What Are The Pros And Cons of Nolye and Lye Relaxers

[brownbrown]

I use ORS Olive Oil nolye

And I'm good with it but the girl who weaves me in ATL thinks that the lye gives more moisture. I always thought with lye that your hair can break easier.

ummmmmmm

 

[LovelyLionessa]

I have seen beautiful heads of hair that use either no lye or lye relaxers. The basic rule of thumb about these relaxers is lye is said to be harsher on the scalp and gentler on the hair and no lye is supposed to be gentler on the scalp but "supposedly" harsher on the hair. No lye relaxers are actually a bit of a misnomer, because they do in fact contain a form of lye, it's calcium hydroxide as opposed to sodium hydroxide found in lye relaxers.

The theory is no lye relaxers can leave calcium deposits in the hair that have to shampooed out or it can leave hair dull and/or dry. I have heard girls share their experiences using lye relaxers, and their scalps got burned to high heaven. So it really varies, it's a matter of what works best for you. HTH

 

[Sha76]

I don't have a relaxer right now, but when I did I preferred lye to no lye because like the previous poster stated, the no lye left my hair hard and drya fter a while.

 

[MzRhonda]

I switched several years ago from no lye to lye and the difference for me has been that my hair is no longer dull and lifeless, less breakage, softer, less shedding and healthier. I prefer Motions.

 

[bluediamond0829]

i really dont see a difference...i was just wondering that also...because i was thinking of switching back from a lye to a nolye relaxer...and to start selfrelaxing again...but undecided right now....i would like to see what other ladies have to say about it and their differences though....

 

[kbragg]

Mzrhonda strang armed me into making the switch from no lye to lye and after the intial paranoia (Even since African Pride (no lye) made all my hair fall out 5 years ago I get a nervous feeling in my stomach everytime I relax ) I got the Motions and night and DAY! No more straw head! Soft, silky, full, less breakage, love it! Good thing too, cause I have a 1/2 inch of newgrowth since I relaxed on the 12th!

 

[blackbarbie]

I have always used lye relaxers every since I have started getting a relaxer and I have never had a problem, but I posted here Friday b/c i had an appt. at the Dom. salon on saturday and the lady (before hand) told me they use no-lye. I was nervous about getting a no-lye because of a previous post here on "lye vs. no-lye relaxers". I went on and got the relaxer b/c my hair twin (Shaniqua) uses no-lye, has color and has not experienced any adverse effects, so I figured I would follow her lead!

It's only been 2 days since I relaxed, but I had initially planned on getting highlights in 2 more weeks but I am a little nervous b/c of the worries about how the no-lye will dry the hair, cause it to be dull, etc. I have enough problems trying to make sure the color doesn't do that, so if I get highlights again, I will probably have to do double duty to combat dryness.

This is a good thread and I will be following it to make sure which things I need to be on a the lookout for, but according to the other post, it really seems that although the pros and cons exist, it still depends on how each person handles their hair, but its just a good thing to know what to look out for anyway.

BB

 

[simplycee]

I've used lye and no lye and been burned by both. Currently I'm using Mizani Lye and I'm sticking with it. When I used no lye relaxers my hair was dry. I mean severely dry and brittle hair, so dry that no moisturizer I applied worked.

 

[blackbarbie]

I don't mean to hijack, but let me ask a quick question.

Just say that if in the next few weeks I actually find this no-lye relaxer to make my hair dry, dull, lifeless, etc., would the problem be corrected if I switched to lye when i get my next touch up?

TIA

 

[AtlantaJJ]

This is a good thread. I am underprocessed with Silk Elements Mild Lye, but I think that may be my fault because I only let it stay on for like 8 minutes. My hair does look healthy and is soft, not at all dry. I think I'll stick with Lye. I'm eyeballing Mizani...

 

[Amarech]

I don't know if any one read my post about dryness and oil, but this thread is starting to make me think a no lye relaxer is a big part of my problem. I'm scared to use a lye relaxer though. I did a strand test with Motions and the hair broke easily. I don't know if its because my natural hair is very fine and soft or what.

 

[kandegirl]

I want more answers on this topic too b/c the top of my hair is breaking. And I don't know why. I can't stand these fly a ways. And I think it may be the perm. I normally wear weaves or braids so this area gets touched up with whatever in b/w perms. I normally use Mizani sensitive since the regular was starting to burn my scalp. And I think the sensitive may be no-lye. I don't know what to do and no amount of moisturizing is helping. I bought Jojoba oil today to see if that helps.

 

[Aveena]

I like both Silk Elements Lye and Mizani. Mizani is a little more expensive my hair is a lot dryer & rougher (if that's even a word) with no Lye.

 

[Ladyhenri]

I don't know if any one read my post about dryness and oil, but this thread is starting to make me think a no lye relaxer is a big part of my problem. I'm scared to use a lye relaxer though. I did a strand test with Motions and the hair broke easily. I don't know if its because my natural hair is very fine and soft or what.

