Hey Pandora,
Congrats on your first relaxer. Don't get discouraged /images/graemlins/perplexed.gif, this kind of thing takes practice and much patience. At least you didn't overprocess /images/graemlins/grin.gif. Longterm, you'll be wayyy better off, saving tons of money and not having to rely on anyone else.
I've recently decided to do my own relaxers simply because I cannot trust anyone. I'd rather pay myself $60 to jack up my own hair! Of course I don't have any intentions of screwing up my hair - after the first few runs, I may become just as good as any other "professional" stylist.
I plan to do extensive research before I attempt to do my hair - doing practice runs with hair dressing, viewing online tutorials, even watching how-to videos.
If you're interested in biting the bullet and doin' the damn thang /images/graemlins/wallbash.gif, let me know, and I'll post what I find /images/graemlins/smile.gif.