Do Relaxers Damage Your Hair?

You may remember this client that I had a while ago from being featured in the "How To Grow Your Edges Back" post.  When I took this picture it was her first time coming to see me.  She was getting relaxers every four weeks and at one point she thinks that her previous hairstylist gave her a permanent hair color as well, even though she told her that it was a rinse.  As a result, her hair came out drastically which resulted in the pictures seen below.

Do relaxers damage your hair? 

We put her on a routine of coming weekly in which she received a combination of protein and moisturizing treatments to get her hair back healthy.  I am happy to say that her hair did begin to grow back and become healthy again.  However, like a few other clients that I have had in the past, once I get there hair back healthy the visits decrease and sometimes the client starts back doing things that got there hair damaged in the first place.  This client began going back to the same stylist and receiving relaxers again.  As a result, her hair began to come out again!

Are relaxers damaging your hair?

Now we are basically back to square one and she is now going to be coming back to me on a regular basis again until her hair gets back healthy.  So, to everyone who wonders do relaxers damage your hair, the answer is that it is definitely possible.  If used correctly, you can still have healthy hair.  I always tell my clients that I am a hairstylist who specializes in healthy hair. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that I will give someone a relaxer without them having enough new growth to relax without it overlapping.  Some clients who are dedicated to having healthy hair will take my advice and do everything that I suggest to them.  Others say they want healthy hair but do not want to do what it takes to get it.  This client did everything I suggested to her but once her hair got back healthy she slipped back into doing unhealthy things to it with a stylist who does not treat hair the way that I do.  As a lesson to all of you ladies reading this post, you can definitely have healthy relaxed hair.  To do that, you MUST treat your hair right and practice healthy hair habits in order to avoid damage.

Is My Hair Falling Out? || The Truth About Why Your Hair Sheds So Much After Taking Down Braids & Sew-Ins

Is your hair falling out or is this normal?

Many of my clients have been getting sew ins as a protective style because it is so easy to maintain while allowing their natural hair to rest a while and grow at the same time.  It is common to leave a sew-in in your hair for no more than three months.  However, once they are taken down and you see how much hair ends up on the floor, one can not help but wonder, "is my hair falling out?".  Today I am here to tell you the truth about why your hair sheds so much after taking down braids and sew-ins.

Is my hair falling out?

The truth is that our hair sheds approximately 100-150 hairs per day.  This is perfectly normal as it is a part of the growth process.  Our hair is constantly growing and shedding on a daily basis.  The good news is that the hair typically grows at a much faster rate than it sheds.

The truth about why your hair sheds so much after taking down braids & sew-ins

Since our hair sheds 100-150 hairs per day, it may not seem like a lot when you comb your hair on a daily basis and only see a few strands here and there. However, just because someone gets braids or gets a sew-in, that does not stop the hair from shedding.  If you keep your braids or sew-in for three months, that hair is still shedding the normal 100-150 hairs per day but since the hair is braided up, the hair that has shed has nowhere to go so it just accumulates.  Once you get to the end of your three month period and take your braids or sew-in down, what you are seeing is a build up of hair that has been shedding for three months.  So instead of seeing 100-150 hairs, you are seeing 100-150 hairs times about 90 days which equals over nine thousand hairs!

You are not going bald! Shedding is a part of the growing process

This is still normal but can be a bit shocking when you see all of that hair all at once.  So, the next time you take your braids down do not be alarmed at all of the hair that ends up on the floor.  You are not going bald!  Take comfort in the fact that your hair actually grew much more than it shed.

A Bob- The Perfect Cut

A bob- the perfect cut

When I got my hair cut in a bob I absolutely loved it.  I was a bit hesitant at first to do a drastic cut of going from long hair to barely being able to curl the back but it was one of the best cuts I have ever had.  Since then I have decided to grow my hair back out so now I live vicariously through my client's hair.  This client in particular is one whose hair I love to cut because this is the exact way I would cut my own hair if I decided to ever cut it again.  She has a bob cut into lots of layers.

This is also one of my favorite cuts because it is so easy to maintain.  Not only that, the dryer time is so much shorter!  To take care of this, all she has to do is wrap her hair every night (see how to wrap below).

