Relaxer Touch Up

To me, tex-laxing isn't a product; It's a technique. Some ladies cover their hair in oils, others use milder strength relaxers, while a few, mix conditioners to intentionally under-process their relaxers. I simply don't soothe the relaxing cream to achieve my tex-laxed results.

I relax in two sections, which usually requires to kits and double jumping in and out of the shower. I first discovered this process from fellow blogger Ms. Kibbi of www.kibibihair.com.

It's tedious, but totally worth it. Now I have no fear of some over-processed and then some severally under-processed roots. Uniform tex-laxed results every time! So here's how my touch up today went:

1. Prepare- The wash day before my relaxer, I prep my strands with a protein treatment and extreme deep condition. Last wash day, I used Nexxus Emergencee. 
2. Protect- The day of my relax, I first section my hair into four quads. Then I take each quad and split into 1" sections. Next, I base my scalp with JBCO then lightly cover my previously relaxed ends with Roux Porosity Control, Chi Silk Infusion, and Joico Moisture Recovery. Lastly, I double strand twist each section, starting the twist at the line of demarcation, so that I know where to apply the relaxer. I cover the front two quads with shower caps to keep it from getting relaxer or water on it while I work on my back half.
3. Apply- I start my application process at the crown of the two back sections. This is where my curls are the tightest. I use a sprush to make the process go back super fast. Because I know exactly where to apply the relaxer and I only apply the relaxer to my unprocessed roots, the fear of overlapping the relaxer is minimal. Once I apply the relaxer, I smooth with my fingers. This takes about 9 minutes. (I use a timer every time to keep myself honest!) Lastly, I unravel the twists and prepare to wash the relaxer out. 
4. Fortify- In the shower, I rinse out the relaxer then applied a mixture of One n Only Argan Oil and Nexxus Emergencee. (I usually use Nexxus Keraphix as my mid-relaxer strengthener, but I didn't even notice that I was out! I nearly had a serious meltdown and considered postponing my relaxer. That's how serious this is! However, I figured that these two would do a decent job and luckily it did! But next time---I'm back to Keraphix!)
5. Neutralize- After rinsing the protein conditioner, I neutralize 3 lathers with the neutralizing shampoo that is contained in the kit plus a 5 minute ACV rinse just to be ensure that the relaxer has been rinsed away and the chemical process has been stopped. 
6. Remove- Have you ever felt like you loose a little shine and luster after a relaxer? This might be because of the dulling mineral deposits in most no-lye relaxer kits. To prevent this, I shampoo with a chelating poo. Today I used Kenra Chelating. Then I did my usual green tea rinse and Paul Mitchell Smoothing treatment. (Like I said--I'm quite habitual)
7. Restore- Every relaxer touch up ends with an extreme deep condition. I applied vitamin e oil to my scalp, just in case the relaxer caused irritation (which hasn't happened to me in years but its a hard habit to break), then Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioning Balm to the length of my hair and grapeseed oil, cover with a plastic cap then emptied a few shows in my DVR for about 2 hours. 

I rinsed, air dried, detangled, and applied It's a 10! and Chi Silk Infusion as my leave ins then flat ironed. 
Results: Awesomely wavy tex-laxed hair! I had a lot less shed hair than I was expecting and aside from not having my trust Keraphix for my mid-relaxer protein treatment, all went well in the land of relaxer touch ups today! Even though I don't use the sprush for smoothing, I did notice that my roots were a little straighter than I prefer---Something to contemplate for my next touch up. 

I snipped about an inch. Now looking at the pictures---I probably didn't have to...but no cutter's remorse. Yet. What do you think? Could I have gotten away with not trimming this go around?

Before Cut

After Cut

Un mil besitos
KLP