The first reason is that my goal time of stretching between relaxers is to reach 12 weeks. Personally, I think that's the perfect amount of time for my hair. It limits me to about four relaxers a year and ensures I have a nice amount of new growth to prevent me from over processing my previously relaxed length. I have no desire to go any longer than that. My stretches will stay between 10-12 weeks. My stylist (who I miss dearly!) got me into stretching the time between my relaxers. That was about two years ago, when I was pretty much barely making it to 8 weeks between relaxers.
The other reason is that I made it to 11 weeks without noticing. I didn't feel like my hair was becoming such a hassle that I needed to figure out when my next relaxer until it was pretty much time for the next one. This is a really big deal to me because one of my biggest struggles has been taming the beast that is my new growth. Seriously, that stuff has a whole attitude of its own. It can be downright disrespectful at times. I've officially learned to deal with it! It has been sooo soft. I can get my fingers through my hair and I'm not dealing with a bunch of breakage at the line of demarcation (the line where my new growth and my previously relaxed hair meet). #SCORE!!
Needless to say, today will be relaxer day! Since realizing it had been so long, I have had trouble with my hair. Ha! Its probably totally a mind game. It was tucked away or in a bun all week, as I anticipated being able to get my hair to relax some :)
For anyone that is currently trying to stretch out the time between their relaxers, be patient with yourself. (Do you hate when people give you that line for advice as much as I do??) Clearly, it took me about two years to add 4 weeks to my time between relaxers. I would just add one week at a time and not add another until I felt I was dealing well with my hair at that step. I was stuck at 10 weeks for a long time. Hope that makes sense. Stretching can be really beneficial when you take your time and listen to your hair. If your hair is getting dried out, breaking and/or shedding more, it is better to just relax, in my opinion, than to let your hair get damaged for the sake of reaching a stretching goal.
