Is Your Relaxed Hair Healthy?

If you love your hair bouncing and behaving, a good relaxer makes it happen. With no kinks, curls and waves a tender head is a thing of the past.

Let’s look at the basics of how relaxers work, how to choose the right one for your hair along with styling options and care tips for healthy relaxed hair.

How To Choose The Right Relaxer For Your Hair

Relaxers break down the bonds in your hair that give it its curls, waves and kinks. The longer you leave it in the straighter your hair gets.

For your healthiest strongest hair don’t straighten more than 80%. If your hair is too straight it gets very weak and is easier to break.

There are two types of hair relaxers.

Lye

• Sodium hydroxide is the active ingredient in lye relaxer. It’s very harsh with a PH between 12 and 14.

  Lye relaxers are hard on the scalp but less drying to the hair. It leaves the scales of the hair lying flat so it has more sheen and stays stronger.

  Lye relaxers should be applied in a salon setting by a professional who will make sure the chemical is neutralized properly. This helps prevent dangerous over processing and damage to your hair and scalp.

  If sensitive scalp isn’t a problem for you go with a lye relaxer.

No Lye

• The active ingredient in no lye relaxer is guanidine hydroxide or thioglycolate. No lye relaxers have a PH between 9 and 9.5.

  No lye relaxers are less harsh on the scalp but tend to dry hair out and make it more porous.

  If you have a sensitive scalp no lye is better for you.

Relaxed Hair Styling Options

Straightened hair gives you lots of styling options.

• Roller Sets
• Flips
• Rod Sets
• Straight Styles
• Twist Outs
• Crimps
• Braid Outs
• Pony Tails
• Short Styles
• Bobs
• Flat Twists

Combine different style elements to create something that's unique. For example, you could do flat twists in the front with a rod set in the back.

Tips To Keep Your Relaxed Hair Healthy

Here are some simple tips to help you care for your relaxed hair.

Deep Condition and Moisturize

• This keeps your hair soft and flexible. A deep conditioning treatment with every wash works wonders.

Use Protein Treatments

• A protein strengthening treatment once every 4-6 weeks helps keep breakage away.

Stretch Your Relaxers

• Never relax more often than every 8 weeks. You should have at least an inch of new growth before your next appointment.

Be Gentle With Wet Hair

• Your hair is most fragile when it’s wet so take your time on wash day.

Go Low on Heat

• Don’t use hot tools more often than twice a week. Wet sets are better for your hair.

Use Temporary Color

• Add color with conditioning rinses or hair extensions. Permanent color always leads to hair damage.

Get exclusive healthy hair tips with my free beauty tips e-zine Black Beauty Buzz!

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