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What are some ways to make relaxer stretching easier?

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Andrea2012

Andrea2012

Member
I am having a hard time with stretching my relaxers and am more worried about breakage from stretching than anything. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? Please share.
 
Keeping your hair moisturized and sealed as well as deep conditioners should keep the breakage down. Also, S Curl has saved my life because it helps you get through the new growth better.. eases the detangling process.
 
I heard S-Curl shouldn't really be used in the cold (I'm from the Northeast, awaiting a snowstorm right now). Is it okay on your new growth since the relaxed hair kinda blocks it from the air?
 
Wow everyone seems to be on the S-Curl band wagon. I may have to jump on board.

@ NaiyaAi I think I do remember reading somewhere that S-Curl contains humectants which are not good to use in the winter time when humidity is low because it draws the moisture from your strands instead.

I will definately try S-Curl this spring/summer though...
 
Yup, S Curl worked well in the past when I transitioned. We had a Jheri juice hair challenge. It works to keep hair moisturized.
 
i would roller set, bun, and use the loc/lol/loco method to moisturize and seal my hair (liquid-oil-cream, liquid or liquid-oil-leave in, liquid-oil-cream-oil). i would also deep condition with a conditioner that contained moisture and protein, reconstructors do this (aubrey's gbp is a good one) and do it a minimum of once a week.

as an fyi, everyone doesn't have ill effect from glycerin and there are multiple other ingredients that also act as humectants like castor oil, honey, aloe vera juice/gel, and blackstrap molasses. i live in the northeast anf though its been cold and dry many of my products contain humectants... in winetr i just mositurize and seal often.
 
southerncitygirl said:
i would roller set, bun, and use the loc/lol/loco method to moisturize and seal my hair (liquid-oil-cream, liquid or liquid-oil-leave in, liquid-oil-cream-oil). i would also deep condition with a conditioner that contained moisture and protein, reconstructors.
Click to expand...

I basically do this. Weekly wash, alternating between protein and moisture DC. Rollerset then LCO (yes, lco) daily.
 
S curl was too sticky for me. My hair seems to like cowashing when I'm stretching, anything to keep ng moisturized.
 
sharifeh said:
S curl was too sticky for me. My hair seems to like cowashing when I'm stretching, anything to keep ng moisturized.
Click to expand...

I always dilute mine with a little water so it won't be so thick, especially when I use it to moisturize when I am in braids or a sew-in.
 
I used to love me some Scurl but I recently stopped using it because of the harsh ingredients. Now I use a simple spray mix of water, conditioner and glycerine. It works just as well. But the key to stretching for me has been low to no manipulation on a daily basis. Braids and wearing wigs is making my very first stretch a breeze and I'm about 3 months post right now. Hth
 
This is what I am doing and is working, wig'ing it, LOL , braid my own hair in about 20 to 30 braids, I wash and DC in braids 1 time a week, then week 2 oil my hair and add cassia over night wash it out and DC add
Leave ins m&s and rebraid, moistures morning and night, air drying is easy in braids, detengle 1 time every 2 weeks when hair is dry with moisturise on it, low malipuletion is the key. !! Am 17 weeks post and I don't even know it,!!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 
Joss said:
This is what I am doing and is working, wig'ing it, LOL , braid my own hair in about 20 to 30 braids, I wash and DC in braids 1 time a week, then week 2 oil my hair and add cassia over night wash it out and DC add
Leave ins m&s and rebraid, moistures morning and night, air drying is easy in braids, detengle 1 time every 2 weeks when hair is dry with moisturise on it, low malipuletion is the key. !! Am 17 weeks post and I don't even know it,!!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
Click to expand...

Low Manipulation is the key, lol

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 
I haven't had a relaxer since the end of September. I'm not planning on giving myself a relaxer touchup until the end of April. What I have found that helps tremendously is making sure that your strands have the proper ph. I use a variation of Kimmaytube's leave in conditioner. After wash day I spray on my leave in conditioner and follow up with soy butter and oil. I plait my hair into 4 plaits. Every PM I would spray my plaits with leave in conditioner and follow up with a little oil, especially on my hair ends. I did GHE every PM. After 3 or 4 months, I started doing fingercombing which helped alot. The biggest problem I had was styling my hair. I wore a bun scarf Monday through Friday, but on Sunday's I liked to wear my hair out and I styled in a braidout. But after awhile, my hair just wasn't looking right because of all the new growth. I then decided to put cornroll braids in my hair. I got them done last Friday, and will keep them in until I give myself a touchup. I will redo the cornroll braids every month. This seems like it is working for me. I don't spray my braids with my leave in conditioner because I don't want excessive buildup and matting. What I do is I oil my scalp every other day, and I oil my braids. I do the GHE every PM. I wear a wig over my cornroll braids and all is good! Take off at end of day to let hair breathe and do my regime every PM. Hope this helps!
 
I find that breakage is kept to a minimum when I don't manipulate my hair too much (i.e. protective styles, trying not to comb unless it's wash day). Don't be surprised when you do finally comb there looks like a lot of hair but actually it's just accumulated shedding. Definitely keeping your new growth moisturized is a big deal too -- find a staple moisturizer if you haven't already.
 
My NG from my last stretch did really well in comparison to the time before & I think it was from doing the cornrows under my wig rather than just wrapping it. I think the cornrows stretch my NG out for me. I DC twice a week & oil my scalp every 2-3 days. I also started spraying a mixture of Infusium 23 leave-in conditioner w/ a little EVOO mixed in every few days all over my cornrows (including the roots) & put some more EVOO on top of them & let it sink in between the cracks since I work out.

