Regardless of the number of Relaxer kits you find in the store at any given time, doing your own relaxer at home is not the best thing to do and is not recommended. In these tight economic times I can understand how and why you would be tempted to make that choice but let me explain why I say it’s not a good idea.

For several years before I was a Professional Hair Stylist I did my own hair at home. I was quick to slap on some of that white cream to make my hair straight! But over the years of doing this repeatedly I began to notice a thin spot coming up in the top of my hair. Unfortunately, I ignored it and kept on relaxing. The spot kept growing and eventually became about 2 inches in diameter. This was scary. My hair used to be very thick in my younger days so this thin spot was devastating.

When I became a stylist I started to see a pattern in African American women’s hair. There were others who had this same spot at the top of their head as I did. Many of them had also relaxed their own hair at home. It just seemed this was the common denominator. This was not always the case, but for the most part is was.

Black women are suffering from hair loss in great amounts. The first thing a stylist always says when we notice someone’s hair is shedding, breaking or becoming thin is “girl, you must be stressing.” This is so not the answer to everything! Thinning hair and even baldness is an epidemic among black women because of the harmful things we do to our hair just for the sake of looking good. When I went to cosmetology school I learned that hair relaxers have at least one of the same chemicals in them as Nair, a product that is used to remove hair from the body. Though I have never verified this, the information was very alarming to me.

Regardless if this is true, chemicals, no matter what they consist of are no joke and applying them to your own hair if you are not properly trained is risky.

There are 6 risks I believe to applying your own relaxer at home: 

• Overlapping—when you apply your own relaxer it’s hard for you to see and you may overlap relaxer onto hair that has already been processed.  This causes over processing of your hair.  This is not totally avoidable, even for a professional but it is more frequent when doing your own hair.
• Too Frequent Application—unless you are really organized you may forget the last time you relaxed your hair and do it more often than you need to.  Many times you are not able to get it good and straight so it may seem to get kinky faster.  You may be tempted to relax it as soon as you feel a little crinkle of new growth, girl you better quit it!  Relaxers should not be applied more than every 6- 8 weeks, especially if you do them at home.  I know people do so at 4 weeks sometimes but I do not recommend it.  Your hair grows about a half inch per month so you want to be sure you have a good amount of new growth to relax.
• Scalp Scarring May Occur—I am not a dermatologist but I have been to one, in fact I have been to two about my thin spot.  I was told that some of my hair follicles had been scarred and damaged so there was no hope of any hair returning there.  When you apply your own relaxer you may not be able to avoid getting it on your scalp.  The skin on your scalp is not super tough so this harsh chemical can truly be damaging to it.  Properly basing the scalp with a protecting base is essential.  I’m not convinced that the base provided in the at home relaxer kits are the best. 
• Chemical Can Be Left on Too Long—applying relaxer quickly and getting it smoothed through so your hair will be straight is tricky.  Trying to do this your self can take some practice.  Since you don’t do this all the time you are more apt to be too slow in your application and therefore the chemical will stay on your hair too long causing over processing time.
• Product May Be Too Strong—people who relax their hair like it straight.  If you want silky straight hair you might be tempted to use a stronger relaxer to get that affect.  It may be too much for your hair and could eventually cause breakage.
• Hair May Not Be Properly Maintained between Relaxers—when you relax your hair you really need to take care of it properly to avoid breakage.  When doing your hair at home you may not know how to do this or what signs to look for when your hair is damaged.

 Here are some tips if you decide you are still going to relax your hair at home:

• Have a friend that you trust apply the product for you.  Perhaps you two can rotate and do each other’s hair.
• Use a timer when applying the relaxer so you don’t leave the product on too long.
• Be sure to use a protecting base for your scalp and apply it properly.
• Mark it on your calendar so that you don’t apply relaxers too soon.  I recommend relaxing every 6-8 weeks. The trick is you don’t want to relax too soon, but you also don’t want to wait too long.  Doing so can cause breakage because you have two different hair textures and the relaxed hair is going to start shedding or breaking off from the natural hair.  If you are transitioning from relaxed to natural hair you will need to take extra precautions. 
• Avoid using Super strength relaxers.  Most people do not need this strong of a relaxer.
• Rinse thoroughly. Leftover relaxer can be damaging to your hair.  Properly rinsing out all of the chemical is very important.
• Shampoo and condition your hair regularly, applying a deep conditioner at least once every two weeks. With a deep conditioner you should sit under a warm dryer with a plastic cap on for at least 20 minutes.  Some people use steamed towels or heat caps also.  The heat is essential because it helps the conditioner to penetrate the hair shaft better.  Quick conditioners just coat the hair. 
• It’s good to get a trim at least once every 12 weeks.  You may need to go to a professional for this part.