Okay, I just did a relaxer recently that went VERY well. I'm beginning to get a method down, so I thought I'd post it while it's still fresh in my mind! I'm posting in this board, because although it's slow and hardly anyone reads it (we read the main "General relaxed haircare board"), that also guarantees that the instructions won't fall off the board in three months!
If you click on some links throughout the instructions, it'll take you to a product or tool I used. To make this concise, I'm dividing this into three parts:
Ingredients and tools needed
Method
Footnotes section, where footnotes throughout the first two sections are explained.
I. Ingredients and tools needed
Small toothed rattail comb
Blue magic grease, profectiv breakfree[1]
Surgical/latex gloves
Hair clips -- suggest duckbill clips
Motions oil relaxer Regular
Motions oil neutralizing shampoo
Motions oil moisture silk protein conditioner
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Shower head with hose, or shower attachment
Additional mirror, to see the back of head[2]
Timer -- Suggest Radioshack eggtimer
II. Applying the relaxer
o Part the hair in two halves, down the middle from forehead to nape.[3]
o Take the time to detangle your whole hair, especially if it's coarse. It'll shorten relaxer application time.
o Section off temple area, so make what will typically be a side parting and then part downwards again to right above the back of your ear. Now you have four sections. You may hold them seperate with clips.
o (Optional, but recommended) base around your hairline, ears, and possibly all over your scalp with grease if you feel the need. If you're doing this for the first time, please please please do so. Else, do what suits your fancy.
o (Optional, recommended) cover previously relaxed hair with mix of profectiv breakfree and blue magic blue grease. (Gotta love that instant shine
).
o (Totally optional) Spike relaxer with a little bit of olive oil, probably no more than half an ounce.[4a] Mix relaxer and olive oil thoroughly. I use the handle of an old toothbrush.
o Start timer. Use the count-up functionality, rather than countdown. You want to be conscious of exactly how much time you're using, not start panicking when the timer starts going off and you're late. Pls read more in [3].
o Actual transfer of relaxer from jar to hair will be done with fingers only.[5] Put on gloves. Scooping relaxer with your finger tips as necessary each time, completely surround each of the four exposed sections with relaxer.[6]
o Now the actual application throughout your hair begins. Section off at most 1/4" from the front (NOT the temple). [4b] Scoop up relaxer with your fingers, apply to the back of that section. Remember, by putting relaxer all around, you already have the front of that section covered.
o Now here's the goods in the technique: I smooth as I go. With the rattail comb, gently comb[7] the relaxer through from the back of that section until you feel no resistance (or at least, you feel much less resistance than you started off with).
o With your fingers, apply relaxer again across the front of the next section. Then use the rattail comb to section off the next 1/4", apply on the back of the same section, and continue as described in the previous step.
o Repeat the last two steps until your whole head (or "half head" ) is covered.
o Smooth all over with your fingers, or even comb[7] with the rattail comb until you're satisfied.
o (Optional) wait a few additional minutes[8] for relaxer to take effect, especially on sections applied last. You can continue smoothing throughout this time.
o That's it! Relaxer application is done! You're ready to rinse!
o Rinse out hair over the tub (or sink, I guess), with shower hose / sink attachment so you can get optimal pressure directed especially at the roots of your hair. If you hold your hair up at a midpoint while doing this, you'll prevent relaxer from trickling down your entire length. You'll also not shed as much during rinsing, as the force of the water can be quite unforgiving to weak hairs.[9]
o Apply Moisture silk protein conditioner for 10 mins as directed.
o Rinse out. Apply neutralizing shampoo. Minimum 2 sudsings, as directed. Allow first sudsing to sit on hair about six minutes, so neutralizer can penetrate all layers of your hair shaft.
o Rinse.
o You're done! From here on out, you can deep condition and style as you'd like. I myself fancy a quick moisturizing shampooing with Dove for dry/damaged hair, deep condition under the dry for 10 mins with profectiv growth masque and anything else in sight, apply giovanni direct leave-in and coconut oil, and rollerset or let the hair airdry, then flat iron
o For cleanup, I like to use ample neutralizing shampoo on combs, gloves, clips, relaxer/conditioner containers, etc. Some even soak their towels in it! Do what suits your fancy
III. Footnotes.
[1] Products listed are the ones I used. If you use other products for the same purpose, please feel free to substitute.
