With the wide availability of home hair relaxer kits, you can easily relax or touch-up your hair at home. You may want to do this to save yourself time and money. Following the directions when relaxing hair at home is important so that you don't damage or break your hair in the process.
Preparation
Before you apply any chemicals to your hair, have all the necessary tools on hand. You'll need a relaxer kit (which should contain hand-protecting gloves), an old towel, a wide-tooth comb, plastic hair clips and a timer or clock. If you purchase a relaxer that's not in a prepackaged kit, make sure you also have neutralizing shampoo and a moisturizing conditioner.
Relaxing the back of your hair may be too difficult for you to try alone; have a friend or family member assist you with this area if needed.
Relax Hair
The process for relaxing virgin hair (or hair that's never been relaxed before) is slightly different from relaxing new growth hair. Begin by separating hair into four sections with the comb, using clips to hold hair out of the way. Start the timer or look at your clock, noting the time. Start at the back of the head and work with sections about 1 inch thick. Apply the relaxer as close to the roots as possible without getting it on the scalp. For virgin hair only, smooth the relaxer all the way to the ends of the hair--you'll repeat this over the entire head. For hair that has been previously relaxed, only apply the relaxer to new growth. Because you should wait about eight weeks between relaxer touch-ups, you should have about 1 inch of new growth to straighten.
Work quickly to apply the relaxer over the entire head or the entire touch-up area. Once the relaxer is in place, smooth with your glove covered hands to completely straighten the hair. Be careful not to get any relaxer on your scalp or skin. If you feel a burning sensation, even if the processing time isn't up yet, you should rinse the relaxer out of your hair. Otherwise, when the recommended time period is up, it's time to rinse the relaxer out.
After Relaxing
Rinse the relaxer out of your hair with warm water, making sure all traces of it are removed. Next, cleanse your hair with neutralizing shampoo. It's important to use a neutralizing shampoo because regular shampoo will not stop the relaxer process. Shampoo two to three times and then follow with a moisturizing conditioner, dry and style.
Tags: your hair, neutralizing shampoo, relaxer your, about inch, apply relaxer
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