I think I'm gonna extend my stretch by 4 weeks. I'll be 12 weeks post on Tuesday and I just don't feel the need to relax just yet. My new growth isn't particularly unruly and I'm wearing loose buns the majority of the time anyway. I'm gonna push it to 16 weeks (which will put me at 4 months post).
Gonna keep you guys posted! :)
Showing posts with label Stretching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stretching. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
To Relax or Not to Relax.....
Wow you guys it has been awhile since I last posted! I have been crazy busy with school...stressing out about presentations and everything. Plus my hair is in cornrows-which is pretty low maintenance so I haven't been experimenting with hair stuff as much.
Anyway, I have been debating if I should relax my hair after I take this set of cornrows out or wait until I take my next set out. I can't call it. I feel like I'm ready for one. If I do it, it will probably be done early to mid August and I will be six months post. I definitely feel like that is a long enough stretch. Plus, my hair has been in protective styles since April. I kinda want a break so that I can wear my hair down for 1 day.
I dunno. Who would've thought that deciding to get a relaxer would be so difficult!
Anyway, I have been debating if I should relax my hair after I take this set of cornrows out or wait until I take my next set out. I can't call it. I feel like I'm ready for one. If I do it, it will probably be done early to mid August and I will be six months post. I definitely feel like that is a long enough stretch. Plus, my hair has been in protective styles since April. I kinda want a break so that I can wear my hair down for 1 day.
I dunno. Who would've thought that deciding to get a relaxer would be so difficult!
Monday, May 17, 2010
How I Went from Relaxing Every 4 Weeks to Relaxing When It Is Actually Necessary
Hey everyone! Happy Monday!
**This post may be of particular interest to beginning stretchers and possibly early transitioners (or those who may be thinking about it!)**
Today, I actually "washed' my twists (not with dry shampoo either) and now I'm sitting here DCing and thinking about my hair journey. It is hard to believe that a little over 2 years ago, I would relax my hair every 4 weeks faithfully. Shocking isn't it!? All because some stylist told me that with my hair type, I needed to. I was young, gullible, and assumed that surely the stylist knew what she was talking about. So I would relax every 4 weeks and over the course of 4 years, my hair broke off--badly. Fast forward to now. It is now May and my last relaxer was in February and I don't plan to relax anytime soon. So how did I go from relaxing 12 times a year to relaxing 3 or 4 times a year?
To help with these long, long ,long stretches, (aside from the constant deep conditioning) I divorced myself from the idea that my hair has to be straight all the time. Annnd....I had to divorce myself from that idea fairly quickly (my hair was so damaged that I couldn't even think about putting a relaxer in until I handled my massive breakage situation). That resulted in my trying curly styles like bantu knot outs and flexirod sets. I found that when your hair is curly, you aren't obsessing about all that new growth that is coming in and how you're going to handle it or how janky you look because your ends are straight and your roots are puffy. It simply doesn't matter because all your hair is curly. Braids and wigs are a big help too because it means that you don't have to directly deal with your hair all the time.
Now when I hit 4 weeks post, 6 weeks post, 10 weeks post, it doesn't even phase me. I just determine what which style will help me best not focus on the new growth that is there! That's progress!
**This post may be of particular interest to beginning stretchers and possibly early transitioners (or those who may be thinking about it!)**
Today, I actually "washed' my twists (not with dry shampoo either) and now I'm sitting here DCing and thinking about my hair journey. It is hard to believe that a little over 2 years ago, I would relax my hair every 4 weeks faithfully. Shocking isn't it!? All because some stylist told me that with my hair type, I needed to. I was young, gullible, and assumed that surely the stylist knew what she was talking about. So I would relax every 4 weeks and over the course of 4 years, my hair broke off--badly. Fast forward to now. It is now May and my last relaxer was in February and I don't plan to relax anytime soon. So how did I go from relaxing 12 times a year to relaxing 3 or 4 times a year?
To help with these long, long ,long stretches, (aside from the constant deep conditioning) I divorced myself from the idea that my hair has to be straight all the time. Annnd....I had to divorce myself from that idea fairly quickly (my hair was so damaged that I couldn't even think about putting a relaxer in until I handled my massive breakage situation). That resulted in my trying curly styles like bantu knot outs and flexirod sets. I found that when your hair is curly, you aren't obsessing about all that new growth that is coming in and how you're going to handle it or how janky you look because your ends are straight and your roots are puffy. It simply doesn't matter because all your hair is curly. Braids and wigs are a big help too because it means that you don't have to directly deal with your hair all the time.
Now when I hit 4 weeks post, 6 weeks post, 10 weeks post, it doesn't even phase me. I just determine what which style will help me best not focus on the new growth that is there! That's progress!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Short Hair+ Stretching=???
Happy Sunday!
As promised, I am writing a blog about how I stretch my relaxers 13 weeks. I know it sounds impossible, but trust me it can be done. This blog might be a little lengthy but I do different things at different stages of my stretch.
Weeks 1-8: My hair is pretty easy to deal with at this point. I basically do the following:
1) Wash hair and DC hair 1x/week
2) Wet wrap my hair and sit under hooded dryer for 1.5 hours
3) Flat iron
4) Wrap and cover with silk bonnet at night/ moisturize when necessary
Weeks 9-13: Between weeks 8 and 9 my new growth decides to really make itself known. It is really thick and impossible to deal with while it is dry. For that reason I have 2 options.
Option 1: Flexirod set (this can be really time consuming!)
1) Wash and DC hair 1x/week
2) Set my hair on flexirods using Kinky Curly spiral spritz (takes about an hour)
3) Sit under hooded dryer for 2 hours
4) Remove flexirods and style hair
5) Cover with bonnet at night/ moisturize when necessary
**Note: I love flexirod sets, I really do. They take so much time though! However, once you have your curls in, you can do a fro-hawk, a puff, or even a fro. I love the versatility of it!**
Option 2: Wig it up!! ( Yes what you see is a wig)
1) Wash and DC hair as needed
2) Oil scalp with Wild Growth Oil ( helps me get through the new growth)
3) Flat twist my hair (I usually make 6 really sloppy twists)
4) Place wig cap on top of twists
5) Put on wig and go!
**Note: I love this option! You are able to take care of your hair but not necessarily be worried about your hair looking a mess. Believe it or not, wigs can look really natural and are a perfect stretching style*
That is pretty much how I stretch. As a matter of fact, my most current stretch will end Aug.1. Next blog, I will write about wigs--what wig to chose, how to wear them...everything!
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