Daily
• You should moisturize and seal daily or at least every other day depending on your hair’s needs.
• Drink water daily, this helps with optimal skin and hair health.
• Take your vitamins daily for maximum effect if you have opted to use them in your regimen.
• Style your hair with your fingers only!
• Green house effect (GHE) some people add this to their regimen daily to increase hair growth.
• Accessorize daily to avoid getting bored with protective styling!
• Wear a satin bonnet* nightly or alternatively sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase.
Weekly
• This is your wash day so pre-poo before your wash to prevent hygral fatigue.
• Preferably choose sulfate free shampoos to wash your hair or skip the shampoo step all together.
• Deep condition preferably with heat and alternate your protein and moisturizing deep treatments.
• Steam treatment – You can do this every other week instead of weekly but don’t bother with the steam when you do a protein DC.
• Scalp massage – Optimally you should do this daily but if you skip it, give your scalp a good massage while you wash your hair.
• Combs and brushes should only be used on your wash day. Detangle GENTLY from ends to roots.
Monthly
• Protective style for a least 3 weeks out of every month for the best length retention.
• These protective styles can also be installed/redone monthly too so take down the weave or braids and redo them after giving your hair and scalp a good cleaning.
• Protective styling can also be done by way of up-do’s or any other ‘no touch’ hairstyle.
• Do your hot oil or other treatments like the caramel treatment or henna.
• Depending on how many oil or silicone containing products you use, you may choose to clarify your hair monthly.
4-8 Weeks
• Provided you are not protein sensitive you should do your hard protein treatment like Aphogee at around the 6 week mark.
• Clarify your hair. At this stage you can break out sulfate containing shampoos or invest in a very good cleansing sulfate free one. This gets rid of all oils* and silicone residue you have accumulated in your strands over the last few weeks.
• If you pay a stylist to do your braided installs and it would be too expensive for you redo them monthly you can certainly stretch them to 8 weeks but don’t go longer than this to avoid matting.
12+ Weeks
• This is certainly open to interpretation but your relaxers should be at the very least 12 weeks apart, the usual 8 weeks just doesn’t cut it if you want long hair. Most long haired relaxed ladies do epic 20+ week stretches so you may or may not want to emulate that area of their regimen. Alternatively you could work your way up by increasing your stretches by a couple of weeks at a time. It’s easier than you think!
Occasionally
• I’m sure y’all know this but your flat irons*, curlers, hand dryers or any other heated tools (except stand/bonnet dryers) should only be used OCCASIONALLY. This means for special events like your birthday or Auntie Sara’s wedding where you are the maid of honor not payday or a Tuesday! For everyday work or school hair you should either be roller setting or air drying.
• Trim your hair only when needed. I think it’s ridiculous to trim your hair monthly just because your hairdresser says you should, particularly if you hair grows slowly. If you hair doesn’t need it then don’t trim, you can dust your ends when needed (clip individual strands when you see a split end) otherwise I leave it up to you to decide your own trimming schedule.
Here is the long healthy natural hair pyramid!
Princess Amira Kuevor says
Christiana
Sierra Greer says
Krystal Smallwood yes/no? or go for whatever works for your hair?
Nikia Thompson says
Dondree Chappell
Rose Jackie'Brown Boglin says
I thought relaxers need a touch up every six weeks
Stephanie Henry says
I think it varies on how fast your hair grows too, some ppl may need a touch up in 6 weeks, others …10-12 weeks …if there’s not much new growth than its not necessary.
Jillian Vs JuJu says
I get a relaxed every three months which can be trying at times due to new growth yet I see a big improvement I’m how healthy my hair is
Wendy Jean-Louis says
That sounds nuts to to I relaxed every 3-4 months sometimes I would try to stretch for more time. I put my hair in plats and corniest in the mean time and undid them for Fridays or Saturdays. Moisturize everyday never put heat in my hair and kept combing to a minimum. My hair was half way down my back. Now that I am natural my hair is stagnant. I am thinking of going back.
