Short term Heresy for Long term success?

[Pixie0763]

I'm growing out a Pixie. My hair is wavy, thick, & course. I CO wash, use a dab of product, & often blow dry with a round brush to smooth. BUT it's getting too hot & humid here to use a blow dryer much longer, without which my hair is wide & frizzy.

With all that said, I'm thinking about having it relaxed so I can get away from blow drying until it grows out enough for the weight to pull the wave down some.

Experiences, thoughts, opinions?

[rock007junkie]

Personally I wouldn't do it. Relaxers bring on a whole other set of problems. Plus most of the time it'll mean that for your hair to look semi-decent on most days you would have to resort to the blowdrier.

[camara]

When I am growing out short hair, I resemble a triangle for a while. No way around that. :shrug:

Hope you find something you like. :)

[HintOfMint]

You're only a 2a, so you could probably use products to weigh down the waves instead of a relaxer. You could also do hair-wrapping which takes out the wave and is a lot easier to do at shorter lengths.

I've had your length, and we're similar in thickness and texture, and just product worked really well for me. I loved Aveda Universal styling cream, it worked like a dream at that length.

[BeckyAH]

As someone who has done chemical relaxing- it doesn't give you a lack of frizz like blowdrying, just a lack of curl/wave. The softness and smooth finish is pretty much not going to happen with chemical relaxing,

[Aeltt]

As someone who has done chemical relaxing- it doesn't give you a lack of frizz like blowdrying, just a lack of curl/wave. The softness and smooth finish is pretty much not going to happen with chemical relaxing,
Same here. It was still frizzy, and the lack of curls didn't even last. So a few month after I had the same hair than i had to begin with, just more damaged :rolleyes:
Now i mist my hair and lightly oil and it works. There's a few recipe against frizz on here, maybe look into that before doing anything serious to your hair :)

[Ephemeral]

I relaxed my hair for years and it became so damaged I went from apl to a pixie to eliminate the damage. And, yes, it is frizzy - you have to use a blow dryer or a flat iron to make it straight

[Zarina]

I would try products first. Buddy of mine was growing out his VERY curly/kinked hair and had the same issue. He would get it soaking wet and either slick it back with cement like gel or soak it and then put gel in it and air dry it with no brushing or combing. Most products can be damaging due to alcohol in them but it has got to be a lot better than relaxers. Between products and hair toys, (bobby pins, hair clips, headbands, scarfs), you should be able to control it till the length makes everything more manageable.

Edit : He is also the one that gave me an awesome response when I asked him why he didn't use relaxers. (This is when I was hair care ignorant.) His reply was... "Relaxers are just like setting your head on fire, but with not as good results."

[pepperminttea]

You could also do hair-wrapping which takes out the wave and is a lot easier to do at shorter lengths.

Another vote for hair wrapping instead. Here's a tutorial from youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbWJ-FdvK1U). :) Although a relaxer might look like the easy option, I'd be worried you'd end up doing just as much hair care as you are now (if not more) to keep it well behaved with deep treatments, etc. And depending on your hair and scalp's reaction, it could take you right back to square one, so long-term it's a bit of a risk too.

[MinderMutsig]

What I did during those awkward growing out stages is thinning my hair into oblivion. I bought a pair of good thinning shears and used those a lot until my hair was nearly APL. It definitely helped with the dreaded triangle, reversed triangle and all other weird sticky-outy-phases. Also it doesn't damage your hair which in my book is a plus, but you do have to grow out all those layers eventually. If I had to do it again I wouldn't change a thing though.

[Pixie0763]

I'm glad I came out here & asked about it first. It's a lot to think about. I may just stick with pulling it up/back.

[my2cats1]

I sympathize; I was also stuck with "triangle head" as my hair grew out. (it gets better once you are beyond shoulder length). At one point I did a straightening treatment, and the effects only lasted about a month, yet I was left with dry hair. What worked better for me was mineral oil. After shampooing & conditioning I smooth a bit of mineral/baby oil to the ends of wet hair. That gives it smoothness and the weight I need to better control it.

Try the wrap method, experiment with small braids and hair toys, and see if rag curls help you get the shape you want as it grows.

Good luck!

[Anje]

Just another saying to skip the relaxer. It tends to weaken hair considerably, and you'll almost certainly have different hair above and below the relaxer until you cut it.

Pulling it back will help.
I'm pretty sure I've also heard of people at about your stage letting their hair dry with a thin toque-style hat over it, to make it as flat as possible. I don't know how well it works (presumably, like blow-drying, it'd be rather warm), but it might be worth trying or adapting it.
You might also want to invest in a blow dryer with a cool setting. It'll be less damaging for your hair long-term anyway, and it'll be much more tolerable in the summer.

[mzBANGBANG]

Forgive me if this is a stupid answer, since I'm a 1b but do coney serums work in your hair? I kind of want to know for my own knowledge, hmm.

[Pixie0763]

Forgive me if this is a stupid answer, since I'm a 1b but do coney serums work in your hair? I kind of want to know for my own knowledge, hmm.

I've only tried Frizz Ease. It smells good, but didn't help my frizz that much.

[lapushka]

Forgive me if this is a stupid answer, since I'm a 1b but do coney serums work in your hair? I kind of want to know for my own knowledge, hmm.

I'm a 2a too and I love them! Great sealants/moisturizers for the ends and tames the frizz some.

[GlennaGirl]

Oh my goodness, you do mean "hearsay," don't you? :p Not picking...I do stuff like that all the time when typing...it leads to some awesome good times among my friends...ETA...Okay, no you really can laugh at me...since I finally figured out by heresy, you meant the blowdrying.

(ducking head in embarrassment)

Too funny.

[long&blonde]

I would probably try hiding it under a scarf in a really pretty color to bring out your eyes. Scarf tied on daily to hide my hair til it grows in. Bonus:scarves on your forehead absolutely spoil you with the comfort when its hot and humid out.

[Pixie0763]

I'm a 2a too and I love them! Great sealants/moisturizers for the ends and tames the frizz some.

What kind/s have you used that you like? I'm not adverse to trying serum again, but don't want to go through multiple bottles to find one that works better for me.

[Pixie0763]

I did it! ... and it worked out great!

After doing some research, I got a mild lye relaxer, neutralizing shampoo, & moisturizing conditioner with shea butter. My daughter applied it for me last night and we left it on for 15 minutes. My hair is still wavy, but much smoother, AND it didn't ravage my hair! :cheese:

I know, without pictures it didn't happen. I'll get some posted this weekend. ;)