WHAT IS RELAXING HAIR? WHY IS IT DONE?

A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to straighten by chemically "relax-
ing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, although some formulations are based on ammonium thioglycolate instead.

Women who relax their hair chooses to do so because they find caring for their hair in the natural state to be a hassle.This can be because
a.She may not be very well educated on how to care for natural hair
b.Have accessibility or affordability of products needed to care for natural hair.
c.Perhaps she may feel the processes involved are too time consuming.
d.some still enjoy having straight hair rather than kinky hair and find heat-straightening methods more tedious

RELAXING HAIR

1 RELAXING
INTENT 2 TYPE OF
RELAXER 3 RELAXER
STRENGTH

Hair Type
A. MILD

A mild strength relaxer works best on

hair which is thin or if you have hair
that is extremely fine in its texture. It
can also be employed on perma-
A. LYE RELAXER or No base B. NO LYE RELAXER nently colored hair.

Full head
relaxing on virgin hair
a. Available as tubs. Ready for use, i.e. there is no a. Available as kits. Need to mix with activator before apply-
which has never been re-
need to mix them with activators ing
laxed
B. REGULAR
b. Contains Sodium Hydroxide b. Contains Calcium Hydroxide or guanidine hydroxide
Regular strength ones should be
OR made use of only for hair with medium
PRO PRO
texture. It works fine even on hair with
Better for hair fibers than no-lye relaxers because they No Lye are supposed to be “easier” on the scalp than lye re-
coarse texture.
do not leave mineral deposits on the hair. Mineral de- laxers
posits can hinder hair’s ability to absorb moisture
Levels of protein breakage that occurs with lye relax- CON
ers will allow the hair to retain more of its natural No-lye relaxers can leave hair quite dry. As no-lye formulas
strength and elasticity than no-lye formulas. leave some mineral residues on our hair fibers, it decreases
its ability to absorb moisture. A chelating shampoo should C. STRONG
CON be used occasionally to remove stubborn minerals left
Can be quite harsh on scalp in comparison to no-lye behind by no-lye relaxers Super strength relaxers are supposed
relaxers tending to burn and irritate scalp. to be used only on hair types that are
It takes longer to process the hair, exposing it to harsh really short and resistant.
Not suitable for people with very sensitive scalps or chemicals for longer time, in turn weakening it more.
Touch up scalps that burn easily.
relaxing only on new hair
growth

PROCESS OF RELAXING HAIR

Time starts from the

moment first drop of re- 7- 15 minutes
laxer touches the hair Time up

1 PROTECT SCALP 2 PREPARE RELAXER 3 APPLY RELAXER on 4 RELAX ROOTS 5 WAIT

Apply scalp balm to whole length except near roots
Direct application in case of Relax the roots at last.
prevent burn of scalp
Lye relaxer and mixing of two Apply relaxer from 1/2 inch away In case of touch up, apply relaxer to
and ear Scalp balm
components in case of from the scalp only new growth
No-Lye relaxer Heat + Relaxer = Quick reaction
(Head from head or enviornment)

Skip if Touch up

10 MAINTAIN
1. Next relaxation should be atleast
after 8-12 weeks depending on hair
texture. More than 8 weeks of waiting
is called ‘Stretching’.

2. Relaxed hair is drier than natural

hair and fagile. It needs a lot of mois-
turizing and light oil.

3. Shampoo: Recommended to sham-

poo 1-2 times a week with gentle
shampoo not containing lauryl sul-
phate. Co- washing is recommended
for preventing loss of moisture

4. Deep Condition hair every two Conditioner

Neutralizing
Shampoo
weeks to retain more moisture and
strength with mild protein and moistur-
izing ingredients 9 RELAXED 8 CONDITIONING 7 NEUTRALIZING 6 WASH WITH WARM
Deep conditioning with moistur- SHAMPOO WATER
5.As relaxed hair is weak, avoid
ising + Protien conditioner Wash with acid balancing neutralizig
using heat for styling. Use protective Wash with warm water to remove all
shampoo to restore natural PH of
styling and no heat styles traces or relaxer
hair and scalp. In case of color indi-
cating shampoos, the color changes
6. Reconstructor to be used for repair
from pink to white
of damaged hair.

OTHER CHEMICAL ALTERATIONS ON HAIR

BRAZILIAN TEXTURIZING TEXLAXING

BLOWOUT/ KERATIN
Texturizing is a chemical pro- Texlaxing is deliberately under pro-
Other chemical treatements which promise cess designed to loosen the cessing hair during a relaxer proce-
healthier hair and permanently straightens curls/coils in afro hair (as op- dure. The relaxer is not allowed to
hair. They might even wear out after a few posed to remove the curls in fully straighten the hair. This enables
washes and need a different regime of main- relaxing). It does not change the hair to retain more of its elasticity
tainance. your curl/coil pattern but will and thickness than fully straightened
permanently losen it. It is relaxed hair. It is acieved using lye or
acieved using Texturiser kits. no lye relaxers weakened by adding a
little amount conditioner or natural oils.

