HAIR UPDATE – How i am managing my new growth at 16 weeks post relaxer

I would like to share certain challenges i face on my hair journey with my readers and, These are challenges you might face as well especially if you intend to stretch your relaxer like I do. Yes i know at some point i had decided to transition but i reversed my decision due to the amount of breakage i was facing. I am sure with time i will but for now i am comfortable with stretching my relaxers
I now texlax my hair every 5 months (20 weeks). Which i am comfortable with will try and stretch to 6 months (24 weeks)  after my next touch up. I am currently 16 weeks post relaxer ( which simply means the last time I texlaxed my hair was 16 weeks ago). 4 months. Usually I start wearing conrows under my wigs from 10 weeks post
I have about 2 inches of natural hair at the moment so I have a mini fro beneath my texlaxed hair. When it comes to managing the new growth there are some challenges that come with handling lots of new growth.

***What is Texlaxing?
"Texlaxed" hair is a term that was coined in the Internet hair world to describe a hair texture that falls between texturized curls and chemically relaxed, straight hair. "Texlaxing" is the intentional underprocessing of hair with a relaxer chemical, and is typically done to create volume, body, and texture in relaxed hair. Instead of processing my hair bone straight I purposely underprocess my hair to leave some texture which is called 'texlaxing'. N.B Texlaxing is done with a relaxer, there's no boxed kit called a 'texlaxer'.

 CHALLENGES OF STRETCHING MY RELAXER
A) MANAGING TWO TEXTURES
When you have a lot of new growth beneath your relaxed hair, it is important to take care of both textures to reduce the risk of breakage.
I keep both my natural new growth and my relaxed hair moisturized all the time. However I have to be extremely gentle when handling hair with this much new growth. This is because the line of demarcation (where the relaxed hair meets the natural new growth) is very delicate and will break easily if handled roughly.
i also notice that their new growth does feel dry. The only way to overcome this is to give it what it needs, moisture. I use African Pride braid spray or S curl no drip curl activator moisturizer to keep my new growth soft and moisturised.
B) MORE TIME & MORE WORK
I find that when I have a lot of new growth, my hair tangles and forms knots easily. The more new growth I have, the more times I have to detangle during the week. And because I have to be very gentle (because of the weakness at the line of demarcation) it takes me longer to detangle, moisturise and seal my hair.
I usually get away with detangling my hair one or twice a week but when I have a lot of new growth like I currently do, I have to detangle my hair at least 3 times a week.
The fact is the more new growth I get, the more time I have to invest in keeping both textures happy.

3) SHRINKAGE
All that lovely new growth means that my hair is higher/taller at the root (if that makes any sense). This makes it look slight shorter.

4) THINNER LOOKING HAIR ESPECIALLY ENDS
Because of the fro at the roots of my hair, the relaxed part of my hair look thinner than it actually is. I am not a fan of this but it is only temporary.
I don’t want to give the impression that natural new growth is a problem.  That IS NOT the message,but it is that when you have a lot of new growth you have to amend your regimen slightly so that you take care of both textures. 
The main reason why I still wear wigs is to help me stretch my relaxer. The wigs give me a mini holiday from my hair. Rather than risk neglecting my hair, wigs helps me to cut back on the amount of time I spend detangling.

A hair journey can be hard work sometimes but it is a positive thing. I compare it to trying to exercise, eat right and stay healthy, it’s not easy but it has its benefits.
I hope this post will encourage you to keep trying despite the challenges.