Relaxed Heads: How many weeks post relaxer are you and when is your next touch up???

December 10th will be 5 months post and I'm not planning to relax then.

My hair is in microtwists/braids so I don't really interact with my new growth much. I'm just gonna refresh these every few weeks until my next relaxer.

I was planning to relax in Jan or Feb at 6 or 7 mths post but we'll see. It's cold out. I might wait until March or April when the weather is turning a bit and I can enjoy the blow out I plan to do w my relaxer a little more.

I'm not planning to wait until my relaxer anniversary in Oct but I'd be lying if I said the thought wasn't tickling the back of my mind. lol That would mean a 15 mth stretch! o_O

I find that stretching too long makes me more likely to miss a section on my strands though and I don't want to do that.
 
1 day post!!! 15-week stretch (not on purpose). Weeks 10-13 were sketchy due to lack of self-care. I'm so glad I switched to Affirm lye a few months ago. I wouldn't have been able to stretch that long with ORS lye.

I think I'll go 15 weeks again now that I'm no longer allergic to JBCO bc it helped alot this past month.
 
OK, just finished relaxing at 24.5 weeks.
Prepped each section drenched in EVOO and applied a bulk moisturizing condish + Amazon Moisture Condish
I only used 6 sections and I think I might stick to doing this.
I used my trusty Motion lye, regular, undiluted
2-3 minutes to slap it on and then used my fingers to squeeze it in and smooth each section for 2-3 minutes total
Rinsed immediately after warming up the faucet water. Almost 10 mins applied
Did a midstep with ORS Replenishing Condish
Neutralized with Motions moisturizing neutralizing poo x 3 (ACV undiluted added before final wash)
DC'd w heat, Amino Acid mix
I don't feel any burns even though I forgot to Vaseline my scalp. :look:

So happy to have some length back. I'm able to knot my hair again when applying products. Makes things so much easier.
I'm currently airdrying. Planning to blow dry and flat iron tomorrow. I haven't flat ironed since 2019 so I'm a little rusty. If I can get good progress pix with just a blow out, I'm gonna skip the flat iron. I hate how silky my hair gets, I can't do anything with it! It doesn't even hold a ponytail. :(

KEEPING:
6 sections!!
The prepping w EVOO and the two condishes
Mid step w ORS Replenishing condish

Those are the only two things I've added to my process and I loved them. The ORS made my hair feel really soft, even when washing afterwards.
And I usually get some scabs if I don't use Vaseline. I've tried EVOO before but I guess I didn't do it right bc, wow!

OK on to the pix:

Prepped
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Applied and smoothed-
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Results
1703808160903.png
 
I relaxed yesterday. The problem with processing hair at 6 months though is it's quite challenging to relax it like I normally would at 16 weeks and therefore it's not quite as straight as I usually get it. I'm not mad at it though, I'm happy with the additional texture and I thinking of reducing my relaxing time going forward anyway.

I took off about 2 inches, hair needed it. My hair was comfortably at MBL but the trim brought me back to BSL.

I think that I will only stretch for 16 weeks this time.
 
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I relaxed yesterday. The problem with processing hair at 6 months though is it's quite challenging to relax it like I normally would at 16 weeks and therefore it's not quite as straight as I usually get it. I'm not mad at it though, I'm happy with the additional texture and I thinking of reducing my relaxing time going forward anyway.

I took off about 2 inches, hair needed it. My hair was comfortably at MBL but the trim brought me back to BSL.

I think that I will only stretch for 16 weeks this time.

Yes! I was also contemplating relaxing every 4 months, taking me to 3 relaxers yearly instead of two. I feel like I'm less likely to miss spots and have gaps on my strands by relaxing more frequently. When I look back in my hair journal, my hair looked better when I relaxed every 4 months.
 
@LushLox I've never done a 6 month stretch, but agree with you. Ithink I inadvertently (illness, no time) stretched to almost 20 weeks one time. Even with pre-parting, it was a challenge to get through all of that. I also had some under-processed areas. I didn't want to increase the processing time to get it straighter.

Like @MzSwift I've been looking back through my hair journey to see what I was doing. The sweet spot for me is 16-18 weeks. My hair was past BSL and I didn't lose thickness.
 
I might consider either doing my hair every 6 months or straightening it more frequently. The new growth is new growth-ing. Or I might do cornrows. They're kinda boring, but I need a break from doing the mini/micro braids. I might pick them back up in the Summer.
 
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