WHY ARE WOMEN GOING NATURAL?

Relaxed hair Natural Hair

1. Relaxed hair is chemically altered bonds strightening the hair structure permanently
2. Relaxers eventually fry the hair and damage the roots, which can cause alopecia (baldness), hair breakage, scalp
irritation, stunted hair growth, and even permanent hair loss.
3. Chemicals used in relaxers are very strong and are harmful for humans. These harmful chemicals are related to
respiratory problems and if exposed for long term can result in lung damage. Ingesting potassium hydroxide can be
equally damaging, resulting in burns to the mouth or throat, vomiting, severe stomach pain, diarrhea and even death.
1. Healthier option: Non-relaxed hair or Natural hair is stronger, extra durable, more nutrient-rich, sheds less and grows
faster and with greater ease compared to relaxed hair. Natural hair does tend to be thicker because of undamaged and
textured hair follicles.
3. Styling: More versatility of styling, being able to revert between curly and straight styles.Possibilities of styles in-
crease with increase in length of hair.
3. Maintainance: Natural hair needs to be carefully detangled as opposed to relaxed hair. The regieme of

4. Styling: Prefered by women who enjoy having straight hair rather than kinky hair and find heat-straightening methods
more tedious. Relaxing permanently straighten the hair but still lets one add extensions to achieve other textures 6. Length and volume: Women can grow and maintain longer lengths with natural hair that is not extra maipulated and
are maintained well.
5. Maintainence: A relaxer requires a touch-up to the new growth every six weeks to three months. Maintaining relaxed
black hair requires deep conditioning weekly and moisturizing on a daily basis. If not, the hair will develop excessive dry-
ness and experience hair breakage.

6. Length and volume: Relaxed hair is weak and brittle, making it difficult for women to grow. The volume also reduces
due to thinning of hair.

NEO- NATURAL
Neo naturals is a new generation who are new to and just discovering natural hair. They want free-
dom of exploring and working with their newly discovered texture.
Three goals for neo-naturals are:
a. To achieve healthy, soft, manageable hair
b. To accomplish and retain longer hair
c. To repair, correct, or comouflage previous damage or breakage

Neo naturals would use extensions to enhance and change their looks and can occassional-
ly straighen their hair through heat. But never will alter their hair texture permanently using a
chemical most often relaxer.

TRANSITION from relaxed to natural hair

Transitioning from relaxed to natural hair is a process where you grow out your processed hair in
favor of your natural texture before cutting off the processed or damaged ends off (known as the big
chop). Transitioning is about learning to accept (and love!) the texture one was born with.

Growing natural hair

Relaxed hair Line of demarcation The Big Chop
Once the lady has decided to stop relaxing her Big chop is the process of cutting off the re- Natural hair takes a few years to grow as its
hair, the new growth shall have natural kinky or laxed or permed ends of one's hair when she highly curly and takes more hair growth to get
Deciding to stop relaxing hair and go natural is
curly texture. The point where natural texture is transitioning from chemically processed hair visible length. New hair care regieme and pro-
a big and life changing descision for women
meets straight hair (it's called the line of demar- to natural hair. Timing the big chop is a big de- tective styling is used to protect new growth
which takes mental preparation as well as
cation) is THE weakest part of you hair. cision for many napptural women who have from damage and help it grow longer.
guidance of how to care for hair that has to be
dealt differently than previous relaxed one. decided they want to wear their hair natural.
Lots of women cut/chop the relaxer or perm
from their hair to begin or continue the growth
of their natural hair.

PROTECTIVE STYLING

Protective style is protecting the hair from over-manipulation, chemical and environmental elements. Natural hair is fragile. Natural hair is tightly curly or coily
hairs that wrap themselves around one another and cause tangles, snags and knots. Hence when the ends are tucked away is a style, its called protective
style. Rocking protective styles has become an added bonus of having more (better) options for concealing hair on a multitude of levels eg. Crochet
braids/weaves, bantu knots, cornrows, updos, twists, headwraps

The main reasons or benifits why protective styling is done are as below:

1.Protective styling allows to retain hair length. It lets hair to stay moisturized and ends are not exposed to clothing or debris from the environment. This helps
maximum hair growth because ends are healthy.

2.It gives a break from weather which makes it diffult to wear open hair styles outdoors. Or when wash days are extended and hair in not in good shape.

3. They are easy and versatile. Many different styles depending on suitability of lifestyle, budget, time and weather condition are possible with protective styl-
ing. Extensions can be used to achieve them and increase possiblities.