As some of you may know, I was recently forced to use a relaxer to correct a ventilation issue on a full cap.

Essentially, the hair above the ears was ventilated UP. Once the hair got cut down to below 2", it stuck STRAIGHT up. Well, not straight up but at a 45 degree upward angle. No way I could have worn it out of the house.

I was down to zero useable units, so my stylist suggested we try a relaxer to turn the hair around.

I am always wary of adding chemicals to already fragile hair, but i didn't have much of a choice so I gave him the go ahead.

He used a professional product by CHI that was made specifically for processed hair. I watched him apply the relaxer, using a brush to apply it directly to the affected areas. I didn't see how long he left it on or anything, but when I came back later the hair was indeed "relaxed". In fact, you could say that it was "double dose of xanax" relaxed.

So the relaxer DID do the trick. It completely changed the direction of the hairs, so much so that they now lay completely flat pointing downward.

In a way this is perfect, since i have a wide head and the hair having less body is beneficial, but it actually lays so flat now that I can run my hand across it and feel the knots. So basically, it looks good, although it would look better with a LITTLE more body.

Now as far as the condition of the hair......so far it seems like it did not do any damage. Time will tell, but so far it is holding up just as well as the rest of the hair.

The verdict- I believe that using relaxer to reposition the hair is a viable option, although I would say "Use at your own risk". It's one of those things that might work great on better quality hair, and it might absolutely devastate weak hair. Be wary of how long you leave it in the hair. You can always go back and repeat the process, but I would recommend using it for as little amount of time as possible.

I will try to post some pics soon.