Chichi
New Member
to find a good stylist if you are going to relax your hair. *This applies only to those of us to choose to go to stylists and not to the self-relaxers.* Let's face it, relaxers are no joke. Only a skilled and talented stylist should apply this to your hair. And notice that I said hair and not scalp. Relaxers were not meant for the scalp and should be applied 1/8 of an inch away from the scalp — a talented and skilled stylist will know this and will not be slopping all of the relaxer on your scalp, especially without basing your scalp
I just wanted to send out this friendly reminder because I have seen too many unfortunate incidents of scalps being burned, etc. and 9 times out of 10, it is due to an inexperienced stylist. Some of us spend more time shopping for shoes or a good bargain than we would shopping for a stylist who will apply a relaxer to our scalps. Shop around, go to consultations, do your legwork and research, once you find a good stylist your hair will thrive. On the other hand, continue going to a bad stylist and all of your hard-earned work could be cut short in a snap.
How do you find a good stylist?
- Look at the healthy relaxed heads around you, ask them where they got their hair done.
- Look in hair care magazines, find the names of some talented stylists in your area.
- Look in the phone book and call around, if they can't spend some time talking to you on the phone, then how much time do you think that they are really going to devote to your hair?
- Note the specialty of the salon. The salon where you get the best wash and set/blowout may not necessarily be the best place to get a relaxer.
Above all, schedule a consultation with a few stylists until you feel comfortable with one. There is no need to fear getting a relaxer. If you are anxious because you "hope" that the stylist won't mess up your hair, then you shouldn't be in that chair. You shouldn't leave your hair up to chance, you should be sure that they will be doing a good job for you.
Also, my mantra has always been "don't get your hair relaxed bone straight - get it straight but not bone straight." If you ask a stylist to do this for you and she looks at you like you just stepped off of a space ship then I would quickly step out of her shop. Any stylist worth anything knows what that means.
Lastly, if you chose to relax your hair, take care of it. Do not get glued on weaves one week and then braids the next. I add this because many times I've seen ladies on here blame the relaxer but the relaxer was never the culprit in the first place.
Okay y'all, I am stepping off of my soapbox now... happy hair growing.
Chichi
