The Salon Relaxer Experience

Yesterday I visited my long-time stylist at  Sienna Spa & Salon to have my hair relaxed. Having visited my stylist last month and discussed the relaxer process I already knew what to expect, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the way she handled my strands as well as the end result.

At Home

Prior to my appointment I divided my hair into 4 sections (2 in front and 2 in back), detangled each section using my wide-toothed shower bomb and coated my strands with Hot Six Oil. After detangling and oiling each section I two-strand twisted each section to ensure it remained detangled. I did not base my scalp because I normally do not burn, and I knew my stylist would be using a mild relaxer on my thick, course strands that would likely not cause any irritation.

The Relaxer Process

Using Affirm Fiber Guard in Mild my stylist quickly applied the relaxer to each of the four sections (taking a maximum of six minutes to apply). As we discussed prior to my appointment my stylist did not allow the relaxer to sit and smoothed minimally in an effort to maintain my texture. Throughout the process she constantly checked with me to make sure my scalp was not burning and as soon as the relaxer was applied she directed me to the sink for rinsing.

My stylist rinsed my hair with luke-warm water for at least five minutes, making sure all traces of the relaxer were completely gone. She then surprised me by doing a mid-step protein treatment using Affirm Fiber Guard Sustenance Fortifying Treatment and allowing it to sit for five minutes. I was surprised by this step because it is not something I recall her doing in the past; I was fully prepared to ask for the treatment but pleased to find it was something she includes with each relaxer service.

After rinsing the protein conditioner from my strands she then shampooed using Affirm Fiber Guard Normalizing Shampoo. My hair was shampooed twice, and the shampoo was allowed to sit for two minutes the second go-around to ensure my strands were properly neutrazlied. 

She then rinsed the shampoo with luke-warm water before working a generous amount of Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm through my strands from root to tip. She allowed the conditioner to sit for another five minutes before rinsing with cool water.

The Results

I opted to have my hair blow-dried and flat ironed rather than doing my usual flex-rod set. My hair is soft, smooth, strong and still contains a great deal of texture while feeling light and bouncy. I noticed that I did not experience the usual "plastic" feeling that is typical after the relaxer process, this time my hair feels normal.

My experience was better than I expected, even after seeing the same stylist for 15 years and knowing what to expect. I typically like Mizani but Affirm Fiber Guard seems to be a better fit for leaving my texture manageable while eliminating that "just relaxed- hard" feeling. The process was smooth and efficient and I look forward to continued visits.

Scalp & Length

Have you considered having your hair professionally relaxed?