Tuesday 30 April 2013

Hair growth challenge - Relaxer day tips

Hi Ladies,

Some of you may have taken out your protective style and have seen some new growth. Your hair has grown and you can't wait to touch up so that you can really see the length. Well, growing is the easy part, hair always grows. Retouching on the other hand, that's the difficult part. improper relaxing is the No 1 cause of setbacks with women trying to grow their hair out. So getting this process right is critical.



In a lot of cases, you experience so much breakage during the retouching process that your hair becomes uneven, you end up having to trim off the inches that you accumulated between touch ups and your hair ends up right back where you started.

The key problems to look out for and avoid when relaxing:
- Breakage from improper combing. This typically occurs when parting your hair to apply the relaxer or while combing the relaxer through the new growth
- Breakage from overlapping relaxer on previously relaxed hair.
- Improper conditioning and detangling after washing out the relaxer. People often lose gobs of hair during this step of the process.
- Over processing i.e. leaving the relaxer in your hair for too long

To reduce the chances of any of these happening:
- Make sure your hair is totally tangle free before starting. Detangling requires patience and can be time consuming and hairdressers generally try to attend to as many customers as possible so the chances of a hairdresser spending one hour detangling your hair is slim to none. I therefore strongly suggest that you dangle your hair thoroughly before going to the salon
- Insist on proper conditioning and gentle detangling after washing out the relaxer. Tell your hairdresser to use a generous amount of conditioner to ensure that your hair has slip and can be easily detangled.
- Communicate clearly to your hair dresser and be assertive. I know it can be uncomfortable micro managing your hair dresser but it's your hair and you are a paying customer so if he/she is doing something you are not comfortable with, tell them.

Let us know how it goes. Especially if you have a good experience. We are in dire need a list of the good salons.

Thanks for stopping by and best of luck!

15 comments:

  1. Had a huge setback this febuary. went to a salon in abuja to relax and the very silly, ignorant hair dresser relaxed my WHOLE hair! the whole thing! and there was so much growth cos i hadnt relaxed since september of 2012, but i guess i had a big part to play in the setback cos instead of DCing i immediately put micro braids in my hair. 2 weeks ago, finally took 'em out and there was sooo much shedding and dry scalp and dandruff!! but its on im getting back on track now, i've been co washing twice a week and shampooed this weekend with anti dandruff shampoo then DC, moisturize and seal! :D

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    Replies
    1. Wow. Setbacks suck but don't worry it happens to the best of us! With proper care, your hair will bounce right back. You seem to be on the right track though. Condition, condition, condition. Also try wear some low tension protective styles so that you are not manipulating your hair too much. Keep us posted!

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  2. I envy u o, in a good way sha. The problem with my hair is that it grows to a reasonable extent and then starts breaking, I was advised to retouch my a less often. I go for 6 months now without a retouch and I have really been enjoying it, just started that last year though. Do you think this is a good idea and then how often do you retouch your hair?

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    Replies
    1. It is a good idea to reduce the frequency of your relaxers. I typically relax every 3 months. If you can go for 6months, that is fine. Just be careful when combing and manipulating your hair because hair is fragile and susceptible to breakage at the point where the new growth and the relaxed hair meet.

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  3. Hi, I stumbled on ur blog and boy, do I need advice! I used to have thick, black, shoulder-length hair but now all I have is a few, weak, short strands. Could u give some beginner advice and product recommendations i.e. really basic stuff for someone just starting over? Pretty please?

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  4. Hi dear, u mentioned in one of your updates that when u decided to embark on your HHJ, u avoided products containing Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil and Petrolatum. Pls could u tell us the effect of these things on hair? Looking forward to your reply. Thanks Anurika

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  5. Hi Bassey, this is my first time on here and I so much love ur blog. I've really learnt a lot but please what can I do to treat dandruff. I get a lot of dandruff on my scalp especialy when I remove my weave on. Also, hw often should one do steaming?
    Thanks, Bimbola.

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  6. Hi, am new to ur blog & hav been greatly informed. Pls I need ur advice. I hav colour treated hair that's badly damaged from yrs of dying & flat ironing (I guess). 2+ months ago I decided to cut off about 2 " of split hairs, go natural & regrow my hair. I believe I'm doing everything I should- most of which u've written about, and gone as far as taking supplements and drinking tons of water daily (believe me av tried them all- loc, dc, home made leave-in conditioner, Shea butter, coconut oil, oive oil, proper combing) I weave my hair all the time under a wig & in between dc treatments, but each time I run my hands thru my hair or am weaving my hair, hair falls off. Although my once dry, brittle & extremely soft hair has improved in appearance & texture am worried because it seems new growth is falling back off. Thanx is advance!!!

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  7. Hi Bassey,


    I have been trying to send you a mail but it keeps bouncing back.sent a picture of some products i bought and wanted to know your take on it.
    My question really is how long must one leave a relaxer on? and Bassey, i must say you have shown me new ways to make my hair breathe and thrive and may u be really blessed. You know am on braids now and it has tangled seriously and usually i dont detangle but retouches like a day after the braids is out and its so nice to adopt a new way of detangling and conditioning before relaxing and that means adopting fresh love for wigs..please anyone where i can get great affordable wigs in lagos? Am not a wig wearer but i can see that this challenge will entail using it at one point or the other esp the one week wait before retouching.so to my question, how long should the relaxer be left on and can you kindly give great relaxers to be using?u rock bassey

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  8. Hello girls, here are the 3 golden tips that I followed to grow my hair faster.

    1)Load up on vitamin E! Vitamin E will cause your hair to grow much faster then normal. Vitamin E also strengthens your hair, and make your hair shiny. Vitamin E is essential if you want your hair to grow faster.

    2)Believe it or not, if you cut your hair more often, it will make it grow faster! If you trim your hair 3 or 4 time's a year it will eliminate any split end's you may have had. Split end's only stop your hair from growing, so ridding your hair of split end's will speed up the growing process.

    3)Massage your scalp! Not only do scalp massages feel great, it's a great way to make your hair grow faster! A scalp massage will increase blood circulation to your hair follicles, condition your scalp, and strengthen the roots of your hair! You can either massage your scalp yourself, or have someone else do it!

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  9. Nice post. it's a great way to make your hair grow faster.

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  11. Is it ok to steam my hair two weeks before retouching?or does it have to be after retouching?

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