Relaxer Stretching - Pros and Cons

Hi friends,

Most of us probably believe that we must relax our hair every 6-8 weeks.  Some women can relax that often without any problems.  But for the most of us, relaxing that frequently causes damage to our hair, because of the chance of overlapping the relaxer to previously relaxed hair. 

When I decided to stop relaxing my hair bone straight, I chose to extend the time between my relaxers as well.  I gradually increased the numbers of weeks between my relaxers, until I figured out my limit.  It was a trial and error process, and I found that the longest I can stretch my relaxer without adverse effects is 10 weeks.

Here are some pros and cons to stretching your relaxer:

Pros

• Reduces the chance of applying relaxer to previously relaxed hair,
• Thicker, fuller hair, and
• Saves money in salon visits or relaxer purchase.

Cons

• Hair is more likely to tangle and break if not properly moisturized,
• In extreme cases, hair can knot excessively at the roots when you wash, and
• Line of demarcation (where the new growth meets the relaxed hair) is more prone to breakage.

Generally speaking, all of the cons can be mitigated by moisturizing and detangling thoroughly.   

I stretched my most recent relaxer to 13 1/2 weeks because frankly, life got in the way.  As a result, I suffered more hair loss than usual.  So I will have to cut more hair than expected when I trim next week.