[2] I have a half length mirror on the back of my bathroom door and it's really awesome! I have to move the door around to get the best view sometimes, but it helps me section properly as I get to the back.
[3] A note about timing here! I can't relax my whole head in the time specified to save my life. Must be because my hair is SOOOOO coarse! I also wait three months between relaxers and I'm no expert hair stylist, just a regular ol' gal. So I do in fact relax only half my hair at once. So one Saturday, it might be the left half. (For that week, I'll wear a bun with a side parting, where the part is in the relaxed section. Genius, eh? Yeah, I'm that full of myself ). I do everything as specified (base, coat, condition, neutralize, etc) to both parts, except the relaxer that only gets applied to the active part for that week.
[4a] Now the olive oil is something I just tried recently. I actually put it in the regular Motions, not the Motions oil relaxer. I wanted it to mimick the motions oil since that wasn't the one I was using. What happened afterwards was I stumbled on to a method that makes the relaxer very creamy and easy to spread! It may also reduce burning sensation, and also makes the hair VERY shiny and soft, even before you rinse out the relaxer and condition! If I use Motions oil next time, I'll add just a little bit of olive oil, less than I added in the plain one, though.
[4b] If it hurts to section (or comb to smooth, later) your hair, you might not have applied enough relaxer. A little olive oil in relaxer also softens the hair and helps it melt into your newgrowth more easily.
[5] I've tried so many methods of applying relaxer. This has been the best for me (fingers). My 4b hair just laughed at the tint brush. It's wonderful for getting the relaxer onto the hair, but you can't really smush the relaxer in there with pressure as you can do with your fingers. With the rattail comb, I had issues as far as spreading it evenly. As for the fingers, I usually use my two middle fingers. Touch the top of the relaxer scooping up just enough. I re-dip as many times as necessary. For instance, for my front hairline (from the forehead down to the front of my ear), I might re-dip and get more relaxer five or six times. By the time I'm done with the whole hair, I've used maybe a third of the entire relaxer jar, or less.
PS: Because of the olive oil, the relaxer might go on transparent instead of white. Don't sweat it, pls.
[6] This step is very important. When you start making horizontal sections and applying and smoothing the relaxer, you may not be able to get it on the edges of each section. Having covered up the edges before even starting, not only are they taken care of, but they'll probably be the smoothest because they were applied first.
[7] My hair is very coarse. I can deceive myself all I want and try using only fingers, or back of comb to smooth. It won't get straight. Now your hair may be a softer or much more fragile type. In that case, pls consider the possibility that the combing could do you more harm than good. Although if you're gentle and don't pull the relaxer through your entire length, I don't see how that could be.
Quick note about overlapping, here. I probably do overlap into my relaxed hair just a little bit. We're talking anywhere from one to two extra inches, depending on where in the hair I'm at. This is because of what I said about "comb till you feel no resistance." For me, one touch up might miss the mark on a couple areas. I don't sweat it. The next touch-up, I'll simply pull the relaxer through until that portion is taken care of!
Also, I feel the hair closer to the roots is more healthy. It's not as old as the hair at the ends. So they can take a beating two or three times, but otherwise I don't try to push it any further. So please keep this in mind and use your own judgement. For me, my coarse hair gets straight, and it stays on my head and remains healthy. I couldn't ask for more!
