Are Relaxers Safe To Use During Pregnancy?

By . - Friday, October 02, 2015

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Healthy Relaxed Hair Week

The Best Ingredients for Relaxed Hair

By . - Wednesday, June 10, 2015

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Chemically Treated

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - The Risks Involved with Relaxers

By . - Friday, July 11, 2014

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Chemically Treated

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - How To Apply Your Relaxer Correctly

By . - Wednesday, July 09, 2014

I will be using the ORS Olive Oil Relaxer as my example because I used it years ago when I was relaxed, and folks still seem to like it. Use what you like, but use it properly.

WARNING

Do not apply relaxer directly to scalp. If relaxer comes into contact with skin, wipe off immediately using a damp cloth.
Do not relax hair that is damaged, brittle, splitting or breaking. Follow all instructions to avoid skin and scalp irritation.

Step 1: Before Relaxing make sure you assemble everything you need for the relaxer service.

Special Note:Before Relaxing everyone should protect their hairline and ears with petroleum jelly/ vaseline because these are the most delicate areas that are easily irritated. However, if you have a sensitive scalp, make sure to part hair and apply the hair oil directly to the entire scalp (not the hair) before relaxing.

Step 2: Mixing & Strand Test Mixing: Put on latex gloves provided in kit. Pour Organic Root Stimulator Activator (B) into Organic Root Stimulator Base (A) and mix thoroughly.

IMPORTANT: Do not apply to hair until completely smooth and without lumps. Mix for at least one minute or more. Failure to mix thoroughly may cause scalp irritation, hair damage, and/or hair loss. Strand Test: Cut a small section of hair from the back of head. Tape one end of the hair strands together. Apply relaxer evenly. Follow timing guide. If not straight enough, continue checking every 1-2 minutes until desired straightness is achieved. Examine strand test section and note timing.

DO NOT exceed the maximum time on the timing chart based on hair texture (See timing chart in the Step-By-Step Guide included in kit).

Step 3: Application Apply relaxer close to the scalp, but not on the scalp. If this is a touch up, apply to new growth only.

Step 4: Smoothing Smooth the relaxer using the back of a comb or fingertips. Start smoothing where the relaxer was first applied (top of head). Continue throughout head in the order the relaxer was applied. Make sure that you don’t exceed your recommended time.

Step 5: Rinse Using warm water, thoroughly rinse the hair, especially around the ears, nape, and hairline. Rinsing is important to avoid damage and over-processing of your hair. After rinsing, you will notice that your hair will feel silky and tangle free.

Step 6: Neutralizing Apply a generous amount of Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Creamy Aloe Shampoo to the hair and work into a rich lather. Rinse, repeat shampoo. Leave on for 2-3 minutes. After rinsing, your hair will feel deep cleansed and tangle free! Towel-dry hair.

Step 7: Conditioning Apply a generous amount of Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Pak Conditioner to the hair. The Replenishing Pak will fortify and balance the moisture and protein content in the hair, resulting in stronger and healthier-looking hair that is shiny and manageable. Put on a plastic cap and sit under a dryer for 10-15 minutes (or 45 minutes to an hour without heat). Rinse hair and towel dry.

Step 8: Styling Options Wrapping the hair is a wonderful way to achieve a straight style without using a lot of heat. Wrap the hair with Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Wrap/Set Mousse to leave hair looking smooth and silky. Roller-setting gives the hair body without using excessive heat. Roller set the hair with Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Wrap Set/ Mousse for more body and longer-lasting curls. Blow-drying is an easy way to dry the hair; however, it can cause breakage or damage to hair if it’s not done properly. Use the Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Incredibly Rich Hair Lotion to protect the hair from heat, add shine, and soften hair.

Need some visual instructions? No problem! Check out this video from my favorite relaxer on the market, ORS Olive Oil Hair Relaxer.

source
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Have a Good Hair Day and remember to Love Your Hair!!!

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Chemically Treated

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - Common Hair Relaxing Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Them!

