Stretching My Relaxers Comes With Its Struggles

As of July 31^st I am eleven weeks post relaxer. My goal is to reach a relaxer stretch mile stone and stretch for sixteen weeks. 

Before my hair journey I went to the salon to get my hair relaxed every six weeks. Now that I am relaxing my hair every three months or beyond, my hair has thickened up beautifully. No more over processing!

While relaxer stretching has been great for my hair, it comes with its struggles.

1. Detangling two different textures

2. The delicacy of the line of demarcation

3. Creating desired hairstyles

Extending my stretch from three months to four months may not seem like a big deal, but I know I need to be proactive and have a plan. After all, I have found that not every relaxer stretch is the same.

For example, I am currently eleven weeks post relaxer, but because of a change in my regimen my hair is a lot thicker and therefore more difficult to manage than during my previous stretches. 

My Plan For... Detangling Two Textures

• Deep condition twice a week. – This strategy is actually a part of my ongoing coconut oil challenge, but keeping my hair moisturized and soft helps with detangling. I plan to use my conditioners with the most slip.

• Finger detangle often. – The last few weeks of this stretch, I’m going to reach for my comb less and finger detangle more. I'm less likely to cause breakage. This includes finger detangling after each step of my wash day to prevent knots. I have experienced a few knots this stretch already! 

• Work with my hair in sections. – I’m going to take my time and prepoo, wash, deep condition, rinse, and style my hair section by section. 

My Plan For... Line of Demarcation (Where my relaxed hair and natural hair meet.)

• Protein treatments – Every other week I deep condition with a light protein treatment. My go to product is the ORS Replenishing Conditioner. The week before my relaxer I will apply a medium to hard protein treatment, most likely, the Aphogee Two Step treatment.

• Finger detangling – I can be more gentle using my fingers, preventing breakage at the line of demarcation. 

• Minimal heat usage – I do have plans to flat iron my hair this weekend but will use a heat protectant and the lowest setting possible on my flat iron. The line of demarcation is the weakest point of a two textured hair shaft and too much heat can cause breakage…which defeats the whole purpose of relaxer stretching.

My Plan For... Desired Hairstyling

To be honest the jury is still out on this one. “Doing” hair, as far as styling is concerned is a struggle for me on any day. So, I’ll stick with what I can do best. These styles are not always what I feel like wearing, but at least my hair looks presentable and there’s little manipulation.

• Buns

• Medium to Large Bantu Knot Outs

• Roller Sets
  

My ultimate goal is to get to the point where I only relax my hair three times per year. If I have issues or get too frustrated I will relax earlier than planned... But never again will I do the 6 to 8 week thing. It works for some, but it wasn't the healthiest time frame for my hair.

Thank you for reading and HHJ! Blessings! 

~Candra