By: Natasha Archary
Relaxing natural hair can be a risky and tiresome process with many people attempting to relax their hair at home.
Whilst it is advisable to go to a professional salon to relax hair, it is far cheaper to get done yourself. After recent reports of people losing hair using Dark and Lovely relaxer products, the Kaya Drive team wanted to know why people do or don’t relax their hair.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
Do’s and don’ts when relaxing hair
Choosing when to relax your hair, the strength of the relaxer and how long you leave it in for can also contribute to damage.
Do’s before relaxing
- Before relaxing your hair, remember oils are your friend. Finding an oil that works best to hydrate your hair can help keep your scalp healthy.
- Black castor oil is preferred by most black people, but other popular choices include avocado, jojoba, argan and almond oil.
- Apply vaseline around your hairline to prevent your skin from getting chemical burns.
- Read the instructions and don’t leave the relaxer in for longer than is stipulated on the product packaging.
- Confine the relaxer application only to your hair growth and try not to reapply to the tips of your hair as it could break.
- Get a neautralisation kit for after you relax which stops the relaxer reaction.
- Treat hair afterwards because relaxers can make the hair even more brittle.
Don’t bleach hair after it’s been relaxed as hair can fall off in large chunks from the scalp. There have been many TikTok users sharing their hair loss after bleaching their freshly relaxed hair.
@almaspicy Imagine getting out of the shower and CLUMPS OF YOUR HAIR FALLING OUT #greenscreen #hairfail #JBLGreekOut #bleachfail #bleachedhairproblems ♬ original sound – Lulu
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