She does not need to add any additional oil to her hair either.  No moisturizing and sealing required!

side view of layered bob

 

 This client is somewhat transitioning.  She had a relaxer and currently has much more relaxed hair than natural, but the texture of her hair really does not require her to have a relaxer to have straight hair.  Her hair has more of a wavy pattern and her curl is not very tight at all so she really could go either way.  The benefit of her relaxer is no frizz and not having to be concerned with puffing up whenever it is humid.  She is not really 100% committed to ditching the relaxer just yet, so she may decide to just continue to stretch.

back view of bob cut

Products used on this client:

• Silk Hydration by L. Jones Extreme Clean Shampoo
• Silk Hydration by L. Jones Daily Conditioner
• Silk Hydration by L. Jones Leave-In Conditioner
• Nairobi Foam Wrap

(product can be purchased at www.silkhydrationbyljones.com)

Can You Get A Silk Press If You Have Relaxed Hair?

For several years now I have been doing silk presses on natural hair.  As of now, since more and more people have gone natural, I pretty much do them every day.  I have also done a lot of posts on the process of a silk press because a lot of women who do not have a relaxer still choose to wear their hair straight, but they just do not want the chemical in their hair.  Others choose to wear their hair straight just every now and then when they want a length check.  

naturally curly hair getting ready to be silk pressed

No matter how often you choose to get your hair silk pressed, the fact of the matter is that a silk press is basically the illusion of making unrelaxed hair look like it is relaxed.  The question came up of can you get a silk press if you have relaxed hair.  The answer is no because if your hair is already relaxed, you do not need to make it appear as if it were relaxed.  All you would be doing is getting your hair flat ironed.

natural hair with silk press

I also have some natural women that ask me can I make their silk presses last longer.  The answer is also no.  The reason for this is that since you are natural, your hair is prone to revert back to its natural state.  You can wrap it up at night to preserve it but as soon as moisture or humidity hits it, it will turn back curly.

Relaxed clients get this look without as much effort as it takes to get a silk press so not only is it much easier to maintain, it also lasts longer because if you have relaxed hair you really do not have to worry about frizz and your hair going curly on you.

Can you get a silk press if you have relaxed hair? No!

 This client enjoys getting her natural hair straight so she gets a silk press every time, which is about every two weeks.  Even when she used to come every week, as soon as I put the water on her hair to shampoo it, it went right back to its original curly state.  So, even if you straighten every week, your hair will still revert.  However, relaxed women can take comfort in the fact that this is one thing they do not have to be concerned with.  So no, women with relaxed hair can not get a silk press, but they can get the same look with a lot less effort.

Should You Moisturize And Seal Your Hair?

Many of my clients have asked me about moisturizing and sealing their hair.  They want to know should they do it, what should they use, how often?  I have always been a fan of keeping your hair routine as simple as possible.  My answer to this question is no.  

should you moisturize and seal your hair?

If you use high quality hair products and shampoo your hair regularly, you should not have to add additional product in it every day.  I personally have never moisturized and sealed my hair and I have never had any issues with dry hair.  My hair is relaxed, healthy, and properly moisturized.  If you are using inadequate hair products that do not offer what your hair needs, then that is when you will have to use other products to get what your shampoo and conditioner did not have in it.

Why am I not a fan of moisturizing and sealing?  Moisturizing and sealing requires you to put additional moisturizers and oil on your hair every day, some do twice a day, to keep your hair properly moisturized.  Putting this much extra product

New Year, New Hair || Doing A Drastic Haircut For The First Time

Before pic

You know the saying new year, new you?  Well this client has definitely embraced that when it came to her hair.  She has been telling me for years that she wanted to cut her hair but was hesitant because she had never intentionally done a major cut before.  Well this time, she was really ready and decided that New Year's Eve was the day.  She wanted to cut at least 10 inches of hair off in order to donate so I measured a little more than 10 inches keeping in mind that they may want to trim the dead ends off and snipped away.

After pics:

We turned the after into a bob:

her first time drastic hair cut

 She is natural so she is going to have to get in the habit of wrapping her hair. (see how to wrap here)

angled bob slightly stacked in the back

back view

front view

She says she really likes her new hair and plans on enjoying it being short for a little while before letting it grow back long.