[8] Some people think waiting after you're done applying relaxer is death to your hair. Well, in this method, you smooth as you go, so you don't have the luxury (or annoyance, pick your poison) of coming back to take an additional five or ten mins smoothing the hair, during which the last section could be relaxing just fine. You could always smooth the whole hair section by section. I usually just use my fingers all over the hair, and might comb the hair in maybe two or three sections, and that's it! So think of it as this time beings yours to do whatever you want with. As you repeat your relaxers, you'll see what works best for you.
[9] When the roots are rinsed out, you can also rinse the length. I like to continue supporting the hair, while directing the hose directly at the hair. For some reason, I don't see many hairs falling off while doing this. If you do (and even while rinsing your roots), you may want to consider reducing the water force/pressure. I wouldn't want to use too little force to rinse my relaxer out, though.
Well ladies, if you have any questions, you're best of sending me a PM, or emailing me at janeir36 @ aol dot com. I wrote the email like that because of SPAM, so please reconstruct it and send me email if you have any questions, and I'll come back and post the answers here (as well as send back to you), so anyone else who stumbles on this could see the answer.
Enjoy!
If you click on some links throughout the instructions, it'll take you to a product or tool I used. To make this concise, I'm dividing this into three parts:
Ingredients and tools needed
Method
Footnotes section, where footnotes throughout the first two sections are explained.
I. Ingredients and tools needed
Small toothed rattail comb
Blue magic grease, profectiv breakfree[1]
Surgical/latex gloves
Hair clips -- suggest duckbill clips
Motions oil relaxer Regular
Motions oil neutralizing shampoo
Motions oil moisture silk protein conditioner
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Shower head with hose, or shower attachment
Additional mirror, to see the back of head[2]
Timer -- Suggest Radioshack eggtimer
II. Applying the relaxer
o Part the hair in two halves, down the middle from forehead to nape.[3]
o Take the time to detangle your whole hair, especially if it's coarse. It'll shorten relaxer application time.
o Section off temple area, so make what will typically be a side parting and then part downwards again to right above the back of your ear. Now you have four sections. You may hold them seperate with clips.
o (Optional, but recommended) base around your hairline, ears, and possibly all over your scalp with grease if you feel the need. If you're doing this for the first time, please please please do so. Else, do what suits your fancy.
o (Optional, recommended) cover previously relaxed hair with mix of profectiv breakfree and blue magic blue grease. (Gotta love that instant shine
).o (Totally optional) Spike relaxer with a little bit of olive oil, probably no more than half an ounce.[4a] Mix relaxer and olive oil thoroughly. I use the handle of an old toothbrush.
o Start timer. Use the count-up functionality, rather than countdown. You want to be conscious of exactly how much time you're using, not start panicking when the timer starts going off and you're late. Pls read more in [3].
o Actual transfer of relaxer from jar to hair will be done with fingers only.[5] Put on gloves. Scooping relaxer with your finger tips as necessary each time, completely surround each of the four exposed sections with relaxer.[6]
If you're like me and can only finish relaxing half your hair in a "reasonable" time, you'll only be applying relaxer around two sections, while the others stay pinned away through the entire relaxer application session.
o Now the actual application throughout your hair begins. Section off at most 1/4" from the front (NOT the temple). [4b] Scoop up relaxer with your fingers, apply to the back of that section. Remember, by putting relaxer all around, you already have the front of that section covered.
o Now here's the goods in the technique: I smooth as I go. With the rattail comb, gently comb[7] the relaxer through from the back of that section until you feel no resistance (or at least, you feel much less resistance than you started off with).
When you hit no more resistance, it means the newgrowth is straight, and/or you've hit relaxed hair. This I believe is a simple way to reduce overlapping. You can smooth it down again with your fingers before moving on to the next section.
o With your fingers, apply relaxer again across the front of the next section. Then use the rattail comb to section off the next 1/4", apply on the back of the same section, and continue as described in the previous step.
o Repeat the last two steps until your whole head (or "half head"
) is covered.o Smooth all over with your fingers, or even comb[7] with the rattail comb until you're satisfied.
o (Optional) wait a few additional minutes[8] for relaxer to take effect, especially on sections applied last. You can continue smoothing throughout this time.
