Well after nearly a year’s absence, postpartum shedding and fearing the worst when it came to my hair, I can now report that my hair is alright. Whew! I was really worried about it and that worry partial fueled my disinterest in all things hair. But between my relaxer prep wash day and this weekend’s relaxer day, I can rest easy because my hair came through those trials and tribulations barely scuffed. (1) My edges are making a recovery after being snatched from me (see video below). (2) The rest of my hair has really good volume. (3) My ends (after my most recent hair cut/trim) are still even and intact. (4) My length is still the same as last year, but that doesn’t bother me considering how it looks overall. Given the last 6 months, I’m grateful for this is 2018 relaxer update.
Relaxer Update | January 2018:
As far as this relaxer day, I ended my stretch at 27 weeks post relaxer. My longest stretch to date. I used Design Essentials Conditioning Lye Relaxer in regular strength. The total relaxer application time was between 21-22 minutes. And these are the other products that I used for the rest of relaxer day:
- Summit Sensitive Scalp (on scalp)
- Petroleum Jelly (on previously relaxed hair)
- Design Essentials Conditioning Relaxer (Regular Strength – Lye)
- Design Essentials Milk & Honey Neutralizing Shampoo
- Elasta QP Stop Action Neutralizing Shampoo
- Design Essentials Milk & Honey 6N1 Conditioner (Protein Conditioner)
- Generic Value Products (GVP) Conditioning Balm (Deep Conditioner)
- GVP The Conditioner (Leave-in Treatment)
- ROLLER SET with Mesh Rollers
Pseudo-Length Check on curly hair is at the end:
What’s Next?
I’m currently sitting at full arm pit length. And I keep going back and forth in my head about whether I still want to work towards waist length aggressively. Of course, I’d love OMG-worthy waist length hair. But I’m also really happy with my hair right now. I love the current volume, my ends are looking good with these more frequent hair cuts, and these six month stretches are agreeing with my new life schedule. I feel quite comfortable. Over the next week or two, I’m really going to try to figure out what I want from my hair this year and set out a hair regimen to support it. …Or maybe vice versa. Maybe I’ll set up a healthy hair regimen and see where it takes me… hmm. Either way, I’ll report back soon once I have a plan in place.
Girl, your hair looks so good! I still have nightmares about the postpartum shedding I experienced after having my last son lol. I can’t wait to see more of your hair updates as you continue in your healthy hair journey!
PS- You make me want to try more Design Essentials products. I need to get familiar.
Thanks, Drea! It really is scary, isn’t it? But I’m glad to finally be past it.