What does stretching Do / How long do you stretch?

[Whimsy]

Just Curious. What's the point of stretching btwn relaxers?
I got my texlax in October and will be getting my next one in February.
How long do you go btwn relaxing and what benefits do you see??

 

[CAPlush]

I think the 2 biggest benefits from stretching are avoiding overprocessing and avoiding overlapping your relaxers. You get thicker stronger hair as a result. If you cut your relaxer frequency in half, you cut the chance of a relaxer mishap in half too

 

[Miss*Tress]

Stretching chemical processes reduces the points of overlap; these overlap points are the weaker areas of hair that are the most prone to breakage.

This is hair relaxed every 6 weeks: -----.------.------.------
This is hair relaxed every 12 weeks: ------------.------------

The dot (.) represents the line of demarcation between each touch up. For two different heads of hair at the same length, the one that is relaxed more often will have more weak points than the one that is relaxed less frequently.

HTH.

ETA: In my relaxer heyday, I used to get touchups every 4 months.

 

[Mars_Reiko]

Stretching chemical processes reduces the points of overlap; these overlap points are the weaker areas of hair that are the most prone to breakage.

This is hair relaxed every 6 weeks: -----.------.------.------
This is hair relaxed every 12 weeks: ------------.------------

The dot (.) represents the line of demarcation between each touch up. For two different heads of hair at the same length, the one that is relaxed more often will have more weak points than the one that is relaxed less frequently.

HTH.

ETA: In my relaxer heyday, I used to get touchups every 4 months.

This is a great way to put it

 

[blackbarbie]

This is a great way to put it

I agree! Very good explanation and so eloquently put!

 

[pistachio]

those hair strands were cute

 

[Lusa]

Looks like MissTress has this one covered. Great visual.

 

[Whimsy]

Thanks! Loved the diagram I guess I'm doing something right for waiting...despite a lil bit more tangling. 16 weeks is pretty good.

 

[InnerSoul]

I think the 2 biggest benefits from stretching are avoiding overprocessing and avoiding overlapping your relaxers. You get thicker stronger hair as a result. If you cut your relaxer frequency in half, you cut the chance of a relaxer mishap in half too

this is exactly why I stretch

I stretch my relaxers to every 3 months.

 

[seraphinelle]

Stretching chemical processes reduces the points of overlap; these overlap points are the weaker areas of hair that are the most prone to breakage.

This is hair relaxed every 6 weeks: -----.------.------.------
This is hair relaxed every 12 weeks: ------------.------------

The dot (.) represents the line of demarcation between each touch up. For two different heads of hair at the same length, the one that is relaxed more often will have more weak points than the one that is relaxed less frequently.

HTH.

ETA: In my relaxer heyday, I used to get touchups every 4 months.

Great explanation!