By . - Tuesday, July 08, 2014

By : Audrey Davis-Sivasothy - Source

Performing a chemical relaxer takes quite a bit of skill, especially if you are doing the relaxer on your own. In the wrong hands, chemical relaxing can cause a number of hair and scalp problems including irritation, burning, hair breakage and worse-- permanent hair loss. This article will go over the 8 common chemical relaxing mistakes that many self relaxers make and how these mistakes can be avoided.

Common Chemical Relaxing Mistakes that Self Relaxers Make

Relaxer Mistake 1: Improper neutralizing.

Improper relaxer neutralizing is perhaps the most common chemical relaxing mistake. In the relaxer rinsing rush, most people quickly apply the neutralizing shampoo and rinse it out within a minute or two. But neutralizing is a pH change game. You need to give the shampoo a chance to actually get into the hair fiber and return the hair to its normal, low pH level of about 4 or 5. In order to properly neutralize the hair, neutralizing shampoo must remain on the hair fibers for at least 5 minutes undisturbed prior to rinsing.

Another common chemical relaxing mistake is using a neutralizing shampoo without a color indicator or alarm. It's always best to have some indication of whether the relaxer is being appropriately taken down in pH, and there's no way to know that without a good pink, lathering color alarm.

Relaxer Mistake 2: Not basing the scalp.

Neglecting to apply a petroleum barrier to the scalp can cause serious trouble for delicate scalp skin. While relaxer creme is never to be placed directly on the scalp, it is nearly impossible to avoid at least some of the relaxer crème making its way back onto the skin. This is mostly due to our warm body temperature and its ability to melt or liquefy relaxer crème that is placed on the new growth. This crème, which is close to the scalp, easily melts and can come in contact with the skin. Always base your scalp to give your delicate skin a buffer against the chemicals. If you still elect not to base your entire scalp, then simply base the delicate hairline, nape and temple areas to avoid potential scalp damage.

Relaxer Mistake 3: Not protecting the length of the hair.

It's easy to focus efforts on protecting the new growth and scalp, but the length of your hair should also be protected during chemical relaxing. Remember, when you go to rinse your hair you are rinsing relaxer back down the length of your hair. When the chemicals pass back down the length of your hair, some of your hair may experience additional processing time leading to extra porosity near the ends of the hair. Always coat the length of your hair with a bit of the base or oil you are using for your scalp.

Relaxer Mistake 4: Relaxing the hair too soon.

For people who rock super short styles, relaxing the hair every few weeks may be necessary to maintain a certain hair style. But for the majority of us, relaxing more often than every 8 weeks can lead to hair damage over time. It's best to relax your hair when you have at least 1 inch of new growth to avoid overlapping onto previously relaxed hair. Though it may be tempting, try to keep your relaxers stretched to at least 8-10 weeks apart.

Relaxer Mistake 5: Relaxing the same section FIRST each time.

All of us have a certain relaxer ritual and pattern we like to use with our standard 4 part sections. Some of us like to start in the back, while others have other resistant areas we like to tackle first. While working with a certain relaxer strategy and routine can make it easier to deal with hard to process hair sections, relaxing the same hair section first each and every time can lead to thinning and breakage of that section. The problem occurs because this section of hair regularly processes longer than the other sections of your hair. Try alternating your starting section with each relaxer service. Or simply make sure that the section you hit first with relaxer is the first section to be rinsed and neutralized.

Relaxer Mistake 6: Combing Relaxer Through to the Ends.

Too add insult to injury, the comb of choice is typically a rat tail comb! Never, never, never comb a relaxer through the hair!

First, the scalp is extremely sensitive and can become irritated if it is touched by the comb's teeth. The hair's disulfide bonds are also being rearranged and broken down during the relaxer process. Understandably, the hair is very fragile at this point. Any extra stress or unnecessary tension placed on the hair fiber can seriously weaken it to the point of irreparable damage and eventual breakage. Only use your fingers to smooth the hair and encourage a loosening of your natural curl. Never comb a relaxer through the hair.