Jordann Allen says
it seems like to keep relaxed hair healthy you do the same things you would being natural why relax
Toy Jaynell says
You don’t have to get a relaxer every six weeks rose.if you use any heat in your hair your ends should be trimmed every 8 weeks per the girl at super cuts lol.most people who relax their hair every six weeks can go a week or two longer with a good hot oil treatment.
Krystal Smallwood says
Go for whatever works for you not everyone’s hair is the same Sierra Greer plus this right here () is to much work lol
Sierra Greer says
Good, b/c that looks like another full time job lol…. Plus my schedule dont allow for all of this. I’m just trying to find a way to thicken my hair back up. I started using JBCO yesterday I hope it does what everybody claim it does
Shayah Pierre says
Shayah Pierre
Gabrielle Pittman says
I get a perm every month. .. my hair is to thick to wait any longer lol
Tiffany Roberts says
what only works for me is, i only relax my hair when its NEEDS to be relax like every three to four months and i always trim my ends and apply growth lotion from bronner brothers twice a day morning and night and drink plenty amount of water daily and i wash my hair every two weeks
Alyssa Ali Philip-Rose says
It’s suggested to go longer than six weeks to prevent overlapping of the relaxer on your hair. Too much of the chemical on the same areas of the hair due to overlapping can result in thinning and eventually breakage.
Beth Renee says
I love whoever put this together!!
Tynesha Whitehead says
I am trying to relax my hair only twice a year. I relaxed it in December. I have 4c hair. I always keep it in a sew in with one week natural wear in between. This last time I used the cream of nature aragon oil treatment pack mixed with peppermint oil, castor oil and coconut oil. Then I put on a plastic cap and sat under a dry cap for 15 minutes. For the first time ever my hair stayed soft and manageable for the entire week.
Nichelle Burnet says
Does henna loosen your curlpatern? i have wanted to dye my hair black with it but i don’t want to change my curlpatern
Brittany Thomas says
I have a friend who uses henna regularly and her curl pattern is still the same. I’m looking to dye my hair with henna as well.
Kyé Pettiford-Smith says
I should comb my hair once a week?
Vanessa White says
Like the pyramid but LOL….12+ for a retouch? Seriously?! I can’t speak for anyone else but I for one head would be bald. I Texlax every 6-8 weeks, my hair’s just too thick with regrowth to leave longer! Oh and yes a pro-hairdresser applies the relaxer!
Shar Scu says
12+ weeks too long to go w/o retouch of relaxer…
Tae Moore says
Only relax my hair every 6 months! Depends on how you manage your hair.
Blessedfrom Above says
I like this info..it gives a base of how to better take care of your hair …hair normally grow .5 inches a month however some people’s hair grow faster…mine do…I have found many products that prove this…I am team natural and also proving to people we can grow our hair long and healthy…my hair is very strong now, no shedding, growing like crazy and maintaining it length…happy with the results so far…mission: 22 or more inches within 2 to 3 yrs..
Shantell Matthias says
Chez
Sara Jeanty says
Farrah Wesline Aliona-Joseph
Nikia Thompson says
What is GHE under daily?
Felicia Bey says
This is honestly so helpful. I’ve been taking in all of this information but it’s so hard to keep it all in one place and organize it so this is great.
Gmomma Carla Godfrey says
I DO A TOUCH UP EVERY 90 TO 120 DAY ON RELAXER
Dana Burks says
I’d love to see a pyramid like this for natural hair!
Lorena LaVeaux- Thomas says
Green house effect
Cori Wilson says
Not even!
Kassidi Hammond says
My hair is healthy when I do little then leave it alone.
Apoet Openheart says
Oxymoron
No such thing as healthy relaxed hair.. relaxers are softening your brains.
Janice Roye-Walker says
I did most of those things when i had relax hair including getting a trim and my hair STILL remain the same length for yrs never pass my shoulder now i’ve been natural for a yr and a half and my hair is already passing my shoulder with minimum effort to each is their own though!
Nzîngå Målîkå says
very true!