Growing out relaxed hair can feel like a challenge—especially if you’re unsure where to begin. Unfortunately, due to the informal nature of hair education in Nigeria, many stylists (and their clients) aren’t properly trained in the care of relaxed hair.
At Kimiabelle, we’re on a mission to change that.
Whether you’re transitioning from natural hair, maintaining relaxed ends, or just starting your healthy hair journey, here are five expert-backed tips to help you grow long, strong relaxed hair—without overloading on products.
1. Avoid Overprocessing
Relaxers are powerful chemical treatments, and they must be used exactly as directed. If the box says to leave the product on medium-textured hair for 8 minutes—stick to it! Overprocessing can severely damage your strands and lead to breakage.
Not sure about your hair texture? It’s important to know whether your strands are fine, coarse, or somewhere in between. This helps determine how long your hair can safely process during a relaxer service.
2. Prep Your Hair Before Your Relaxer
Just because your new growth is visible doesn’t mean your hair is ready for a relaxer. Applying a relaxer to dry, brittle hair is a recipe for breakage.
We recommend doing a protein treatment 2–3 weeks before your relaxer to strengthen your strands—and repeating one immediately after. Our Kimia Restore & Repair Protein Mask is specially formulated to prepare relaxed hair for processing and minimize post-relaxer breakage.
3. Practice Protective Styling
Relaxed hair thrives when it’s left alone—just like natural hair. Overmanipulating your hair, especially when it’s close to relaxer day, can lead to thinning and breakage.
Incorporate low-manipulation or protective styles like buns, wraps, or cornrows to reduce stress on your strands while still looking polished.
4. Moisturize and Deep Condition Regularly
Many of our relaxed-hair customers used to believe that relaxed hair doesn’t need as much care as natural hair. The truth? Healthy hair is hydrated hair, regardless of texture or chemical processing.
Start alternating between a moisturizing deep conditioner and a protein deep conditioner weekly. For ongoing hydration, we recommend our Kimia Creamy Hair Moisturizer—perfect for sealing in moisture and keeping your hair soft between wash days.
5. Relax Only the New Growth
This is the golden rule for healthy relaxed hair. Reapplying your relaxer to previously relaxed strands will weaken your hair and cause chronic breakage—one of the biggest reasons relaxed hair “won’t grow.”
Ask your stylist to use a relaxer protectant on the already-relaxed hair and focus the relaxer only on the new growth. If your current salon isn’t trained in this technique, it might be time to switch. We highly recommend our partner stylists at HairRevive, who specialize in giving clients healthy hair.
Finally…
Relaxed hair can absolutely be long, healthy, and beautiful—with the right techniques and a simplified routine. At Kimiabelle, we’re here to support your hair journey every step of the way with carefully curated products that work.
Ready to level up your hair care routine? Explore our full line of protein masks, deep conditioners, and moisturizers here.
