After many failed attempts, I finally learned how to properly stretch relaxers without breakage. With these tips, I went from not being able to stretch beyond 8 weeks to stretching to 27 months! Now that’s progress.
— 15 Tips to Stretch Relaxers without Breakage —
- Pre-Poo for a minimum of 30 minutes with oil or conditioner to soften new growth and assist with detangling.
- Detangle in sections! Smaller sections are easier to manage and lessens breakage.
- Wash in ponytails or braids if your hair is tangle prone.
- Use a slippery conditioner
that allows the comb to pass through the hair easily when shower detangling.
- Deep Condition
often to keep the new growth moisturized and pliable.
- Steam your hair midweek for a quick hydration boost!
- Apply deep conditioner to the ends before applying to the roots to keep tangle prone ends from snagging and tangling upon itself.
- Air dry on wash day with keeping new growth elongated and stretched.
- Keep the hair stretched with braids or banding throughout the week.
- Co-wash
as often as possible to increase hydration.
- Detangle with seamless combs to minimize breakage and mid-shaft splits.
- Lightly comb or finger detangle daily to keep hair free shed hair and tangles.
- Apply protein to the line demarcation down the relaxed hair only! Natural hair, also know as your new growth, is in its strongest state. Therefore, applying protein to natural hair makes it even stronger which indirectly weakens the line of demarcation and increases breakage and tangling.
- Opt for low manipulation hair styles like buns, flat twists, French braids or wigs to keep the hair stretched.
- Patience, patience, patience: enough said!
— Stretch Relaxers without Breakage by Keeping It Simple —
The longer I stretch, the more I am realize, less is more. The less my hands are in my hair, the less of a possibility that it will break. I no longer feel pressured to wash weekly because it is the healthy hair community norm. Instead, I wash when my hair requires it to remove product buildup
Now that I am listening to my hair, things are going great! Back in the day before I started blogging, I washed once every two weeks or once a month and my hair did just fine. I have returned to this very schedule and it is going great with no issues. You can say I have returned to the basics and maybe so should you. Give it some thought!
Related Article: Wash Day Routine for Relaxed Hair.
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Awesome Tips Diva! Prepooing, Relaxer Style DC’in, Steaming, Banding and the LOC method has been my saving grace.
Blog: http://www.PowerToThePJ.blogspot.com
EnExitStageLeft recently posted…Wash Day 11/10/13: Tis’ Behavin’……
Awesome tips! I’ve wanted to try baggying but I always forget. Lol.
KLP | SavingOurStrands
KLP @ SOS_Hair recently posted…Mini Wash Day
You’re missing a treat. I love baggying.
Thanks for this great list. #13 was especially helpful, since I wasn’t sure if I should put my protein treatment on my new growth. This relaxer was 12 weeks! (Up from 7 and then 9 week intervals.)
You’re welcome! You’re doing fantastic. What do you feel was the change that allowed you to stretch longer?
A lot of it was reading your blog and just grow already and seeing that longer stretches are possible without having your hair break off. The main changes that helped me was to realize I needed to treat my hair differently once I was about 7-8 weeks post relaxer. After that point, applying moisturizer (Eden Bodyworks Curly Pudding Souffle) directly to my new growth every night (still moisturizung my relaxed hair with my regular moisturizer) and wearing my hair in curlier styles helped a lot.
I’m like twerking in my chair right now 😉 But seriously, I’m super excited for you. If you want your hair featured, I’m down. 🙂 Thank you for supporting me as well.
Thanks, Jay, for all your good advice, and for being excited! Happy Hair Journey!
Likewise and be blessed. Keep in touch sis. 🙂
Hi Jay!!
so I found this post after I let my hair get out of control *sigh* this has been theeeeeeeeeee year of the dismal stretches.
I DECLARED at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t be doing stretches for longer than 4 months – (my longest stretch was 7 months). since my declaration I have been getting to 5 months before I relax my hair.
These stretches have been sneaking up on me ninja style which is why they are such disasters… but this post has some things for me to try that I haven’t tried out yet. points 6,7,10,12,13 are all points I need to work on.
my biggest issue being point 13 about watching how I apply my protein treatments…I think all my treatments are Protein; just that some are very light protein treatments and others are medium or heavy treatments (dont look at me with horror). Its really hard to find purely moisturising conditioners in South Africa.
Do you have a link to any of the moisturising conditioners you like to use?
kangopie recently posted…When The Relaxer Saves you
Hi Kangopie! Relaxer stretching can go real right or real wrong if we’re not careful. My biggest issue use to be wash day detangling. I’m so glad I got over that situation. Maybe set a reminder in your calendar that will alert you when you’re nearing 4 months so that you don’t go beyond it. I am unsure what is available to you. Are you able to order off of Amazon or Sally Beauty Supply? What about stores like Ulta, Sephora, Target, Walgreen’s or CVS?
Yes, leaving my hair alone has paid off a lot in the past weeks. Your new growth is so amazing!
TY pretty lady!
Great Post!! Love the face that someone is offering advice for women who still wear relaxers!!