The Do's and Don'ts of Relaxing Your Hair

I was on a relaxed hair journey for about 2.5 years before I decided to transition back to natural. 

Throughout those years, I made some mistakes, but was also able to grow my hair from neck length to below my shoulder blades. 

I have learned so much in those 2.5 year and I would like to share that with you. 

Keep reading if you would like to know MY do's and don'ts of relaxing hair. 

DO make sure your hair is thoroughly detangled before relaxing your hair- If not you will end up with knots and a lot of hair loss on relaxer day

DO base your scalp

DO protect your ends with an oil or conditioner

DON'T self- relax if you have not fully educated yourself or feel uncomfortable doing so. Go to a trusted stylist

DON'T relax your hair if it is breaking, shedding excessively or if you have scalp issues

DO make sure your hair is properly neutralized after rinsing off the relaxer

DO a mild-hard protein treatment at least two weeks before relaxer day

DON'T apply the relaxer to previously relaxed hair 

DO wait until you have an adequate amount of new-growth before relaxing

DO use a chelating shampoo on relaxer day if you are using a No LYE relaxer 

DON'T relax your hair if you just recently henna'ed it. The relaxer may not take, so your best bet is to wait at least wait 1 month to relax

DO make sure to cover ALL new-growth when relaxing and use a good amount of the relaxer to make sure it is applied to all new-growth. Less is not necessarily better. 

DON'T forget to triple check and make sure ALL of the relaxer is thoroughly washed out. 

Hope this helps anyone out there!

If you have more to add, feel free to leave it in the comment section!