Tag Archives: retouch

Relaxer Update

5 Nov

I finally had a relaxer this past Saturday.  I went to the same salon and used the same stylist I have used for some time now.  She applied Mizani Butter Base Scalp Protector to my scalp including my hairline and the tips of my ears.  She then applied Organic Root Stimulator (no lye, regular strength) hair relaxer to my new growth only.  She started from the back of my head and worked towards the front.  Once again, I asked her to leave out my hairline because I still feel it doesn’t need to be relaxed.  The hair on my hairline is quite fine and I felt it didn’t need relaxing, not just yet anyway.  She also texlaxed my hair just as she has done over the last few relaxers.  Texlaxing is when you deliberately wash and neutralise the relaxer before it has a chance to relax your hair bone straight.  The hair is left with some texture.  I do not sit with relaxer crème on my hair.  As soon as the stylist is done the relaxer crème is rinsed off and neutralised.  She conditioned the hair with Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Conditioner which comes as part of the relaxer kit.  The hair was then blow dried and flat ironed after applying Organic Root Stimulator Heat Protection Serum.

My hair is longer than at my last relaxer but I did not gain as much length as I had hoped.  It’s definitely not as long as I wanted it to be!  I still have not given up on my goal of at least grazing bra strap length (BSL) by end of December 2012.  I’m planning my next relaxer for February 2013 at around 12 weeks post relaxer.

Between now and end of December this is what I plan to do:

  • Do pre shampoo treatments at least once a week with coconut oil.  I really see the benefits of this when I do it.  My hair is always very soft.
  • Continue to wash and deep condition twice a week.  This is what works best for me.
  • Now that I have relaxed my hair I can now try out the curlfomers I got about a month ago.

I promised you a review of the T444Z hairfood I used while I was in braids.  I will post it tomorrow so don’t forget to check back in.

Read about my last relaxer here.

My fingers mark my goal – BSL. Can I get there by December 31???

Related articles
About these ads

Tags: , , , ,

I haven’t relaxed yet but…

2 Nov

I haven’t relaxed my hair yet but I’ve booked to have it done tomorrow!  I had planned to get it relaxed last weekend but I got super busy and I couldn’t find time to do it.  I will get it relaxed tomorrow and take pics to enable a comparison with my last relaxer.  I will post an update on Monday.  I will also write a review of the T444Z I was using on my scalp over the 8 weeks I had my hair in braids.  I’ve been waiting until after my relaxer so I can make a comparison of my hair with my last relaxer in May.  My hair has so much new growth right now I can’t tell whether its thinner, thicker or even any longer than it was in May.

I’m still trying to decide whether to leave out my hairline once again when getting the hair relaxed tomorrow.  Although my new growth is thick on my head there is hardly any on my hairline.

Take a look at my post from May here while you wait for Monday!

Related articles

Tags: , , , ,

How to do a corrective relaxer

4 Sep

I’m dedicating this whole post to corrective relaxers.  A corrective relaxer is done to correct any under processing from a previous relaxer.  Under processed hair can lead to breakage because you are dealing with two different textures.  The hair becomes breakage prone especially where the two textures meet on the hair shaft (known as the line of demarcation).

The first step to a corrective relaxer is to determine why the hair was under processed in the first place.  There are many reasons why this could happen.  This can be because the relaxer was rinsed off too soon, too little relaxer crème was used or that you had applied something to the hair that slowed down the chemical process of the relaxer.  Often we have under processed hair in the nape because we cannot see the back of our heads when self-relaxing.  Once you determine why the hair is under processed, it will help you avoid repeating this when relaxing again.

Make sure to wait at least six weeks before doing a corrective relaxer.  In that time look after your hair i.e. wash and deep condition at least weekly and moisturise daily.  Pay particular attention to moisture to keep breakage at bay.

After six (or more) weeks you should have enough new growth to relax your hair again.  Apply the relaxer to your new growth as usual.  In the last five minutes before rinsing off the relaxer, apply relaxer crème to the under processed parts / the parts that need ‘correcting’.  This will prevent the under processed parts from becoming over processed which is also damaging to the hair.   Remember that when it comes to the under processed parts, you are picking up from where you left off at the last relaxer – the hair has already been processed the previous time round.  Do not apply the relaxer to all the hair, just the parts that need correcting.

As a final note, if you are not experiencing breakage, tangles or shedding and you don’t mind the different textures then you don’t need to worry about doing a corrective relaxer.  The hair will eventually be trimmed off in time.

Do you sometimes get under processed hair when you relax?  How do you deal with it?

Related articles

Tags: , , ,

Got a fresh relaxer

14 May

relaxer day

I had a relaxer this past Saturday at 13 weeks post relaxer.  I went to the hair salon and used the same hairstylist I have used for about a year now.  My hair was relaxed with Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Relaxer (normal strength) after applying Softsheen Carson OptiCalm Pre-Relaxer Protector on my scalp.  The pre-relaxer protector was applied to my whole scalp with emphasis on my ears, hairline and nape.  I asked the hairstylist not to relax my hairline so she didn’t apply any relaxer crème onto it.  I felt there was no need given that the hair is so fine there anyway.  As it is, you can hardly notice that my hairline was not relaxed this time round.  After the relaxer crème was neutralised, the hair was blow dried and flat ironed after applying Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum.

