How I Manage My New Growth During Relaxer Stretches

I'm a relaxer stretcher. I go several weeks between my relaxer touch-ups. This allows me to have a few inches of new growth so I can avoid relaxer touch up which can weaken my hair causing it to thin and break.

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I typically go about 12 weeks between relaxers but have gone even more than that making it to 18 weeks post relaxer. This means I can have several weeks where I'm dealing with two textures, straight and curly, which can be a challenge. So I've had to learn how to deal with two textures and have them work together without causing more damage. Here are the techniques I use to manage my new growth between relaxer touch-ups:

Deep condition, deep condition, deep condition

I say this a lot, only because it's true. If I don't deep condition during my relaxer stretches detangling is a nightmare and my new growth is more prone to tangling up on itself. My favorite deep conditioner is the Eden Bodyworks Jojoba Monoi Deep Conditioner. It is just the right consistency for both of my textures and it helps make both textures soft, moisturized, and easy to detangle.

Deep condition with heat

When I'm deep in a relaxer stretch, in addition to deep conditioning each wash day I like to amplify my deep conditioning with heat. Since direct heat, and even indirect heat if used a lot, can damage my hair I use a heating cap. The one I use is the Hot Head Deep Conditioning Cap. I found that when I use my heating cap my hair feels more moisturized and stays that way longer.

Stretch my new growth

This is something I learned from other relaxed hair bloggers. My natural hair has some tight curls in certain places which result in the curls tangling or curling around each other. So stretching my new growth helps to lessen or eliminate the tangling.

Here are the two ways I stretch my new growth:

• Apply tension to straighten my new growth when blow-drying. When I blow dry my hair (always using cool or cold air) I take about 2-4 inch sections and hold the section taut while I blow dry my new growth. This way my new growth dries more straight than curly.
• Cross wrap at night. This works best if my new growth is still damp when I go to bed or used tension when blow-drying. The more new growth I have the more nights between wash days I cross wrap.

Drink lots of water

Having healthy hair is not just about the external, but also about taking care of yourself internally. When you're dehydrated the hair closest to your scalp starts to feel it first. Not getting enough water into your system can make your hair feel dry, brittle and rough.

When I don't drink a lot of water and start getting dehydrated my scalp and new growth begin feeling dry. As a result, my new growth starts tangling and doesn't stay stretched.

What I don't do

One thing I don't do, particularly on a regular basis, is flat iron my new growth straight. I used to do that in the past before I started my healthy hair journey and I experienced thinning and breakage. Once I started my healthy hair journey I cut back on the flat ironing to the point where my flat iron hasn't seen the light of day in a while. While I don't think heat should never be used on relaxed hair, I do believe that using a lot of direct heat on relaxed hair does more harm than good.