However, I do have one area in the back of my head (about 2 inches wide) that's growing back from breakage about 7 months ago & the NG there is ridiculous, like a whole different hair type than the rest of the head! I couldn't even get a comb through the NG at around 10 weeks on my last stretch. I used some Just for Me Oil Moisturizing Lotion (yes it has mineral oil & a few other no no's but don't judge me!!) that I used to use for my daughter. I needed something that was gonna teach that NG a lesson!!! :grin: It was thick but it made that one spot super easy to work with & I didn't have a problem running a comb through it after that. I did that every other day for the remainder of my stretch which was another 2 weeks. I didn't do the Just For Me all over my head though because I didn't need it. Just that one spot. That one spot is actually growing thicker than the rest of my hair too.
 
Wave Nouveau worked well for me during my recent 7 month stretch and I also used S-Curl to a lesser extent.
 
I use an Ion leave -in spray ( it was free).

I pre poo w moisturizers weekly.....
T-shirt air drying leave my top & sides straight & smooth.....
the back take too long
.... I'm gonna roller set this week
 
When I first started stretching I was dealing with breakage and dryness. But Sylver2 scarf method helped me out 100000%.

I would defintely wash and dry using the scarf method and throughout the week I would put my hair in flat twist or corn rows to stretch out the new growth.

I prefer stretching my new growth appose to frequent co-washing for my long term stretches. The more I co-wash the more I have to deal with my tightly curled new growth. But trial and error is best. My 2nd round of stretching was much easier.
 
after a wash/cowash castor oil helps i use it on my scalp the moisturize and seal the rest my ng is super soft i cant use s curl in the winter the glycerin in it is a nono also kinky kurly knot today leave on is the truth when im stretching:yep:
 
Pre poo hot oil treatment with a 25/75 mix of coconut oil and pure olive oil (respectively) a few times a week, even better if it's while I work out. I sweat from my scalp A TON when I work out and it seems that my hair loves this more than any product or oil I've ever purchased. So a good sweaty workout with either oils or Aubrey DC is my go to deep moisture treatment. When I have a lot of ng I co-wash and wash, etc with my hair parted in quads. After I moisturize and seal (still in quads) I roll each quad with one huge mesh roller, tie down my edges with a satin scarf and then airdry. After I'm dry or mostly dry I take out the rollers add a bit more oil, detangle and then bun loosely.
 
A good Creamy Moisturizer like: (in no particular order)
Hairitage Hydrations
Darcy's Botanicals
Claudie's
Qhemet
*(others)

Steaming in your DC'ers, Cowashing, a nice Oil and a good Detangling/Moisturizing Spritz and a good Detangling Comb.

And a Wig or a good PS:yep:
 
- MOISTURE MOISTURE MOISTURE! Do NOT skimp out on deep conditioning! Make sure you incorporate at least a light protein weekly/biweekly to strengthen your strands too. I use Silk Elements Mega Silk Moisture Treatment for both moisture & light protein weekly. ORS Replenishing Conditioner is also a good light protein is more convenient to find & inexpensive (but I love Silk Elements more!)
- Use a sulfate free shampoo or cleansing conditioner (or at the very least, a moisturizing shampoo). Anything else will probably dry your hair & scalp out.
- Make sure to keep your new growth moisturized; for me, spraying a mix of water and moisturizer (oils optional) works best.
- KEEP YOUR HAIR DETANGLED! Look for products that offer detangling aid. If you stretch for a long time, a detangling spray, DC, shampoo and/or conditoner, etc. should be in your arsenal! Also, you may/may not want to detangle nightly/every other night so that you can style in the morning w/out tangles...but only if your hair can take this.
- Go easy on tight hairstyles! They're okay every so often, but give your strands a break by incorporating low manipulation styles (like braid outs) or just looser protective styles. Also, take down your hair at night to avoid unnecessary tension & breakage while you sleep!

Some products I'd recommend (some of my staples):
- moisture/light protein DC: Silk Elements Mega Silk Moisture Treatment (cheaper alternative: ORS Replenishing Conditioner)...GREAT MOISTURE/DETANGLING PRODUCT
- sulfate free shampoo: Creme of Nature Argan Oil Sulfate Free Moisture & Shine Shampoo...GREAT MOISTURE/DETANGLING/CLEANSING PRODUCT
- styling gel: Just For Me Smoothing Gel...nice hold, doesn't dry out or harden hair
- spray detangler: Mane N Tail Detangler
- new growth softener: mix of regular moisturizer & water in spray bottle (i add coconut oil to mine)

Of course, what works for me might not work for you...but hopefully at least the tips above will make things easier for you! HHJ :)
 
TheEspressoHair said:
When I first started stretching I was dealing with breakage and dryness. But Sylver2 scarf method helped me out 100000%.

I would defintely wash and dry using the scarf method and throughout the week I would put my hair in flat twist or corn rows to stretch out the new growth.

I prefer stretching my new growth appose to frequent co-washing for my long term stretches. The more I co-wash the more I have to deal with my tightly curled new growth. But trial and error is best. My 2nd round of stretching was much easier.
Click to expand...


How does the scarf method work? I haven't heard of this.
 
Hey Andrea,

I have read that abut S-Curl, but I've also read that keeping your hair dirty and not washing it will make it grow! :giggle:

Being facetious, but I have not seen any problems while using it in the winter. I also sleep with a humidifier. So I'm not sure if that plays a part in my not having any issues.
 
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