OUR STORY
I had very VERY thick hair as a child, and my mother (God bless her) wanted to make the process of combing my hair easier, so she decided to relax my hair at the tender age of eight. In those days, no one had the wonderful resources we have now to know how to take care of relaxed hair, so my beautiful shoulder length hair eventually broke, and broke, and broke some more until it was a broken mess. Not knowing what to do, she decided maybe a Jheri curl would work to help grow it back. Nope. Only the new growth of my hair processed the curl, so ALL of my previously relaxed hair had to be cut off. Thus, initiating my very first (and unwanted) big chop.
This relaxer to Jheri curl process continued over the years with a big chop happening every two years or so until, at age 15, I decided to take over my OWN hair. I was no better. Matter of fact…I was worse. This was the era of hard curls and bleach blonde hair, so the bleach over relaxed hair with hair spray and the highest heat setting possible on the curling iron effectively sent my hair to its grave. Big chop number four. Devastating.
I was in my late teens and early twenties when I learned that my hair actually did grow, and it grew well! I was wearing a lot of protective styles like braids and weaves and before long, my hair was finally back past my shoulders, but my hair care habits were still atrocious.
I would grow my hair to just below arm pit length, then it would break, and I would have to trim it two to three inches. This process happened over and over until I grew frustrated. I started learning more about what makes relaxed hair break and discovered that I was overlapping my relaxers and overprocessing my hair at every touch up, so my hair grew weaker and weaker as it grew longer. I started researching and learned different techniques to try to protect my previously relaxed hair during relaxer touch-ups, but most of those methods still left my previously relaxed hair exposed to the chemicals.
I also discovered that petroleum, gels, silicones, etc. are very helpful for protecting and coating previously relaxed hair, but they are no match for the sodium and calcium hydroxide in lye and no-lye relaxers. Overexposure to the chemicals in a relaxer, even when the hair is coated with a protectant, will slow the chemical relaxer process, but it will not stop it.
In my frustration, I was determined to find a way for previously relaxed hair to be covered and protected completely and for the relaxing process to go quickly and more smoothly. That was my inspiration to create Length Savers™ – a lightweight reusable product designed to help protect previously relaxed hair from the chemical relaxer process during relaxer touch-ups.
It is my sincere hope that this product will help you grow longer, stronger, and most of all healthier hair. I am on my own journey! Wishing you the very best of luck on yours! 😊