Update: relaxed hair - includes related information on hair styling

update: relaxes hair

style update: Simple, curved and fresh - that's relaxed hair now. The most up-to-date styles go from very close-cut to layered bobs that clear the shoulder. If you're going to relax your hair, here's some styling news you'll want to know:

The wrap is both a style and a maintenance technique whose popularity is spreading cross-country, and with good reason. With this versatile style, your hair, whatever its length, and providing your ends are blunt and your hair is healthy, can go from sleek to curvy or slightly voluminous. The wrap makes maintenance of relaxed hair a breeze. At night the hair is brushed around the head, secured with pins (if necessary), then tied with a silky, oblong scarf. In the morning, it's ready to go with easy combing and brushing. The wrap is less stressful to the hair and scalp than sleeping in rollers, and it's better than constant blow-drying and curling for maintaining the look of your cut. Relaxer news: Beauty professionals have learned a great deal about taking care of your hair before, during and after relaxing. Here are some of their latest findings and recommendations: * Don't shampoo your hair for at least 72 hours prior to relaxing it; doing so can cause scalp irritation and lead to infection. * As stylists have emphasized for the last couple of years, the object of relaxing is not to make hair bone-straight. Today's looks rely on integrating some of the hair's natural texture. Super-straight hair is also a no-no because it's 360 degrees away from the hair's natural texture, and the extreme change can cause stress and damage. * Relaxing doesn't have to be the drying, limpness-rendering hair affair it was in the past. Look for relaxers with conditioning agents built in. If you're not sure that your relaxer has conditioning properties, Jean-Claude Megret of Rene Furterer suggests you mix in one ampule of Carthame per jar of relaxer. Carthame is an intensive oil supplement by Furterer, based on natural ingredients, which acts as a buffer against the drying chemicals in relaxers. * Before using a relaxer, make sure your hair is healthy. How do you check? George Buckner of Hair Fashions East Salon in New York says that hair is not healthy if there is breakage when you handle it, or if it falls out when comb. People who have pressed their hair for several years or who have permanent hair color should not consider their hair healthy enough to be relaxed in a home treatment. If your hair is not in good shape, put it on a regimen of strengthening treatments. * Experts warm that alcohol use and even menstruation can have negative effects on the relaxing process. Both have a tendency to extract moisture from your body, including the hair near root and scalp. Buckner stresses that a woman's scalp is much more sensitive during her menstrual period. He recommends that women avoid relaxing their hair at that time. A dozen do's and don't's: 1. For three or four days prior to relaxing, minimize your use of styling products that contain stiffening agents or are alcohol-based. A buildup of these could damage your hair when you relax it. 2. If you're relaxing your hair at home, ask a friend to help. Another pair of hands comes in handy for proper sectioning and application, especially if this is a touch-up. A friend can also see to be sure there is no overlapping of relaxer onto previously relaxed hair. Don't leave relaxer on the hair longer than suggested. If you do, you may cause hair breakage and irritate or damage your scalp. The relaxer can reach the scalp and begin to sting. 3. It's important to clean hair once a week to replenish the hair shaft with moisture. Water puts back moisture, and the humectants in shampoos and conditioners help prevent moisture from escaping. 4. Moisturizing shampoos are a must for relaxed hair. To avoid detergent shampoos that clean but strip your hair of moisture, be sure that the label on your shampoo states that it's a moisturizing or conditioning product. But don't rely on shampoos alone for conditioning. Once you've used a relaxer, conditioning after every shampoo is a must because it will replenish lost moisture and aid in detangling. Remember to blot the hair dry after shampooing so the conditioner can penetrate. One to try is L'Oreal's Hair Relief Intensive Conditioning Treatment. Its deep-penetrating formula promises to restore suppleness and flexibility to hair. 5. Daily moisturizing: Keep it light. Moisturizing lotions or light hairdressing are ideal. According to Jean-Claude Megret, heavy greases and oils (even olive oil) should be avoided because their large molecules clog the pores and cannot penetrate the scalp to moisten the hair shaft. Apply lotions to the hair only. Even more important, massage your scalp five minutes every night to stimulate the natural oils, improve circulation and encourage a supple scalp. 6. Stay away from sponge rollers; they absorb moisture from the hair. If you must use them, don't sleep in them because of the stress they put on hair. 7. Be gentle when combing and styling your hair. When blow-drying, keep setting on warm, not hot, and keep dryer 12 to 18 inches away from your hair. Most important, keep the dryer moving. 8. Avoid using alcohol-based products because they dry the hair. When these products are used with heat-styling appliances, the process is extremely drying. 9. Don't press or straighten new growth because you may touch already-relaxed hair and cause severe structural damage and breakage. If you are unable to see your stylist for a touch-up or don't have the time to do it yourself, try blow-drying on a low setting using a moisturizing product. Or add texture to your hair by braiding and setting or crimping the relaxed area, leaving the two textures similar. 10. Put an end to 100 brush strokes a day. Use hairbrushes for styling only. The best brushes have natural bristles and rounded tips; nylon or pointed bristles can rip the hair. 11. Don't overuse support products (gels, spritzes, sheens, mousses, waxy pomades) because they can cause breakage if applied repeatedly without regular shampooing and conditioning. 12. Frequency: The general rule is to relax every 6 to 8 weeks, or when your new growth reaches one-quarter to one-half inch in length.

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