o That's it! Relaxer application is done! You're ready to rinse!
o Rinse out hair over the tub (or sink, I guess), with shower hose / sink attachment so you can get optimal pressure directed especially at the roots of your hair. If you hold your hair up at a midpoint while doing this, you'll prevent relaxer from trickling down your entire length. You'll also not shed as much during rinsing, as the force of the water can be quite unforgiving to weak hairs.[9]
o Apply Moisture silk protein conditioner for 10 mins as directed.
o Rinse out. Apply neutralizing shampoo. Minimum 2 sudsings, as directed. Allow first sudsing to sit on hair about six minutes, so neutralizer can penetrate all layers of your hair shaft.
o Rinse.
o You're done! From here on out, you can deep condition and style as you'd like. I myself fancy a quick moisturizing shampooing with Dove for dry/damaged hair, deep condition under the dry for 10 mins with profectiv growth masque and anything else in sight, apply giovanni direct leave-in and coconut oil, and rollerset or let the hair airdry, then flat iron
o For cleanup, I like to use ample neutralizing shampoo on combs, gloves, clips, relaxer/conditioner containers, etc. Some even soak their towels in it! Do what suits your fancy
III. Footnotes.
[1] Products listed are the ones I used. If you use other products for the same purpose, please feel free to substitute.
[2] I have a half length mirror on the back of my bathroom door and it's really awesome! I have to move the door around to get the best view sometimes, but it helps me section properly as I get to the back.
[3] A note about timing here! I can't relax my whole head in the time specified to save my life. Must be because my hair is SOOOOO coarse! I also wait three months between relaxers and I'm no expert hair stylist, just a regular ol' gal. So I do in fact relax only half my hair at once. So one Saturday, it might be the left half. (For that week, I'll wear a bun with a side parting, where the part is in the relaxed section. Genius, eh? Yeah, I'm that full of myself
). I do everything as specified (base, coat, condition, neutralize, etc) to both parts, except the relaxer that only gets applied to the active part for that week. It gets worse. I can't even finish one half of my head in the given time, either! But no way in HELL am I spending more than two sittings to relax my hair. THIS is why I start from the front of my hair. Because it's the healthiest AND most resistant part of my head. I could roll around in the sahara for three months and that hair will still be healthy. So it can take the beating of the relaxer for 30, 35 minutes and still not show any damage.
WARNING! WARNING!! DISCLAIMER!!! (And I'll add the Spanish word for "warning" once I know what it is ).
Professional Stylists like to start from the back, because if the relaxer is bad and all your hair falls off, you'll still have hair in front to cover it up, because the front was done last. You have a decision here to make for yourself, for which you will take full responsibility. I myself always do the front, first.
Unlike my stylist who has the luxury of a back view of my head, I almost feel like I have to work from the front. And again, like I said, the front tends to be the thickest and most resistant part of my head. That is the decision I've made for myself. Therefore please be warned!!
But anyway, as I get more conscientious with detangling the whole hair before I start, and also possibly foregoing the coating of the previously relaxed hair which can also make the hair difficult to part, I'm sure my time will reduce more and more to resemble that written on the relaxer jar.
WARNING! WARNING!! DISCLAIMER!!! (And I'll add the Spanish word for "warning" once I know what it is
). Professional Stylists like to start from the back, because if the relaxer is bad and all your hair falls off, you'll still have hair in front to cover it up, because the front was done last. You have a decision here to make for yourself, for which you will take full responsibility. I myself always do the front, first.
Unlike my stylist who has the luxury of a back view of my head, I almost feel like I have to work from the front. And again, like I said, the front tends to be the thickest and most resistant part of my head. That is the decision I've made for myself. Therefore please be warned!!
But anyway, as I get more conscientious with detangling the whole hair before I start, and also possibly foregoing the coating of the previously relaxed hair which can also make the hair difficult to part, I'm sure my time will reduce more and more to resemble that written on the relaxer jar.
