RELAXER: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY.

Relaxer is a crème or lotion that is used by people with tight curls to straighten the natural curls. The active ingredient is usually a strong alkali. It requires periodic treatment (8 to 10 weeks) to maintain a consistent appearance.

The relaxer is applied to the base of the hair and it alters the hair textures by breaking down the protein bond thereby weakening the hair and this leads to breakage.

TYPES OF RELAXERS

1. Lye relaxer

2. No lye relaxer

LYE RELAXERS

A lye relaxer consists of sodium hydroxide as its main ingredient. The content of sodium hydroxide varies between manufacturers. The disulfide bonds in hair strands do not get broken down when compared with the lye formulas. Lye relaxers are easier on the hair but harder on the scalp and this could lead to scalp burn but a petroleum base (vaseline) can be applied to the head to protect the scalp. Lye relaxers requires speedy applications or preferably by a professional for even application and time because sodium hydroxide straighten the hair quickly. A clarifying shampoo is usually used to rinse out the relaxer. The ph of lye relaxers ranges form 10 to 14.

NO LYE RELAXER

The active ingredient could either be potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, guanidin hydroxide or calcium hydroxide. These are weaker alkaline agent. no lye relaxers are not hard on the scalp like the lye formulas but are harder on the hair strands. No lye relaxers takes longer time to process the hair than the lye formulars. A neutralising shampoo is needed right after relaxing to remove those harmful ingredients. The pH of no lye relaxers ranges for 9 to 10.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Hair relaxer stripes the hair of its natural oils, causes breakage, scalp irritation and hair loss. But there are some pros to using a relaxer. Relaxer straightens the hairs natural curls thereby making the hair more manageable. When you relax your hair bone straight, you are over relaxing your hair and this removes any degree of elasticity and the hair is prone to more breakage. To avoid irreparable damage, hair should be 50% straight. Before applying your next relaxer, the following points should be noted;

1. Do not overlap relaxer crème onto previously relaxed hair. Relax only the new growth.

2. Shampoo your hair a week before relaxing.

3. Do not apply relaxer if your scalp is irritated. It wil lead to scalp burn.

4. Do not relax your hair if it is brittle, splitting or breaking. Use a protein conditioner to correct the problem before relaxing.

5. Do not relax your new growth again for at least 8 weeks.

6. Do not relax your hair immediately after removing braids or weaves. Wait two weeks before relaxing, during this period, condition frequently, using a protein and moisturising conditioner.

7. The total time of application and smoothening  should not exceed 20 minutes.

8. Use a clarifying shampoo to shampoo your hair again after a week.

9. If you have a sensitive scalp, base your head before relaxer application.

10. Do not comb through but rather smoothen with your fingers or you can choose not to Smoothen at all and rinse after applying relaxer.

Thanks for reading.

Love always, Martyna.