Let's Talk About Relaxer Application Time.

Relaxer Application time starts the moment relaxer touches your hair and ends when you start rinsing it.  Finding the right application time is essential for consistent texture throughout the the length of your hair.  If you're not bone straight staying close to your goal time will help with that consistency in texture.  And it avoids frustration and breakage later on.  My hair is relaxed but not bone straight (or texlaxed) because there are no curls just wrinkles, lol.  With each relaxer I try to relax my hair within the same 5 minute window.  I'm always working as fast as possible to get the relaxer applied all over my hair -- my goal for that part is 12 minutes (I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm getting close).  And then I use the remaining application time to go back through and smooth my roots making sure that every hair strand is saturated in relaxer.

The texture of my relaxed hair.

I have noticed that it's not often that we, relaxed ladies, reveal how long we leave relaxer in our hair.  It's way more customary to share our DC time than our relaxer application time.  And that's with good reason, you don't want someone to burn their scalp/over process their hair by relying on a time that works for your hair.  Plus thus we're all after a different "after relaxer" texture.  Finding the right relaxer application time depends on (1) what relaxer you're using, (2) your desired degree of straightness, (3) your hair's resistance, and (3) trial and error.  

I use the Affirm Fiberguard Relaxer System (the No-Lye version), which by most accounts is not known for yielding bone straight results.  And the application times on their instructions call for 13, 15 or 18 minutes depending upon the coarseness/resistance of your hair.  However, my hair is fine to medium and I leave my relaxer in for 21-25 minutes.  The varied times comes in because I'm always watching my roots, especially at the crown (the most resistant) and the edges(the least resistant), for the straightness achieved while the relaxer is still in.  I do this now, because one time I went 29 minutes and my edges got the worst of it.  I was moving too slowly and wasn't paying attention to the time. See Relaxer Update September 2011 for more on that.

What's your relaxer application time? What relaxer do you use? What's your desired texture (bone straight, relaxed, texlaxed)?  And would you consider your hair resistant?