Tryng to understand...what is the purpose of stretching out btw relaxer touch-ups?  Does it help to prevent breakage the longer you go or is it something else. I see wher people have pasted in teh past they stretch anyweher from 8-12 weeks wow! How can you handle your hair?  I usually have a touch-up every 6 weeks so just wondering if there is a reason I should try to stretch it out and if so how to manage that new growth.

Thanks

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~

What moisturizer do you use?

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!!

Have you tried washing your hair in sections? I'm at week 16 and I know I wouldn't be able to wash or handle my hair while wet without washing it in braided sections.  I even wash it like this after a fresh relaxer.  It really cuts down on the tangling and hair loss.

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.

Layla wrote: What moisturizer do you use?

I mainly use S-curl no Drip as a moisturizer.