Relaxing Is Important!!

[NYCITY]

Ladies,
I had alot of growth this month and I had some breakage and also had to trim some so i wasn't able to keep all my growth.
I waited 9 weeks I think next time the longest I will wait is 7 weeks so my hair won't break much. I will just not get a very straight perm. I think this is very important in maintaining length.

[Kengne]

<font color="blue">NYCity...I dont relax anymore but when I did...

I never went less than 8 weeks in between touch-ups. For one thing...most ppl(but not all) dont accumulate enough new growth hair to relax in 5-6 weeks.

Secondly...NYCITY you kept all your new growth..at the top of your head. What you lost was your ends..which could be caused by any number of things, NOT because you went 9 weeks without relaxing. http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif This was always my problem when permed. I could never keep length because the ends loved to break off, no matter how long since my last relaxer.

The key to maintaing length, period, whether relaxed or natural is to take care of your ends! Avoid unnecessary use of heats. Moisturize the ends as often as possible. Dont use cotton/rough materials on your hair. Wrap at night (with silk). I'm sure you know all of this stuff.

I dont think that cutting down the time between relaxers will improve anything. If anything from what I've seen most relaxed ladies try to EXTEND the time in between touchups (while holding onto &amp; taking care of ends) because as you know the whole relaxing process is stressful on the hair.

And if your one of those people who puts relaxer over previously relaxed hair/ends...http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/images/graemlins/naughty.gif...well then...relaxing more often CERTAINLY will contribute to the breakage/thinning.

So...good luck!:</font>

[Tracy]

NYCity - I agree relaxing when YOU feel it's best is what's most important. Some people can go 6 months, some can go 12 weeks and some just can't go past 8 or less. It all depends on the individual.

Good for you for figuring out what your limit is. Figuring that out is a very important key to growing relaxed hair long.

Good luck to you.

[beana3]

NYcity.. when i first came to the boards (a lil over a year ago) I was very overwhelmed. I purchased almost EVERY product that generated a rave, i bought all these natural powders, oils and herbs that i never even used http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif and i stopped doing what was "normal" for my hair.. and in some ways i strayed from what was good for me.

I said that to say that one of the things i did was try to space my relaxers out longer than what i would normally do. My norm is every 8-10 weeks, and i went for 3 1/2 months and it was horrible! I experienced shedding, extreme knotting, all these things made my hair look ragged. I was like "I'm taking good care of my hair, what's going wrong?" I t turned out that spacing out relaxers as long as possible is not good for me.

One of the things we must remember is that a lot of this board info is relative to soo many different variables, hair texture, strength, thickness... it takes a lot of sorting through

I relax at 5-6 weeks and my hair continues to flourish. When I tried to wait longer, I lost all of the hair I grew from breakage.

[NYCITY]

Thanks guys and I have decided that my limit is 7/8 weeks

[pebbles]

Good for you NYCITY. Not everyone can wait a long time in between relaxing. I get a lot of breakage if I try to extend it for too long. My limit is 10 weeks, but I've decided that 8-9 weeks is good for me. http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Trinity1]

6 to 8 weeks is all I can go. I've gone longer and my hair was in knots. Needless to say I had breakage and shedding!!!!


Tee Tee

[thazmebab]

NY -

The longest Ive ever waited was this past time and I waited 14 weeks and I had a little breakage. Normally I go 12 or 13 weeks though with hardly no breakage.

[Allandra]

[ QUOTE ]
relaxing when YOU feel it's best is what's most important

[/ QUOTE ]
D I T T O !

[douglala]

Yes, you have to do what is best for you. I personally can now go 6 months without a touch-up. My hair does not look the greatest but there is little to no shedding and breaking. However not many people I know can do this. After week number 8, 9, 10 etc. their hair starts to break badly. As long as there is enough new growth present to prevent overlapping I think you will be fine. That is where the problem arises. Overlapping is bad!!!

[Brittster]

I relax every 16 wks. I have 3b/4a hair type and my hair cannot be relaxed before the 12th week. If I perm with Affirm, it takes awhile for new growth to be really visible. Also, I dont think that my hair grows fast enough to be permed often. As many said above, it all depend on the individual, most of my girlfriends perm the max every 8-10 wks and thier hair looks like it needs to be permed or it will break off.