I recently made the switch to lye and boy am i loving it.
I used to use no lye relaxers and my hair always came out straight but lacking in moisture. My hair has always broken a lot after relaxers. I used Motions oil moisturiser relaxer in mild and


My hair has more body and feels great.

Only downside is that though mild, it still burned . I am still gonna stick with Lye. The benefits are worth the agony.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I'm thinking I'm starting to see a pattern here.....

 

[PinkAngel]

I've been using no-lye for years, the only problem I've had w/ dryness is b/c I was only moisturizing my hair 1x per week. Since I've been seriously taking care of my hair I've had no problem w/ dryness. I also use ORS Creamy Aloe shampoo 1x per month to remove any calcium build-up which causes dryness from no-lye relaxers. I also moisturize everday now.

I think as long as you practice healthy hair regimens, your hair will be fine.

 

[dannie]

I switched to a no-lye from a lye in the early spring. The lye perm left my hair feeling more moisturized, but it left it underprocessed and the lye was eating away at the front of my hair.

After I used no lye, my hair processed fully, but it breaks a bit easier. Although it is sooo much thicker than when I used the lye. However it was constantly DRY. The only thing that cured my dryness was pure Vitamin E oil.

Now you couldn't pay me to switch back to lye. But, if I hadn't discovered the Vit E oil, I might have switched back.

 

[ashiah]

The only thing that cured my dryness was pure Vitamin E oil. Now you couldn't pay me to switch back to lye. But, if I hadn't discovered the Vit E oil, I might have switched back.

Do you mix the Vit E oil with the relaxer? Or do you add it to dry hair?

My last relaxer was SE Lye Regular and it burned and underprocessed my hair. Even though I've been using Lye for years (mostly Affirm), I've been told by stylists to consider no-lye because my scalp is so sensitive.

 

[CarmelTreat]

Okay, here's my lye/no-lye story:

I used Design Essentials Sensitive Scalp No Lye for about 5+ years. At first I LOVED it! No burning like I had with lye, hair was silky, straightened well. I thought for sure that was IT. With the help of me establishing a good regimen for healthy hair, my hair grew the longest it has ever been with it, too. But the last year or so of using it, as my hair got longer, my hair got so dry and very dull. My hairdresser could always get it nice and silky right after my touch-up, but doing it on my own proved to be more difficult than it had been in the past. I couldn't easily style it with no/low heat and it was lacking the silkiness and shine I was used to. I was really just not liking my hair and all of the work in the later weeks due to excessively dry hair.

So, I switched to another no-lye thinking maybe it was just the brand. Tried the Designer Touch Senitive Scalp No Lye for a few months. That made things worse and actually broke my hair from the excessive dryness. So, I've switched back to lye. Still trying to find the right one and am a little underprocessed right now in my quest. But, even in spite of it, my hair is not nearly as dry and dull as it was with no-lye.

I'm a very coarse, resistant 4a/b and I don't ever plan to go back to No Lye. I gave a good faith effort, though. It worked for awhile, but I think it eventually just ate at my hair (I guess the calcuim?). I clarified regularly and everything.

Just thought I'd share...

 

[AtlantaJJ]

ORS sounds so tempting... but I'd like to hear from someone who has used it for over a year. The trend that I think I'm hearing is that for the short term, No Lye is great, but as the hair gains some length, it begins to become drying. I want to gain length so that is why I am leaning towards lye relaxer. I read one of the hair care professionals say that Lye is better over time.

I looked at the ORS relaxer kit and I love all the conditioning steps that go along with the relaxing. That's why I think ladies love the immediate effects. Now I've got my mad scientist thinking cap on thinking I could mimick the conditioning steps using Mizani Fine / Color treated and have the best of both worlds.....hmmmmm

 

[PinkPeony]

bumpity bump

 

[InnerSoul]

I have seen beautiful heads of hair that use either no lye or lye relaxers. The basic rule of thumb about these relaxers is lye is said to be harsher on the scalp and gentler on the hair and no lye is supposed to be gentler on the scalp but "supposedly" harsher on the hair. No lye relaxers are actually a bit of a misnomer, because they do in fact contain a form of lye, it's calcium hydroxide as opposed to sodium hydroxide found in lye relaxers.

The theory is no lye relaxers can leave calcium deposits in the hair that have to shampooed out or it can leave hair dull and/or dry. I have heard girls share their experiences using lye relaxers, and their scalps got burned to high heaven. So it really varies, it's a matter of what works best for you. HTH

Agreeing with the bolded!!

I also use ORS no-lye and I love it. There should be no calcium buildup if you clarify your hair. I use Suave clarifying shampoo followed by a quick wash of a moisturizing shampoo... and it allows my strands to take in much moisture! I didn't always follow a clarifying poo with another shampoo but have recently started this and I love the results. I also do deep conditioners twice a week. So if using a no-lye just step up on the moisture and u should have no problems.

When lye was applied it made my hair feel thinner and not very soft. So now I use no-lye because it makes my hair feel softer and it looks and feels thicker...in addition to the fact that I now take care of my own hair and it is much healthier than when I just relied on a stylist alone.