Relaxers

I found it very interesting on one of the blogs they had a link to a hair talk show and i heard the lady say that when you get a relaxer you are suppose to apply relaxers to the hair closest to scalp last and not first.... guys we gotta watch this... its all about correct application

huh?

You apply the relaxer to the new growth first and only.

this is why i don't let ANYONE do my hair

No thats not what I said. When you relax your hair you are suppose to put the relaxer on the new growth onlly but................. you put it on the hair closest to the scalp last... ( not on the scalp but the hair closest to the scalp)... this helps your hair from being overprocessed cause the hair near the scalp is the most sensistive

i guess i made a mistake in my writing my bad... im not crazy i knwo ur not suppose to but relaxers on ur scalp

krissynick said:

No thats not what I said. When you relax your hair you are suppose to put the relaxer on the new growth onlly but................. you put it on the hair closest to the scalp last... ( not on the scalp but the hair closest to the scalp)... this helps your hair from being overprocessed cause the hair near the scalp is the most sensistive

Click to expand...

how do you put relaxer on your new growth and not get any on the scalp?

i'm no hair expert, but I would say that your ends are the most sensitive part of the hair shaft and the new growth would be the strongest.

can you provide a link to this blog?

the unprofessonial professional.. its a link there to a talk radio show and shes a licensed hair stylist..

what i am saying is that it is impossible to avoid getting some of the relaxer on the scalp cause your hair grows out your scalp so thats just obvious but ... say u relax your hair u put the relaxer a little further down from the new growth closest to the scalp then you come back later and put it to the new growth closest to your scalp...

I guess i need to clarify that.. its sensitive because that hair is directly attached to your scalp and if the relaxer sits on it too long its not a good thing..

i guess it makes sense if you can avoid getting the relaxer on your scalp.

i just don't see how that's possible especially if you're a self relaxer.

well like i said its not about avoiding it ... thats extremely hard. its just you put the relaxer on the new growth closest to ur scalp last...... which means yes the relaxer WILL touch ur scalp but it wont remain on there as long... get what im saying?

i hear what your saying, i think

i guess this would apply if you're relaxing several inches of hair? .

I don't get this concept. Say I'm working with 2 inches max-why go over my entire head to get the inch closest to the previously relaxed portion, then return to do the inch closest to the scalp?

krissynick said:

I found it very interesting on one of the blogs they had a link to a hair talk show and i heard the lady say that when you get a relaxer you are suppose to apply relaxers to the hair closest to scalp last and not first.... guys we gotta watch this... its all about correct application

Click to expand...

I see what you're saying. Sounds like too much unnecessary time and work for me though. As long as my scalp is protected and the already relaxed hair is protected, I hit all of the new growth equally in the little bit of time I have.

OP,
I've heard of this concept for relaxing a full head of virgin hair.

The reason why the hair at the scalp is most "sensitive", is because the heat from the head makes the relaxer process faster. So when applying the relaxer to the full head, you want to make sure the ends will process to the same level as the scalp, so you apply the relaxer leaving a 1/4 to 1/2" near the scalp un touched.

But usually, the heat will cause the relaxer to spread upward, so you may not have to actually go back and re-apply to the roots.

I'm not too sure if this concept is referring to retouching new growth, as in most cases many people only have a couple inches of NG.

I read this online from a cosmetology school. I will see if I can find the link...

ETA: Here is the link: http://www.pivot-point.com/PDF_revisions/SFC_CB_REV9_06_Notes.pdf

on Pages 15 & 18 of the pdf file, and 467 & 476 of the document.

Since I'm the one that posted the link (and I listened to a lot of the episodes of the show), I'll post what I heard the stylist had to say. In cosmetology school, stylists are taught that you initially apply the relaxer to the new growth starting ~1/4-1/2" away from the scalp. The smoothing process is what gets the relaxer to the roots. And yes, the body heat will move the relaxer around and the product will eventually get to the scalp, but by doing this you are keeping the product from being on the scalp for less time, which causes less chance for damage to the scalp (as it's the most important part of the hair/head). This is why the stylist is so adamant a/b clients only coming to a professional stylist for this chemical and not doing relaxers at home. (She differentiates b/t the professional and unprofessional stylist in that episode.) She admitted that this is not always avoidable (and that sometimes she is guilty of applying the product to the hair closest to the scalp), but great care is taken to prevent any burning or damage, and she consults with the client to ensure that the right relaxer type for that person's hair and scalp are used, as those are important factors in this process.

I do believe that Shamboosie also mentioned this in his book, which is why he said that if you're going to relax at home for whatever reason, to have a person you trust to do it for you and not to do it yourself.

^^ I thought "unprofessional professional" sounded familiar... I remember seeing a thread about that.

Off to read it.

thanks

I guess it will work better on hair that has a lot of new growth but I was just saying I found it interesting cause never heard of that procedure before.. Thanks all for ur input

artemis_e. said:

In cosmetology school, stylists are taught that you initially apply the relaxer to the new growth starting ~1/4-1/2" away from the scalp. The smoothing process is what gets the relaxer to the roots. And yes, the body heat will move the relaxer around and the product will eventually get to the scalp, but by doing this you are keeping the product from being on the scalp for less time, which causes less chance for damage to the scalp (as it's the most important part of the hair/head).

Click to expand...

I went to cosmetology classes in high school , and I was taught this.

krissynick said:

No thats not what I said. When you relax your hair you are suppose to put the relaxer on the new growth onlly but................. you put it on the hair closest to the scalp last... ( not on the scalp but the hair closest to the scalp)... this helps your hair from being overprocessed cause the hair near the scalp is the most sensistive

Click to expand...

I went to hair school and they kinda teach you that...But it's really nothing different. Just saying don't put the relaxer on the scalp, like most do anyways. This is because the heat from your scalp is going to make it come down to the scalp anyways and it'll also process sooner. No special application is necessary though as long as you....FOLLOW THE RELAXER INSTRUCTIONS. That's just like saying...Don't overlap...most stylists do and just don't care...

Originally Posted by krissynick
No thats not what I said. When you relax your hair you are suppose to put the relaxer on the new growth onlly but................. you put it on the hair closest to the scalp last... ( not on the scalp but the hair closest to the scalp)... this helps your hair from being overprocessed cause the hair near the scalp is the most sensistive

Click to expand...

See, I took this part to mean the hairline because usually at that point they are slapping the perm directly onto my skin/scalp at that point and that's the part that will burn if not based properly.

Ok, I think I get it.

Is it that relaxers should be applied just below the demarcation line first? That makes sense to me especially if there is a lot of new growth.

I know I made mistakes self-relaxing because I applied it closer to the scalp (not on the scalp) and worked my way up. Then I wound up with waves in the middle of the strands because I didn't relax all of the new growth.

Next time I'll apply it just below the demarcation line and work my way downwards when smoothing.