Relaxer Update - Castor Oil Challenge, Trim + Olaplex!
Monday, February 11, 2019After stretching my relaxer for a total of 14 weeks, your girl is happily relaxed and loving it! Yes, you read that right - 14 weeks! I normally don't stretch this long, but I did for two(2) reasons:
REASON #1: I was participating in the Castor Oil Challenge from October 14, 2018 - January 14, 2019; therefore, I wanted to maximize on all of my growth achieved during the challenge and relax once the challenge was over.
REASON #2: I had a pretty bad cold towards the end of January 2019 and relaxing my hair was on the back burner. I had a fever, cough, runny & stuffy nose, aches etc. I had zero energy for anything, much less my hair.
As soon as I got over my cold and finally able to breathe, I ran to the beauty supply store, stocked up on a few relaxer day items (gloves, hair grease, neutralizing shampoo etc.) and relaxed!! As always, I used the ORS Olive Oil relaxer in Normal Strength - Lye version.
First things first, the #HairliciousCastorOilChallenge really gave my hair life! No seriously. After applying JBCO for 3 months straight, my new growth was so incredibly thick, healthy and well nourished. My scalp was happy and so was my hair. I kind of miss playing with my new growth and feeling my roots throughout the day *sigh*.
Participating in the Ultimate Level (applying Castor oil to your scalp 2-3x/week and using 1 tsp in my deep conditioners) made me and my hair fall in love with Jamaican Black Castor Oil all over again. I feel a difference in the texture, fullness, length and health of my hair, especially after my postpartum shedding. The Castor Oil Challenge was a success and JBCO will continue to be a part of my hair regimen (wash day only), moving forward.
A trim was definitely in order! My ends are blunt girl!!!! My stylist did something a little different from the norm. I didn't ask for a "blunt trim" but whatever....it is what it is. As long as the dead old ends are gone I'm okay with that LOL. But as for my personal preference, I'd much rather a U-shape. Overall, I'm very happy with how my ends look and feel.
Luckily, I was able to get one (1) more application from the 1st bottle I purchased - making that a total of 3 uses from the bottle. I saved a tad bit just so I could use it on relaxer day to wrap up my full review of the Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector. Boy, was my hair in for a treat!
So, I relaxed like normal (application and smoothing 20-23 mins), then I neutralized. Right after neutralizing, I towel dried my wet hair for a bit and then I applied Olaplex No. 3 all throughout my hair, in sections, focusing more so on my roots (since it was just relaxed). I applied my plastic shower cap and left it on my strands for about 10-15 mins (no heat).
As I was rinsing out my hair, I immediately noticed a difference. Typically after a relaxer, your cuticles still remain raised/open due to the high pH of the relaxer. This will make your hair feel a little rough, tangly and slightly dry. It's not until the deep conditioning phase that you notice the pH level of your hair goes down and you'll notice smoother hair as a result. Right after using Olaplex No.3, my cuticles were left smooth, flat, strong and any tangles; that I did have, quickly melted away with little manipulation. I literally had an "ah ha!" moment in the shower LOL. After rinsing out Olaplex No. 3, I proceeded with my sulfate free shampoo and deep conditioned as normal.
My freshly relaxed hair behaved so well and remained smooth, strong yet soft even after flat ironing. I would definitely use Olaplex No. 3 again on relaxer day to build back up the broken disulfide bonds that were broken down during the relaxing process! Olaplex on relaxer day was definitely a treat that I'm anxious to experience again.
So to wrap things up, I'm happy with my relaxer! My hair has definitely bounced back from my postpartum shedding and thinning. I feel as though the Castor Oil Challenge improved the overall health of my hair and I'm super excited that Olaplex was a hit during my relaxer process. Next time around I'm only stretching my relaxer to 12 weeks maximum - nothing more! :)
1 comments
Loving your blog!! What was the name of the sulphate free shampoo you used?
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