I got a relaxer after I just turned 13 and was getting ready to go back to school for the 8th grade year. I had watched the infomercial for Rio all summer long and all the people's amazing results, but my mom was apprehensive - thank GOD! I had been to Lisa Akbari a year before and my mom spent a ridiculous amount of money on her products to get my hair to grow. It did grow - on one side and ended up being snipped off right before school started because it was so uneven.
My mom actually trIed to talk me out of getting a relaxer, but my beautician was telling me it was best. I didn't realize until later that she just didn't like pressing hair. It was too much for her
I remember sitting in the chair getting ready for a press and curl, and she started whispering in my ear to go on and do it. My mom was off to the corner shaking her head, saying "it's up to you". Now I wished she would have talked me out of it. This was the first of many mistakes with my hair. I remember her asking me if I had scratched my hair recently. I'm thinking, "what does that have to do with anything?"
I said yes, but she proceeded to relax my hair anyway. She used to put the relaxer on and walk to the other side of the shop where her husband worked (his side was the barber shop, her's was the beauty shop) I would be burning up!! She did this all the time until when I was 14 and begged my mom to take me somewhere else. She eventually took me to a young woman (who looked just like Tisha Campbell to me) that she had known for years and who had done my mom's hair since she was a teenager.
She was the only beautician who took care of my hair. But when she started making appointments for a specific time with 3 others in the same time slot - - and showing up 2 hours later, I booked and decided to go natural after experimenting with a slew of other stylists in between.