What is a Corrective Relaxer?

I had a few questions on corrective relaxers, so I decided to do a quick post on it.
Have you ever had a relaxer and some or most parts of your hair is underprocessed?
If so, then a corrective relaxer is in need.

Important: A corrective relaxer should be done 6 weeks (or more if you would like) after the last relaxer application. No sooner than 6 weeks because that can cause damage to your hair and you will need new-growth to do a corrective relaxer.

During the 6 weeks that you have to deal with under-processed areas, you HAVE to up your moisture level and keep your hair very moisturized, if not, you will deal with excessive breakage.

How it's done: First, you would do your normal pre-relaxer and relaxer routine. At the time of the relaxer, you would apply the relaxer to your new-growth/roots only. Then during the smoothing process, you will pull/smooth the relaxer through the under-processed parts of your hair. By doing it that way, you will avoid over-processed hair.

*The key to a corrective relaxer is to relax your new-growth as usual and relax the underprocessed area towards the end of the relaxing process. You are basically picking up where you left off.  If you choose to do all at once you will need to apply oil and conditioner to the underprocessed area as well.

Henna Gloss

I have done a total of 3 Henna Gloss Treatments and didn't want to post about them until I felt like I received some of the benefits. I do feel like the Henna Gloss Treatments made my hair a little stronger which is the main reason why I did them, but it also gave my hair a reddish/brownish tint that I love!

                                                 Not sure if you can see it in this picture

So, here's a little more info on Henna:

What is Henna- Henna is an all-natural, safe hair dye that permanently colors hair without harsh chemicals. Body art quality henna is recommended over store-bought boxes of pre-mixed hennas because it is more pure, and can be safely used even on hair that has been recently bleached or synthetically dyed. Mixing body art quality henna and applying it to your hair will yield vibrant, shiny, soft, healthy-looking results

What is a Henna Gloss: A Henna Gloss is a Mild Henna Treatment(A full Henna Treatment uses about 100G of Henna or more basically a whole box mixed with water or tea,oils or so forth) that gives your hair deep conditioning benefits as well as a subtle color release. Doing a Henna Gloss will leave your hair soft and silky, but strong and healthy at the same time.

Why is Henna Good for the Hair- Henna is said to add extra conditioning benefits to the hair and also coats the hair to make it stronger and thicker. It is said to also loosen our tight curls. A lot of Naturals do Henna or Henna Gloss treatments!

Where Can Henna Be Purchased- I purchased mine (Reshma Henna) from http://ayurnaturalbeauty.ecrater.com/, but it can also be purchased at your local Indian Grocery Store

How I do a Henna Gloss:
Ingredients
3 Table Spoons of Reshma Henna
1.5 Cups of Moisturizing Conditioner (Treseme Moisture Rich Vitamin E Conditioner)
1 Table Spoon of Coconut Oil
1 Cap Full of Apple Cider Vinegar

Let it sit overnight

Next day:
Apply to hair like I would a full relaxer, in sections from root to tip. (this can be messy so place towels on the floor)
Place a Plastic Cap over my head
Let sit in my hair for 2 hours
Rinse Out
Deep Condition for a half Hour (this is important because sometimes Henna can make hair dry or hard at first)
Rinse out
Then add leave-ins as usual




More Info on Henna...Must Reads!

http://www.curlynikki.com/search/label/Henna
http://www.hennaforhair.com/faq/index.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2050176_dye-hair-henna.html

Cassie's New Hair Cut

Looks like Cassie changed her hair once again and I kinda like it. She's now sporting a brand new bob and I'm pretty sure her hair is still shaven on the right side, but in this pic it's hard to tell. She looks so much younger and innocent with this look!

I still like the dark hair wayyyy better on her...especially in this picture..half shaven and all!

courtesty of NecoleBitchie

I Relaxed My Hair!

I was so anxious to finally get a relaxer, that I did my touch-up last night.
I washed and did a protein treatment last Thursday night, so my hair was in the right condition to do so.. But, after I washed the relaxer out my hair....I realized I was extremely underprocessed. My new-growth felt/feels the same way it did last week! Sux big time. I was so scared that my hair would fall out..haha..that I washed the relaxer out too soon.






Here's what I did.

Pre-Relaxer
Parted my hair in 4 sections
Then I parted each section the same way I would do when relaxing and put those parts in 2 strand twists while gently finger detangling
Based my Scalp
Added Conditioner and a little oil to my relaxed ends(which were in twists)
Total time spent- 1 hour!

Relaxer Application
I started with the back sections but worked my way from the crown to the nape.
Untwisted each twist and applied relaxer to new-growth with applicator brush
Then I did the front the same way
Total time spent- 13 minutes

Smoothed the relaxer and let sit for 10 minutes- This was too short of a time...I definitely should have smoothed it in a little longer, but my scalp began to burn and I panicked and washed it out.

After rinsing the relaxer out I:
Did a Mild Protein Treatment- Joico K Pack Reconstructer- Kept in Hair for 5 minutes then washed out
Neutralized for about 10 minutes(I have a color indicator Neutralizer(Elasta QP) so that made it easy)
Deep Conditioned for 5 minutes with Lekair Cholesterol
Then one last Rinse with Roux Porosity Control

I didn't even bother to do a roller set, because I was so upset that my hair was underprocessed! I just airdryed. But....one thing I was happy about is the amount of growth I had! I am like centermeters from Arm Pit Length!
I will be doing a corrective relaxer in about 6-8weeks, most likely at the Salon...I could do it sooner, but like I always say..the less Chemical Treatments the better! I will try and do a roller set Thursday Night and post Pics then.

Next Relaxer- October 15th