Have Your Say: Do You Self-Relax?

Thursday, April 29, 2010



If you do self-relax, what technique do you swear by?

Do you part your hair in 4's? Half and half method? Do you apply the relaxer vertically?

Describe your process :)



Sunshyne

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20 comments

  1. I self relax out of embarrassment to visit a salon since the last time I went to one the "professional" (She was licensed, but in her case, I use the term loosely) ruined my hair and it broke off. It was my 1st and last visit to her.

    My hair actually smelled burnt for days afterwards (from the flatiron - which I didn't want her to use, I wanted a roller set, but she begged me to reconsider), so much so that my husband was calling me "Burnt Hair".

    So,next time I needed a relaxer, I self relaxed by trying the Half and Half method (left half on 1 day and the right half the next day-the side I wasn't working on covered by plastic cap held on with clamps). It was tricky but worked out better than my prior attempts to do my whole head at once ->I just can't do it b/c I'm too slow.

    I would like to go back to a salon 1 day though, but I'm scared right now.

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  2. I part my hair into four sections and apply relaxer at the crown first. the last area I do is of the edges. Maybe I should blog about this because there are a lot of steps! lol

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  3. I part my hair in four sections and I start at the back working my way up and then to the next section in the back. I do the two front sections last. Then after I apply the relaxer to my new growth only and comb through and smooth down my new growth with a comb. I'm used to doing it the salon way.

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  4. I part my hair into 4 sections and clamp them. I apply a protective base to scalp and edges, and spray oil sheen on my already relaxed hair to protect it. I start relaxing from the crown since that is the thickest part of my hair. I do one section at a time parting horizontally, and I apply the relaxer only to the new growth using a relaxer brush, applying down then up. I do my edges last. When I am done I go over each section to smooth the roots, and then I wash out. Whew that was long! lol

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  5. i self relax because i cant stand going to that salon and them ragging my hair around! im VERY gentle when i relax my hair i part my hair in 4 sections &&i start at the part before my ear and work my way up, so basically i gently part my hair && apply the relaxer to my new growth only top && bottom. then after im done with the insides in all 4 parts i do my temples and nape are. after that i do the smoothing part rinse neutrailize, light protien, moisturizing dc, && then style!

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  6. I always self relaxed before I transitioned to natural. I did it solely to save money! I actually did my first touch up when I was 14! My mom was going to kill me until she examined my hair and could not deny the skills lol!

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  7. I used to have a family member do it. Once I moved out on my own, I started doing it myself. I've never had it done at a salon, and after some of the horror stories I've heard, I'm afraid to try it out.

    Before I started my HHJ I still thought you had to go all the way through the hair each time, so I really had no technique other than "cover it all and make it smooth", lol. I did it in 4's. Once my hair started to get thicker again (after doing just the new growth), I started the half and half method. I'm so careful about not overlapping that I never have time to do both sides at once, so this works out just fine for me. =)

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  8. I'm not relaxing now but when I did I self relaxed.

    When I had long hair, I did it in 4 parts. Short hair, I do half and half. Back to front.

    I start from the back because my back takes longer to process and work forward. I part the hair vertically and apply relaxer either with my fingers or relaxer brush. (I use gloves.) I prefer using my fingers cause I can "feel" the difference between the textures.

    Wash with neutralizing shampoo, deep condition with protein pack. I don't like a lot of heat so I normally wrap my hair and put du-rag on and let air dry. It may sound weird but the du-rag gives me some of the best wraps.

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  9. i don't self relax my hair anymore but i can share with you my technique ;op:
    1 - after applying coconut oil on my relaxed hair and vaseline on my scalp, i parted my hair in 5 sections: 1 in front, 2 in crown and 2 in nape (my hair was harder to relax at these sections).
    2 - then i began to apply my relaxer in crown, nape and front.
    3 - after i smoothed with my hands, i let sit for 5 minutes (no more).
    4 - after these 5 minutes, i neutralized 2 or 3 times, conditioned and deep conditioned my hair.
    that's all lady! HTH

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  10. i do it at home, sometimes a friend of mine does it for me...
    i was doing the 4 sections, now i plan to try the half & half method !

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  11. Thank you ladies for your help and methods!

