felt my hair touch my back, I felt like something was danging from my head and I didnt know what it was, once she was done with my hair I look and was like oh my, that's my hair. lol
MizAvalon said:LOL@ you wondering what was touching your back!
How was your hair after the 8 months? I always hear people say not to wait as long as I do because it might break off. I've never found that to be true so I just ignore them, but my hairdresser did say that there's a chance of underporocessing when you wait a while. Did that happen for you? Because honestly, ever since I started using pure Shea Butter as my moisturizer my new growth has been so soft that I feel like I could probably go longer than 20 weeks.
So was your hair evenly processed after the 8 months?
Samaria said:Yeah, actually I was suprised how straight it was. Not sure if my having IDK I guess "fine" hair had anything to do with it. She went through my head before she began and asked me, dang girl how long you been without? I said 8 months. She screamed OH MY LORD 8 MONTHS?? Yeah. I never had any breakage and she kept telling me how great my hair was taken care of to be so long without a TU.
Man I was so happy to swing my hair from side to side and it swing!
Crystalicequeen123 said:WOW! 8 Months?? Gurll....I'm scared of you! LOL* The longest I ever went was 15 weeks, and by then I was dying! It wasn't too hard per-se stretching that long, but by the time she finally put the comb in my hair to part it for a relaxer, I was in tears! It hurt so bad! How on earth did you overcome the NEW growth pains??
ANyway, I usually wait 12 weeks. Not becuase of any "standard" on this board or hair books, but more so because I listen to my hair. I've tried 14 and 15 weeks, and I found that to be a bit much. And when I tried 10 weeks, I found that to be too early. So, I settled happily for 12 weeks. Who knows though, maybe in the future (if I can control my ng better) I can stretch to 15-20 weeks!
czyfaith77 said:Alright! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the words of encouragement! I am currently going for 6 months. What was your regime to eliminate breakage, what were your staple products and styles. Next Saturday, I will be half way there.
LeNghtyDreAms said:I went 8 months once, but that was when I had my mom press it for me, but she got tired of all the detangling.
MizAvalon said:LOL@ you wondering what was touching your back!
How was your hair after the 8 months? I always hear people say not to wait as long as I do because it might break off. I've never found that to be true so I just ignore them, but my hairdresser did say that there's a chance of underporocessing when you wait a while. Did that happen for you? Because honestly, ever since I started using pure Shea Butter as my moisturizer my new growth has been so soft that I feel like I could probably go longer than 20 weeks.
So was your hair evenly processed after the 8 months?
Samaria said:To keep it soft I used nothing but CON the green and purple bottles.
I used ORS Hair Mayo then once a week.
I also kept the ends up in a bun and always sealed with a moisturizer (ORS Carrot oil or Profective with the yellow top)
I tied my new growth down with a silk scarf and kept castor oil on it.
I didn't have a flatiron cause I was sooo broke at the time, lmao. But I would have flatironed. And I wore a headband if the NG just wanted to cause me drama.
hottopic said:I just made it to 12 weeks, thanks to braids. This is the 2nd time I made it to 12 weeks. This time I am not going to stop at 12, my aim is for 17-20. Hopeful I can make it. But, God bless your heart 8 months.