So I decided to go ahead and relax my hair at the 5 month mark. Glad that I did. My hair has grown quite a lot. But a trim was definitely necessary. I have not been taking the best care of my hair. I’ve been neglecting wash days, wearing ponytails a lot when I have my hair out, and having stress on top of all of that has not been helping.
Anyways, I am still happy with the results. I decided to use an applicator brush this time and bot oh boy did it make a difference. Definitely kept me from overlapping my relaxer this time. Which was apart of the reason when I relaxed years ago my hair was not thriving. I was rushing and used my hands (with gloves on of course) to apply the relaxer. Which started off fine at first. However, when i started smoothing it in I was not paying attention to how far up, well technically down, my hair I was smoothing it. Then fast forward to some months later I started seeing the changes in my hair and knew that I would have to big chop again.
Yay to not making that mistake again lol! I also could have used this method I seen a lady on YouTube do. She would use a wash out conditioner on the relaxed ends/parts of the hair so even if the relaxer did accidently overlapped, it would not take or at least process as swiftly. Well that’s at least how I am remembering it. I seen the video months ago so the details are a bit wonky. Now I did see a significant amount of shedding but I think that was normal considering the circumstances I mentioned before. But I also know that if it was from the relaxer itself, my hair would’ve been coming out in clumps. Thank God none of that happened.
Now idk if I shared this in a previous post or not but I am not new to relaxers. I used to be relaxed when I was a kid. Then when I was a teenager, around 17 years old, I decided to go natural in 2010. Then 2011 I relaxed again. Fast forward to 2012 I did a 2nd big chop. Then for 10 years I was natural. Then I relaxed again but when I has the issues I mentioned, I did my 4th big chop (I had did a 3rd one like in 2019). Then May 2026 I decided to relax again! Now will I stay relaxed?! Most likely. It has just been better for me and plus I prefer to keep my hair straight. I did think about being a straight natural but just was over dealing with my natural hair so I decided on a relaxer.
I think some assume if you relax your hair that you “hate” bein natural or don’t love yourself but for me its just not that deep. I can understand tho for those who it is. And its nothing wrong with that either. I just wish people were more open minded and not so hive-minded. I loved being natural and I loved being relaxed. I love my hair period! I will always try to do what is best for me. Regardless of who opposes it. Because at the end of the day, the day gone end lol. Seriously tho, its okay if you never want to relax your hair or if you never want to be natural. Its your hair boo! Please do what is best for YOU!
Alight, back to the post at hand lol. I love that this time my hair is still thriving. I also have invested in products that have been great on my hair. I also keep my routine simple, well when I am on top of doing my routine that is. It is as follows:
- Shampoo 1-2 times
- Deep Condition
- Styling Products/Heat Protectant
- Protection
- Protein Treatments once a month
That’s it! Simple and to the point! I try to wash my hair every 2 weeks. This is the exact routine I will do. Then once a month or every 4 weeks I aim to do a protein treatment. That’s another reason I think I has a little more shedding that usual because of the potential lack of protein in the hair. If I am doing a protein treatment, I will do it after I shampoo and before I deep condition.
These are the products that I have been using:
- Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo
- TGIN Honey Hair Mask
- Lotta Body Blowout Lotion paired with CHI Silk Infusion
- Silk/Satin Scarves, Scrunches, Bonnets | Protective Styles
- Aphogee 2 Step-Protein Treatment Plus Balancing Moisturizer
I also want to mention that I do not flat iron my hair often. I will when I blow dry my hair and wont again using next wash day, unless I want to touch up my hair. Then I would use a lower setting on the flat iron. The flat iron I’ve been using for years is the ION ceramic flat iron. I bought this from Sally Beauty during one of their red dot sales. This was like back in 2012 so not sure if its even still sold or not. However, I did invest in the Wavy Talk Steam Sesh straightener, which is what I used this time.
At first, I did not like it. Then I decided to use it on my daughters hair. Definitely changed my mind. I straightened her hair weeks ago and I still have not had to do any touch ups. She sweats a lot like I do and her hair still has not started frizzing up. So once I realized that it made me hopeful for my hair. So we will see how it holds up. I will of course make a post about it in a few weeks.
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