**Relaxer Mistake 7: Relaxing the hair until you feel the burn.**

Another common relaxer mistake is simply allowing the relaxer to process on the hair until the scalp begins to tingle or burn. This tingle is often understood by some to be an indicator that the hair is "done" or a sign that the hair has processed thoroughly. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case. Tingling is a sign that you are too late. You've waited entirely too long and the relaxer has now breached your protective hair barriers (base/grease/oil/sebum) and is now proceeding to process the skin of your scalp.

Relaxer Mistake 8: Relaxing your hair when you know you ain't got no business!

Okay, so I went there! Self relaxing is not for everyone. If you're new to relaxing or if you struggle with getting the relaxer applied in a certain amount of time, leave the relaxing to the professionals.

Relaxing when you "ain't got no business" can also apply to people who are relaxing their hair when they haven't reigned in a breakage problem or recently had permanent color put in. Never relax breaking or recently permanently colored hair! If you have another chemical process or henna product on your hair, check with a hair care professional to make sure that your hair is still compatible with chemical relaxing in the first place.

Leave your healthy relaxed hair tips below in the comments section.

Have a Good Hair Day and remember to Love Your Hair!!!

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Chemically Treated

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - Understanding the Basics

By . - Monday, July 07, 2014

Perhaps you've been relaxing your hair for years, or maybe you're contemplating relaxing for the first time. Where ever you are in your relaxed hair journey, I want to make sure you understand exactly what a relaxer is. let's get started.

What Is A Relaxer?

A relaxer is a type of cream typically used by people with kinky, course or tightly curly hair which makes their hair easier to straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali.

A RELAXER IS A CHEMICAL PROCESS.

IT IS NOT A PROCESS THAT CAN BE REVERSED WITHOUT CUTTING THE CHEMICALLY PROCESSED HAIR OFF.

In chemistry, an alkali is an aqueous (from water) solution with a pH value of more than seven. This makes it a base.

What Does It Mean To Relax The Hair?

NOTE: A relaxer should be performed by a registered and trained cosmetologist, but their are at home relaxer kits suited for home use. IT IS STILL A CHEMICAL PROCESS.

Virgin Relaxers

A virgin relaxer is when the cream relaxer is applied throughout the length of the hair of someone who has naturally unprocessed hair. Once you have done this process once to the hair, you will not need to repeat it to the length of the hair ever again.

As the the hair grows naturally, the relaxed/treated portion of the hair moves away from the scalp. This portion of untreated hair growing from the scalp is called new growth.

Touch Ups

New growth of untreated hair sprouts up from the roots, requiring periodic re-treatment to maintain a consistent appearance and texture. Touch ups should only be done every 8 to 10 weeks. If you can stretch the period of time for longer than 8 to 10 weeks then you will be less likely to suffer from over processing.

How To Apply A Relaxer

The relaxer is applied to the base of the hair shaft approximately 1/2 inch from the scalp. It will remain in place for a "cooking" interval, during which it alters the hair's texture by a process of controlled damage to the protein structure. It basically breaks down the protein bonds and relaxes the curl or kink pattern.

When the relaxer has been worked to the desired degree in a particular period of time, the hair is rinsed clean. Regardless of formula, relaxers are always alkaline to some degree, and since your hair and skin are naturally acidic, the hair needs to be neutralized with a neutralizing shampoo.

Neutralizing Shampoos

The main purpose of a neutralizing shampoo is to re-balance the pH level of your hair. Hair sprays, gels and coloring products can all affect your hair's natural pH balance. Neutralizing shampoo works by neutralizing any alkali and caustic residues in your hair. Your hair should ideally be at a pH level between 4.5 and 5.5.

You may need to shampoo with a neutralizing shampoo at least 3 times directly after your relaxer. Colour coded neutralizing shampoos that change colour once all the chemical has been removed from the hair are recommended for at home use.

