Stretching out relaxer

Some stretch their relaxers to prevent over processing, overlapping & to give their hair a break from chemicals.

I personally stretch my relaxers every 24 weeks(six months). Moisturizing & Conditioning often helps alot, also I wear protective styles 90% of the time. I usually finger comb when my new growth starts piling up & only comb when I condition. By doing this my hair doesnt break which can be a problem for some when stretching out relaxers.

If you wanna stretch it out, make sure you moisturize often especially your roots and ends shampoo & condition as often or as you normally would and use less manipulation as possiable(i.e. combing/brushing, heat etc.)

HtH~

It's hard for me to go longer than 12 weeks because of the thickness of my new growth. I am currently at 9 weeks and will probably relax next week because my hair begins to shed if my new growth is too heavy. Being 4a/b relaxed, heavy new growth means tangles!! I experienced that today when I washed. I do conditioner washes once a week and I only comb my hair when wet with a ver wide toothed comb. I just can't handle it past that mark and my hair suffers because of it. Moisturizers do help alot but there are times when my hair lets me know, IT'S TIME!!

I can't speak for anyone else, but my personal decision to stretch out relaxers came out of three issues.

1) No money.  College student, trying to get a $60 relaxer every six weeks and fending off a stylist who insisted that I needed to come to him for a wash every two weeks anyway - bleh.

2) Scissor-happy cosmetologists.  One of my hairdressers claimed that she was cutting out 'ragged ends' when she did my relaxers - but her trims essentially meant that my hair never grew because she cut off at least an inch every time.  I've found someone who cut off exactly what I say, and if I say leave it alone, she leaves it alone.  Unfortunately, she's in another city, so I can only see her when I have the time to travel.  That means fairly infrequently, perhaps every three months or longer.

3) High-quality styling tools  My Solia is small enough to get against my scalp if needed, and hot enough to actually work when it's there.  I dig it. 

Right now I'm at 16 weeks post relaxer, and I haven't found a severely damaged or broken spot in the back of my head yet, which I used to get all the time with my other flatirons.  Of course, it didn't help that I was using hard plastic combs with a blowdryer that wasn't getting the back of my head dry.  Nowadays I air dry and use a big toothed wooden comb, and I don't dream of bringing that flatiron near my head if it's even remotely damp.