I’m fairly happy with the progress my hair has made.  The layers I had when my hair was cut in February are almost gone now.  I have also gained some length.  I’m still holding on to my goal of reaching bra strap length (bsl) by December 2012.  Over the next three months I will focus on length retention by making sure I minimise breakage to increase length.  I will keep up with my regimen as I feel it is working.  I may also get my hair braided in July since this is the coldest month in South Africa and it will help me protect my hair against the cold.

So what changes am I planning for the next 12 weeks:

  • I will seal my hair with coconut oil each time after I moisturise.  I haven’t been doing this consistently.  I will make sure I concentrate on the ends.
  • I will pre-poo my hair more often.  I have been doing this infrequently, though it makes my hair very soft.

Wish me luck!

Read about my last relaxer here.

February 2012

 

May 2012 – Im wearing the same shirt as above

 

May 2012

Tags: , , , , ,

My latest relaxer

19 Aug

I’ve finally had my relaxer on Wednesday.  I had it a few days later than I had planned because my hairstylist fell ill and was not coming to work.  I even contemplated self relaxing but I chickened out!  I wasn’t sure how I would deal with the back of my head that I couldn’t see.  I was also nervous about over processing since I am now texlaxing (intentionally under processing) my hair so it (appears) thicker.

I used Organic Root Stimulator (regular strength) just like my last relaxer 12 weeks ago.  The hairstylist left it on for only a few minutes before rinsing and shampooing it off.  She then went on to blow dry and flat iron (after applying Organic Root Stimulator heat serum).  I asked her to trim the ends which she did.  She trimmed off about 0.5cm or so.

It is now 6 months since I started blogging and tracking my hair journey.  It’s also been 6 months since I have been making a proper effort where my hair is concerned.  In the 6 months my hair has made a huge turnaround and I must say the effort has paid off. 

Looking at the pictures, my hair is thicker than it was at the last relaxer.  I do not think it is longer though, it just looks like it has filled out.  I was really worried about this relaxer because it has been cold over the last 3 months and I experienced quite a lot of shedding.  I was actually nervous that my hair may have thinned visibly from the shedding.  I was wrong!

So what are my plans for the next 12 weeks until my next relaxer? 

  •       I will continue to wash and deep condition my hair twice a week.
  •       I will continue adding honey and oil to my deep conditioners.
  •       I will oil my scalp twice a week with castor oil.  I had slackened off on this but I think I will start again.  I had stopped because my scalp no longer itches and I do not get dandruff anymore.  I was thinking though that I should continue to keep scalp problems at bay.
  •       I will be taking some hair,skin and nail vitamins.  We discussed them on the facebook page and I promised to write a blog post about them.  I then decided to take them until my next relaxer to see what effect they will have.  I took my first one on Wednesday (the day I got the relaxer).
  •      I plan to incorporate more protein treatments to minimise breakage.  I really want my hair to be as thick as it can be.  I think I will be using my Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise more often.  I feel that in terms of moisture I am covered but I now doubt that my hair is getting the protein it needs.  I have been complaining about breakage for months now.

Will keep you posted how it’s all going!

Change in last 6 months. I'm wearing the same top.

The beginning of my journey vs today

The ends have filled out and thickened since my last relaxer

Tags: , , ,

Hair update – 12 weeks post relaxer

10 Aug
12 weeks hair

Im now 12 weeks post relaxer once again.  The past 12 weeks have flown by so fast.  I have quite a bit of new growth but I have managed to keep it under control with regular deep conditioning.  I have come to realise that deep conditioning keeps new growth soft and really manageable.

Its been 6 months now since I started making more effort with my hair.  Looking back at the picture I took of my hair in January 2011 I see that my hair has come a long way.

So how have the past 12 weeks been?  I have managed to wash and deep condition twice a week religiously! I have also battled increased breakage and shedding because we experienced winter during the 12 weeks.  I’m really praying that my hair hasn’t thinned visibly from the shedding and breakage I experienced over winter.  I will only really notice once I have relaxed it.  What I have not done religiously is apply castor oil to my scalp twice a week.  I have applied it when I felt my scalp needed it but most times my scalp felt just fine.  Dandruff and itchy scalp seems to be a thing of the past for me.

I plan on relaxing my hair over the weekend.  I will post the results on Monday.  Crossing my fingers till then :)   Between now and then I plan on doing a protein treatment tomorrow.  This is to strengthen my hair and prepare it for the relaxer.  I will be using Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment for the first time.  As far as I know it is not available in South Africa.  I dont know if it is available in any African country.

Tags: , ,

Retouching on Friday…

1 Feb

I’ve booked with my hairstylist for a retouch this Friday 4 February.  I’m looking forward to it.  My growth is now so difficult to manage and I’m having to take extra care of my hair because I essentially have two textures.  The relaxed hair and the new growth.  I’ve kept up my bi weekly deep conditioning.  I did a protein deep condition yesterday in preparation for my retouch.  I specifically did a protein deep condition to give the hair strength and to prepare it for the chemicals of the relaxer.  As soon as i retouch i will just continue with my normal regimen of bi weekly deep conditioning and daily moisturising.  I will take pictures of my freshly relaxed hair so I can compare with an earlier picture to see if there has been much change in the length and appearance of the hair.  I also want to see if the use of honey and castor oil this past month has made a difference.

Tags: ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 817 other followers