No Lye Relaxers and Dryness

[Edie]

How do you ladies who use a no-lye relaxer handle the dryness issue? I like the fact that lye is gentler on the hair as far as moisture, but generally lye relaxers give you less time to apply the relaxer. I looked at ORS lye and it said eleven minutes for fine hair. I have fine hair, but a lot of it and it's long (mid back). The ORS no-lye gives you more time to apply the relaxer. My girl friend said she would help me apply the relaxer. But even with her help eleven will not be enough time. So now I am back to considering no-lye. I know I can add moisturizers everyday, but I do not want to weigh down my hair. HELP!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CurleeDST]

I heard you hve to add moisture whereas with lye one should focus on adding protein. A good moisturizer is Dudley's PCA Moisture Retainer.

 

[Edie]

I heard you hve to add moisture whereas with lye one should focus on adding protein. A good moisturizer is Dudley's PCA Moisture Retainer.

Do you mean add moisturizer to the No Lye relaxer? Or to the hair once it is relaxed with a no-lye relaxer?

 

[Ladylynn]

I've found it's easier for me to work in sections when using lye relaxers. I just relaxed with Mizani regular lye. The best relaxer thus far for me. My hair starting relaxing and burning around 10 minutes. The total time allotted was around 15 minutes. There is no way I could have did my whole head in 15 minutes. I relax in 4 sections. While I'm relaxing one section, I have the other three secured with a plastic cap. It is a very length process, but worth it. I can concentrate on technique rather than trying to get through my whole head.

BTW, I was using ORS no lye, but my hair was so... dry, I had no choice to go back to lye.

 

[RubyWoo]

How do you ladies who use a no-lye relaxer handle the dryness issue? I like the fact that lye is gentler on the hair as far as moisture, but generally lye relaxers give you less time to apply the relaxer. I looked at ORS lye and it said eleven minutes for fine hair. I have fine hair, but a lot of it and it's long (mid back). The ORS no-lye gives you more time to apply the relaxer. My girl friend said she would help me apply the relaxer. But even with her help eleven will not be enough time. So now I am back to considering no-lye. I know I can add moisturizers everyday, but I do not want to weigh down my hair. HELP!!!!!!!!!!

I've used no-lye all my life but I recently switched to lye relaxers. To counteract the dryness issue, you should use a chelating shampoo or a shampoo that explicitly states that it removes mineral or calcium deposits. The reason your hair is dry is because no lye relaxers leave calcium deposits on the shaft and block moisture. You need to remove the deposits so that your hair can receive moisture. ORS Creamy Aloe shampoo is a neutralizing shampoo that removes and prevents calcium deposits and I definitely recommend it. This shampoo can be used as your regular shampoo as it is also very moisturizing. Another shampoo that I recommend that I also think is great is Mizani Phormula 7 neutralzing and chelating shampoo.

 

[Edie]

So when you relax your hair in sections and cover the relaxed part in sections, do you rinse the first relaxed section, wash and neutralize it, then condition etc.? Then cover that section and then go on to the next section. Do you do this on different days or what?
Because my understanding is that you first you relax, then you use porosity control, protein, then use neutralizing shampoo and then deep condition. That is going to take a lot of time and I couldn’t possibly do that in one day. I would be at it all day long. Help!!!!!!!!!

 

[kiesha8185]

So when you relax your hair in sections and cover the relaxed part in sections, do you rinse the first relaxed section, wash and neutralize it, then condition etc.? Then cover that section and then go on to the next section. Do you do this on different days or what?
Because my understanding is that you first you relax, then you use porosity control, protein, then use neutralizing shampoo and then deep condition. That is going to take a lot of time and I couldn’t possibly do that in one day. I would be at it all day long. Help!!!!!!!!!

I tried with my last relaxer and it did not work. I put my hair in 4 sections, and started with the front. I used plastic, paper towels, and bath towels and my sis helped and the unrelaxed portions STILL got wet. I decided to relax it anyway and Phyto 2 did not take at all. I'm assuming it's b/c my hair was wet, and b/c phyto leaves me underprocessed in my coarser areas. Maybe I should of waited for it dry, but I'm thinking to move to lye next time cuz I don't wanna deal with the moisture issues that come with no-lye anymore

 

[Ladylynn]

So when you relax your hair in sections and cover the relaxed part in sections, do you rinse the first relaxed section, wash and neutralize it, then condition etc.? Then cover that section and then go on to the next section. Do you do this on different days or what?
Because my understanding is that you first you relax, then you use porosity control, protein, then use neutralizing shampoo and then deep condition. That is going to take a lot of time and I couldn’t possibly do that in one day. I would be at it all day long. Help!!!!!!!!!

I do one section at a time, while having the others completely covered and secured with bobby pins. I base my scalp, relax, smooth, rinse, apply conditioner, let sit for 10 minutes, rinse, neutralize for 10 minutes, rinse, then pin that section up and cover with a plastic cap before moving on to the next section. Once all sections are relaxed, I remove the plastic caps, and do one more final shampoo without the sections. I then deep condition and style. This is why I say it's time consuming. Some people may not have to go to this extreme, however, this works for me. I can get my hair properly relaxed without under or over processing.

 

[CurleeDST]

after yo relax as a part of maintenance.

Do you mean add moisturizer to the No Lye relaxer? Or to the hair once it is relaxed with a no-lye relaxer?