March 2008 Relaxer

I got a relaxer this weekend, after my 8 week stretch. I don't think I've ever gone that long, unless I had braids or something. I went to a new salon. I was in there for almost 6 hours, so even if I weren't moving out of state in a couple of weeks, I would never go back. I understood that it was Easter weekend, but come on now. I think stylists who book all of those people in such a short time period are just greedy. I don't pay to wait.

Anyway, she used an Affirm relaxer, which I believe is the best relaxer for me. It didn't burn one bit. Not one bit! That is just crazy for me, especially with what's been going on with my scalp the past 3 months. I've been good at not scratching though. I try to never scratch, and it's been working pretty well. I don't think I've scratched since I started my hair journey at the end of January. Back to the salon experience- she was really good at timing how long the relaxer was in, but I didn't really like the way she applied it. She immediately combed it through and I'm sure she got some already relaxed hair. I felt like she was pulling my hair with the comb. She did say that my hair is weak and overprocessed. She said that the top half of my hair is thick and pretty healthy, but the ends are struggling (no surprise). But, she only trimmed the ends as I asked and I still see how much length I have acquired. I got a Joico k-pak treatment (protein) and another deep conditioning treatment, which I asked for. She set my hair on big rollers, so I was only under the dryer for about 30 minutes. Then she wrapped my hair, put a plastic bag on my head and sat me under the dryer for another 10 minutes. I guess this was her version of the saran wrap treatment. Then she trimmed my ends and sent me on my way. No heat, which was great. I didn't see any broken hair in the comb or on my shoulders either, so maybe I will invest in the Joico k-pak when I get settled. I wasn't in love with the style, but then it was the same style I walked in with, so I can't complain. She charged me $70, which I don't think is too bad. I only tipped her because I didn't have exact change. My girl Steph said my hair looks healthy, which I have a hard time believing.

I need to figure out how to strengthen my hair back up. I definitely need a different dc, because I don't think the Elasta QP DPR-11 is all that great. I may just dc with the KeraCare D&I scalp. My old stylist used to do that and my hair was really full and soft. I'm definitely going to wash this week with a neutralizing shampoo and do a mild protein treatment. I have 2 more weeks before I'm moved in, so between that time I don't know what I'm going to do since I'll be staying with friends and most of my stuff will be packed up.

Like I wrote before, I know a lot of my hair problems are from stress, but I'm hoping the sources of my stress will be cleared up in the next week or two. I think a good color rinse will strengthen it up- I just have to find a good one since Jazzing hasn't worked on my gray platinum hair lately..