gymfreak336
New Member
In light of all the recent posts about being underprocessed and correctives and what not, I thought we should start a thread to help address the issues with doing a corrective relaxer. I just did my own recently and hopefully with some feedback from others who have done the same thing, we can make a comprehensive thread to help everyone.
So for starters, try to figure out why you are underprocessed. Did you not use enough relaxer the last time, did you not process for the complete time, did you have something on your hair that could slow down the relaxing process? Some ladies have had issues after using sulphur based oil products so I don't recommend you relax your hair if you have these products on it. Did you do everything above correctly and still get underprocessed? Maybe it could be the formula. I know I underprocessed myself the last time because for starters, I didn't take into account that I was using a mild formula and I didn't process for the complete time. I cut it short by 3-4 minutes but that can really make all the difference.
The next thing you should do is identify the areas that are the worst. Those areas are going to be the one that when doing your corrective you will start with first and those areas are going to need extra attention from now on. Moisturize these areas daily, comb them with are and with a wide tooth comb or your fingers, make sure they get a good amount of conditioner when you deep condition. I have found that the most important thing when dealing with underprocessed hair is maintaining your moisture levels. It is much easier to get manipulate breakage when you have different textures on your hair and keeping you moisture levels up will help decrease that. With having different textures also comes having managability issues since the cuticle isn't going as smooth and consistent. This is where checking your porosity comes into place. Things like acv rinses, acidifying conditioner and my personal favorite, porosity control help smooth the cuticle and makes your hair easier to manage. Just smoothing a little porosity control through my hair just for a minute before conditioning made a HUGE difference. You will need to take extra time when you wash your hair to detangle properly so shampoo only when you have the time. Use your favorite creamy leave-ins on your really underprocessed parts to help provide lubrication when rolling or wet setting. I used sunsilk 24/7 creme in the pink bottle and giovanni direct. As far as protein treatments go, I do recommend you fit one in before you try a corrective but I wouldn't use a heavy duty one because the stiffness combined with a lot of underprocessed hair can be a monster to get through. Lighter ones before your moisture treatments work well. Motions silk protien, aphogee 2 mins reconstructor, aubreys gpb, etc... all of these work well.
Okay, I am deep conditioning and mositurizing like crazy, when can I try to fix it?
Wait atleast 6 weeks but longer if you can. It helped to have a little newgrowth when you do a corrective because what you will do it apply your relaxer as normal but when you start the smoothing process, you will pull it through your underprocessed parts. That is the secret to not over process your hair. Many times when people do a corrective, they overprocess it because they leave it on the full 15-20 mins. If you have newgrowth, it will buy you the time to just pull it through the last 7 or so minutes. That is also why it is important to start relaxing the most underprocessed areas. For example. Lets say you split yuor hair into 4 sections with section 1 being the worst and so one. Start relaxing in section one. Then after you apply the relaxer to your whole head, go back to section one and smooth outward. By doing it this way you make sure the worst sections get the more time than the not so bad sections so you don't overcook half you head. You don't want to end up with half of your head properly processed and then the other half over done. I also applied more base to the areas that weren't as bad to buy me a little more time in the processing.
Okay, your turn.
So for starters, try to figure out why you are underprocessed. Did you not use enough relaxer the last time, did you not process for the complete time, did you have something on your hair that could slow down the relaxing process? Some ladies have had issues after using sulphur based oil products so I don't recommend you relax your hair if you have these products on it. Did you do everything above correctly and still get underprocessed? Maybe it could be the formula. I know I underprocessed myself the last time because for starters, I didn't take into account that I was using a mild formula and I didn't process for the complete time. I cut it short by 3-4 minutes but that can really make all the difference.
The next thing you should do is identify the areas that are the worst. Those areas are going to be the one that when doing your corrective you will start with first and those areas are going to need extra attention from now on. Moisturize these areas daily, comb them with are and with a wide tooth comb or your fingers, make sure they get a good amount of conditioner when you deep condition. I have found that the most important thing when dealing with underprocessed hair is maintaining your moisture levels. It is much easier to get manipulate breakage when you have different textures on your hair and keeping you moisture levels up will help decrease that. With having different textures also comes having managability issues since the cuticle isn't going as smooth and consistent. This is where checking your porosity comes into place. Things like acv rinses, acidifying conditioner and my personal favorite, porosity control help smooth the cuticle and makes your hair easier to manage. Just smoothing a little porosity control through my hair just for a minute before conditioning made a HUGE difference. You will need to take extra time when you wash your hair to detangle properly so shampoo only when you have the time. Use your favorite creamy leave-ins on your really underprocessed parts to help provide lubrication when rolling or wet setting. I used sunsilk 24/7 creme in the pink bottle and giovanni direct. As far as protein treatments go, I do recommend you fit one in before you try a corrective but I wouldn't use a heavy duty one because the stiffness combined with a lot of underprocessed hair can be a monster to get through. Lighter ones before your moisture treatments work well. Motions silk protien, aphogee 2 mins reconstructor, aubreys gpb, etc... all of these work well.
Okay, I am deep conditioning and mositurizing like crazy, when can I try to fix it?
Wait atleast 6 weeks but longer if you can. It helped to have a little newgrowth when you do a corrective because what you will do it apply your relaxer as normal but when you start the smoothing process, you will pull it through your underprocessed parts. That is the secret to not over process your hair. Many times when people do a corrective, they overprocess it because they leave it on the full 15-20 mins. If you have newgrowth, it will buy you the time to just pull it through the last 7 or so minutes. That is also why it is important to start relaxing the most underprocessed areas. For example. Lets say you split yuor hair into 4 sections with section 1 being the worst and so one. Start relaxing in section one. Then after you apply the relaxer to your whole head, go back to section one and smooth outward. By doing it this way you make sure the worst sections get the more time than the not so bad sections so you don't overcook half you head. You don't want to end up with half of your head properly processed and then the other half over done. I also applied more base to the areas that weren't as bad to buy me a little more time in the processing.
Okay, your turn.
. I even left it on for 18 minutes and it didnt come out right. I noticed it came out straighter the 2nd time i self relaxed months ago when I just used coconut oil in my hair before relaxing. odd. My hair is fine but Iguess its resistant.
It's still texlaxed, but it's not all dry and frizzy like the underprocessed part.
For like 3 mins. Came out just fine.