Conditioning The Hair

You'll want to deep condition the hair with a moisturizing conditioner immediately after neutralizing. This will give the hair an immediate injection of moisture and softness.

Types Of Relaxers

Alkaline And Lye Relaxers

A lye relaxer consists of sodium hydroxide (also known as NaOH or lye) mixed with water, petroleum jelly, mineral oil, and emulsifiers to create a creamy consistency. On application, the caustic "lye cream" permeates the protein structure of the hair and weakens its protein bonds, causing the natural curls to loosen out as the entire fiber swells open. No special deactivation step is required after washing the lye cream out, other than a neutralizing shampoo.

Manufacturers vary the sodium hydroxide content of the solution from 5% to 10% and the pH between 10 and 14.

"Base" And "No Base" Formulas

Lye relaxers may be labelled as "base" or "no base". In this instance, the "base" refers to a preliminary coating of petroleum jelly onto the scalp to protect it from being irritated or burned by the lye cream. "No base" creams have a lower concentration of lye and may be applied directly to the hair roots without requiring the protective "base" layer, although these weaker products may still irritate the skin of some people who must therefore coat their scalps beforehand anyway.

"No Lye" Relaxers

Because of increasing awareness of the potential dangers of sodium hydroxide found in traditional relaxer formulas, many women have begun abandoning them. "No-lye" relaxers are of three main types.

One type operates on the same general principle as lye relaxers but uses a slightly weaker alkaline agent, such as potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, or guanidine hydroxide. The last of these is not pre-formulated, but rather is generated at the time of use by combining a cream containing calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) with an "activating solution" of guanidine carbonate.
Another type of "no-lye" relaxer uses ammonium thioglycolate, which is also known as perm salt for its use in permanent waves. Perm salt is a chemical reducing agent which selectively weakens the hair's cystine bonds instead of disrupting the entire protein, but strips out the natural oils even more thoroughly than the alkali hydroxide products. Afterward, the thioglycolate must be oxidized with a special solution of hydrogen peroxide or sodium bromate.
Lastly, in most relaxers sold for home use, the active agents are ammonium sulfite and ammonium bisulfite (the two compounds are interchangeable, depending on the surrounding pH). These also selectively reduce the cystine bonds, but are much weaker and work more slowly. Nevertheless, their mild action minimizes (but does not entirely eliminate) collateral irritation to the skin.

source

Check in tomorrow for more of Healthy Relaxed Hair Week!

Have a Good hair Day and remember to Love Your Hair!!!

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Chemically Treated

Introducing Healthy Relaxed Hair Week

By . - Monday, July 07, 2014

1 Comments

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Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - The Risks Involved with Relaxers

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Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - How To Apply Your Relaxer Correctly

WARNING

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - Common Hair Relaxing Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Them!

Relaxer Mistake 1: Improper neutralizing.

Relaxer Mistake 2: Not basing the scalp.

Relaxer Mistake 3: Not protecting the length of the hair.

Relaxer Mistake 4: Relaxing the hair too soon.

Relaxer Mistake 5: Relaxing the same section FIRST each time.

Relaxer Mistake 6: Combing Relaxer Through to the Ends.

**Relaxer Mistake 7: Relaxing the hair until you feel the burn.**

Relaxer Mistake 8: Relaxing your hair when you know you ain't got no business!

Leave your healthy relaxed hair tips below in the comments section.

Healthy Relaxed Hair Week - Understanding the Basics

What Is A Relaxer?

What Does It Mean To Relax The Hair?

Virgin Relaxers

Touch Ups

How To Apply A Relaxer

Neutralizing Shampoos

Conditioning The Hair

Types Of Relaxers

Alkaline And Lye Relaxers

"Base" And "No Base" Formulas

"No Lye" Relaxers

Check in tomorrow for more of Healthy Relaxed Hair Week!

Introducing Healthy Relaxed Hair Week

Calling all relaxed hair women!

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