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  12. Since the beginning of my HHJ I do self relax because my friends don't do it right (overlaping) and a visit to the salon is too expensive here in germany. It is not that difficult, though.
    I part my hair in 3 sections - two in the front and one in the back. I apply the relaxer to one section, let process and rinse out then I go on to the next section. I do so because I can't aplicate so fast... I need about 5-7 min. for one section! But since I switched to Phytorelaxer and it does not burn may I'll try next to aplicate the whole head and rinse in one step.
    Victorial

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  13. I am now natural, but when I was relaxed, I did it myself and had been doing since I was about 16. Before then, my mother did them for me.

    I parted my hair in 4. I usually didn't base my scalp, and I did get minor burns, but I could handle it lol I started in the back right section, I believe, then worked in a counter clockwise motion, making sure to spend no more than 5 minutes per section. It was always 20 minutes from the time I put it on the first section, til the time I rinsed it out. I never smoothed it out though, but always got bone-laxed.


    And to top it all off, I ALWAYS relaxed the WHOLE STRAND, tsk tsk. I really should be bald right now because of it.

    And now after constantly having overlapped relaxers, my hair being full of split and damaged ends, I did my big chop on April 17, 2010 after a 27 week transition. I can't believe I allowed myself to treat my hair like that. I am now happy that me and my hair are back in love with each other lol

    Sorry for such a long story lol

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  14. What's the name of the relaxers being used?

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  15. I have self relaxed my hair for a few years now. I base my scalp and ends of my hair with Nairobi Comfort Zone scalp protector. I use the ORS Olive Oil Lye Relaxer. I do the half and half method. I part the side that I will be working on in two sections. I put a plastic cap on and clamp the other side down with partition clips. I start in the back first at the crown section by section applying relaxer to the front and back of my hair in that section and work my way down that section doing my nape last. Then I move to the front section starting at the crown again and do my edges last. I try to do 2 mins per section. I wash out the relaxer on that side and then proceed to do the other side in the same way. After both sides are done, I neutralize w/ Isoplus Neutralizing Shampoo followed by ORS Replenshing Conditioner then Cream of Nature Moisture Active Deep Conditioner , applying leave ins and styling. I will probably use Motions CPR Reconstructor in the bottle after neutralizing the next time I relax.

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  16. I got an idea to self relax from LHCF.
    -I parted my hair in four sections (part down middle, part from ear to ear). I parted my hair within those sections and placed a duckbill clip at the end of my new growth, and the start of the already relaxed hair.I then take that section of hair and plait it, base the scalp area and added base to the already relaxed hair. I do this for all sides. The end result should be about 16 plaits in all. This helped with the application portion because I didn't have to maneuver through months of new growth. All I did was take each plait, remove the clip and then relax the new growth, this process seriously took me all of five minutes, I took a little longer to smooth. After I rinsed the relaxer out the plaits loosened from the pressure of the water. I then did my protein step before the neutralizing and just went from there. I do not want to take credit for this at all, but it is genius. Hope this helps. HHJ.

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  17. No, I go to the salon 3x a year. I would, if I could, though.

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  18. I use shea butter to base my scalp, and apply to my hair length and ends before I begin.I start at the back, and start smoothing immediately as the hair in that area is coarse. I apply vertically using gloves. I only apply to my front hair line for the last 5 minutes as that area is thin.

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  19. first i apply coconut oil to my previously (texlaxed) hair then i part my hair into 4 sections then i apply my relaxer vertically i smooth the thickest parts of my hair then i rinse, my whole texlaxing process takes about 6 minutes.

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  20. I oil my scalp with an oil, coconut or a petroleum oil. I part my hair in fours. Fold my edges down and clip them(so it doesn't break down, thin edges). Next I use some kind of oil and apply it to my already relaxed hair to prevent overlapping. I grease my ears, around the edges, back of neck and forehead. I start in the part of my hair that's The thickest and ipart with the end of the comb to separate hair. I apply relax to each part of ng(back and front, helps the breakdown. After I do all for sections I remove the clip and relax the edges. I smooth my hair with hands. I wash out with a neutralizer for 5 minutes. I wash with a second shampoo for about two or three minutes. I apply a dc or protein con was out and do a rollerset or wrap and then flat iron. I trim my ends when air is dry.

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