My Healthy Relaxed Hair Journey Part 4: My Journey One Year Later & 4 Tips That Work

It's been over a year since I relaxed my hair after being natural for seven years. It's been an interesting journey of learning, patience, and growth, literally. In this blog post, I am sharing my one-year healthy, relaxed hair journey update and the tips that I have found work for me and could work for you, too.

Before we get into it, here's today's verse;

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

First, I'd like to share a visual representation of how much my hair has GROWN over the past year, so that as I share tips, you can see indeed, they work. Here we go.

November 2024 vs. November 2025

Now, here are the four tips that work;

1. Moisturize your hair daily

   The first tip that works is daily moisturizing. When I was a naturalista, I would moisturize my hair every single day, whether it was open or in two-strand twists; I would always ensure that my hair was moisturized. To moisturize relaxed hair, you need two items only: Leave-in conditioner and Hair Oil. You may also add a little bit of water to the leave-in conditioner to loosen it up a little bit, if it's thick.

   Daily, apply the leave-in conditioner, then the oil, and massage it into your scalp and through your hair strands, then style it as desired.

   The two products I use and recommend are The Mikalla Leave-In conditioner and Alison's Coconut and Olive Hair Oil.

   
   

2. Treat your hair every two weeks

   Tip #2 that works for healthy relaxed hair is to treat it every two weeks. You can do this at home or head over to the salon to get it done professionally.

   Treating your relaxed hair is essential because your hair has been chemically-treated, and with that in mind, it needs consistent maintenance. Treating it keeps it healthy and moisturized, which then leads to growth.

   I treat my hair at home every two weeks and follow a similar routine as I did when I was a naturalista.

   This is my treatment process, plus the products I use and recommend;

   
   

   Step One: Wash

   Using the Mikalla Shampoo and my scalp massager, I wet my hair with lukewarm water, pour an adequate amount of shampoo, and massage my scalp with the scalp massager. I do this twice until I feel my scalp is clean. Then, rinse.

   
   

   Step Two: Condition

   For conditioner, I use the Mikalla Conditioner. I apply it all over my hair, then gently detangle with my detangling comb. At times, I run my fingers through the tangles, then I rinse off.

   
   

   Step Three: Treat

   I wrap my hair in a soft towel, a lesso, or a t-shirt. (A towel's fibers may tug on your hair strands, leading to breakage).

   While it's still damp, I apply the Mega Growth Deep conditioning treatment, put on a cap, and let it stay in my hair for about two hours.

   
   

   Step Four: Rinse, Moisturize, and Straighten

   Lastly, I rinse off the treatment, apply the Mikalla leave-in conditioner, then straighten the hair using my blow dryer at medium heat. I moisturize my scalp using the Nice and Lovely Hair Food, run the blow dryer through my hair again, and that's it.

   If I'd like to give my hair some curl without applying more heat, I use flexi rods. I place them the night before and unravel my hair the next morning.

   
   

3. Have your hair retouched by a professional

   The second-last tip that works is having your hair retouched by a professional, at least twice a year. In my experience, retouching my hair every six months has kept my hair healthy. It's such a top-tier experience when new growth is retouched, and you get to see how much your hair has grown.

   And, that's the most important point, ONLY NEW GROWTH should be retouched. The already relaxed hair ends should not be touched. If they are, your hair will break as it will be over-processed.

   For retouching, the Mega Growth Regular Relaxer is THAT GIRL for me.

   
   

4. Limit Protective Styling

   Lastly, the tip that works is to limit constant protective styling. I'm talking about braiding your hair all the time and putting weaves that tug your hairline. Not every style that claims to be 'protective' is actually protective.

   Relaxed hair is already weaker than natural hair. Therefore, the constant plaiting and tugging will lead to breakage, and you won't be able to retain length.

   It's okay to plait braids, but limit the number of times that you plait, to give your hair and scalp a chance to breathe.

   I also think wigs are great as a protective hairstyle, though I have yet to explore this world.

Overall, for healthy, relaxed hair, treat it with intentionality and gentleness. Be patient and focus on the daily, weekly, or monthly healthy habits, and watch your hair grow!

Till next time,

Miss Kambe.