[4a] Now the olive oil is something I just tried recently. I actually put it in the regular Motions, not the Motions oil relaxer. I wanted it to mimick the motions oil since that wasn't the one I was using. What happened afterwards was I stumbled on to a method that makes the relaxer very creamy and easy to spread! It may also reduce burning sensation, and also makes the hair VERY shiny and soft, even before you rinse out the relaxer and condition! If I use Motions oil next time, I'll add just a little bit of olive oil, less than I added in the plain one, though.
[4b] If it hurts to section (or comb to smooth, later) your hair, you might not have applied enough relaxer. A little olive oil in relaxer also softens the hair and helps it melt into your newgrowth more easily.
[5] I've tried so many methods of applying relaxer. This has been the best for me (fingers). My 4b hair just laughed at the tint brush. It's wonderful for getting the relaxer onto the hair, but you can't really smush the relaxer in there with pressure as you can do with your fingers. With the rattail comb, I had issues as far as spreading it evenly. As for the fingers, I usually use my two middle fingers. Touch the top of the relaxer scooping up just enough. I re-dip as many times as necessary. For instance, for my front hairline (from the forehead down to the front of my ear), I might re-dip and get more relaxer five or six times. By the time I'm done with the whole hair, I've used maybe a third of the entire relaxer jar, or less.
PS: Because of the olive oil, the relaxer might go on transparent instead of white. Don't sweat it, pls.
[6] This step is very important. When you start making horizontal sections and applying and smoothing the relaxer, you may not be able to get it on the edges of each section. Having covered up the edges before even starting, not only are they taken care of, but they'll probably be the smoothest because they were applied first.
Please note: If you're having issues with your temple hair growth, you may want to consider not coating the temple until you're done. The results may not be as superstraight/sleek, but your hairgrowth is worth it!
[7] My hair is very coarse. I can deceive myself all I want and try using only fingers, or back of comb to smooth. It won't get straight. Now your hair may be a softer or much more fragile type. In that case, pls consider the possibility that the combing could do you more harm than good. Although if you're gentle and don't pull the relaxer through your entire length, I don't see how that could be.
Quick note about overlapping, here. I probably do overlap into my relaxed hair just a little bit. We're talking anywhere from one to two extra inches, depending on where in the hair I'm at. This is because of what I said about "comb till you feel no resistance." For me, one touch up might miss the mark on a couple areas. I don't sweat it. The next touch-up, I'll simply pull the relaxer through until that portion is taken care of!
Also, I feel the hair closer to the roots is more healthy. It's not as old as the hair at the ends. So they can take a beating two or three times, but otherwise I don't try to push it any further. So please keep this in mind and use your own judgement. For me, my coarse hair gets straight, and it stays on my head and remains healthy. I couldn't ask for more!
[8] Some people think waiting after you're done applying relaxer is death to your hair. Well, in this method, you smooth as you go, so you don't have the luxury (or annoyance, pick your poison) of coming back to take an additional five or ten mins smoothing the hair, during which the last section could be relaxing just fine. You could always smooth the whole hair section by section. I usually just use my fingers all over the hair, and might comb the hair in maybe two or three sections, and that's it! So think of it as this time beings yours to do whatever you want with. As you repeat your relaxers, you'll see what works best for you.
[9] When the roots are rinsed out, you can also rinse the length. I like to continue supporting the hair, while directing the hose directly at the hair. For some reason, I don't see many hairs falling off while doing this. If you do (and even while rinsing your roots), you may want to consider reducing the water force/pressure. I wouldn't want to use too little force to rinse my relaxer out, though.
Well ladies, if you have any questions, you're best of sending me a PM, or emailing me at janeir36 @ aol dot com. I wrote the email like that because of SPAM, so please reconstruct it and send me email if you have any questions, and I'll come back and post the answers here (as well as send back to you), so anyone else who stumbles on this could see the answer.
Enjoy!
