Relaxer Care
Relaxed hair, repaired.
Relaxer is a category-defining chemical service equal in significance to color, bleach, or keratin — and historically under-served in peptide-haircare framing. This is the full Oli G protocol, calibrated for what relaxer chemistry actually does to the fiber, and what the fiber needs in the weeks that follow.
What relaxer does at the molecular level.
Sodium hydroxide (lye) and calcium hydroxide (no-lye) relaxers don’t soften curl. They break it. Permanently. Understanding what that means is the start of repairing it.
Disulfide bonds break
The bonds in keratin that hold your natural curl pattern get severed by the relaxer’s alkaline chemistry. The disulfide breakage is permanent — your hair will not return to its pre-service pattern.
Cuticle stays raised
Relaxer chemistry leaves the cuticle in a permanently elevated state. The protective scales that normally lay flat are now slightly open — which is what high porosity actually means.
Lipid layer stripped
The natural sebum and lipid coating that protects the strand gets stripped during processing. Hair loses the moisture-sealing layer it was structured to have.
Protein-moisture balance broken
Hair holds protein and moisture in equilibrium. Relaxer disrupts that balance. The fiber drinks water and loses it just as fast — the chemistry has to be supplemented back.
Small enough to slip past the raised cuticle.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids — small enough to penetrate the permanently-open cuticle that relaxer leaves behind, and bond to the broken keratin sites the relaxer exposed. For chemically-straightened hair, this isn’t optional maintenance. It’s core to keeping the fiber intact between services.
SH-Oligopeptide-78
The bond-supporting peptide that defined the category. Mimics Type II keratin structure, reinforcing the protein scaffolding the relaxer compromised. Found in Atomic Hair Repair Leave-In.
Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1
A biotin-anchored peptide that supports strand strength and resilience. Found in Chemical Addiction (pre-service defense), Atomic (post-service repair), and AquaLush (weekly intensive). The same peptide family, doing three jobs.
Three phases. Sequenced for your fiber.
Relaxer touches every layer of the strand. The protocol does too — the week before, the day of, the weeks after. Each phase has a job; together they compound.
The week before service
Mineral and product buildup interfere with relaxer penetration and can cause uneven processing. The pre-service week resets the canvas and loads the fiber with peptides and lipids before the chemistry strips them.
- Day 7 before service: Pure Detox Clarifying Shampoo — strips product, sebum, and hard-water mineral buildup that block relaxer chemistry. The Disodium EDTA chelator is the active that distinguishes a true clarifier here. Pre-relaxer canvas reset.
- Day 3–5 before service: AquaLush Peptide Fiber Mask — ten minutes. Load the fiber with peptides and lipids before the relaxer strips them. The intensive deposit that’s about to take a hit. Pre-relaxer load-up.
- Day-of service (morning): Chemical Addiction Peptide Bonding Spray on dry hair, before the stylist applies the base oil. Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1 reinforces keratin sites under the relaxer chemistry, helping the process create a more even strand. Day-of peptide armor.
- Avoid within 48 hours of service: heavy oils, leave-ins, or product accumulation that could block the relaxer from processing evenly. The window matters.
The two- to three-week recovery
The cuticle re-sets and the new texture stabilizes across two to three weeks. This is the highest-leverage window for compounded peptide repair — the fiber is at its most open, the keratin sites at their most exposed.
- First wash post-service: Pure Detox Clarifying Shampoo to clear residual alkaline relaxer pH. Relaxers leave alkaline residue that needs neutralization for the cuticle to start re-setting. Reset the pH.
- Same wash: AquaLush Peptide Fiber Mask, ten minutes. Flood the now-permanently-porous fiber with peptides and lipids. This is the deposit moment. Flood the fiber.
- Daily from day one: Atomic Hair Repair Leave-In on damp hair after every wash. Dual peptide deposit (SH-Oligopeptide-78 + Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1) plus the silicon-bonded protein layer. The structural recovery is built here. Compounded daily repair.
- Nightly for 2–3 weeks: Renew Porosity Balancing Oil on ends. Jojoba is the closest plant analog to natural sebum — replacing what the relaxer stripped. Lipid replacement.
- Wash-to-wash after the first post-service wash: Total Refresh pH Balancing Conditioner replaces AquaLush as the conditioning step. Its acidic pH (3.5–4.5) actively closes the cuticle the relaxer raised. Cuticle close.
Long-term maintenance
After the three-week recovery window, the routine settles into a sustainable daily and weekly cadence. The peptide deposit continues to compound; the lipid replacement is ongoing.
- Weekly: Pure Detox Clarifying Shampoo — one wash per week to clear product buildup that compounds even with gentle washing. Once-weekly reset.
- Wash days (1–2x per week for relaxed hair): Total Refresh pH Balancing Shampoo (pH 5.0–5.5) into Total Refresh pH Balancing Conditioner (pH 3.5–4.5). The acid-balanced cleanse-and-seal. Daily rhythm.
- Every wash: Atomic Hair Repair Leave-In on damp hair. The dual peptide deposit becomes the daily structural support. Peptide deposit.
- Daily: Renew Porosity Balancing Oil on ends, eight to ten drops focused on lengths and ends. Higher dose for Type 4 hair (more surface area per inch). Lipid maintenance.
- Before any heat tool: Chemical Addiction Peptide Bonding Spray. Heat is the everyday damage event most relaxed hair takes the most of. Pre-heat armor.
- Before the next service: Return to Phase 01. The protocol repeats with every relaxer touch-up. Compound across services.
Each formula’s role in the protocol.
Six products, six engineered jobs. Verified pH ranges, named actives, calibrated dosing for relaxed hair specifically.
Pure Detox Clarifying Shampoo
AquaLush Peptide Fiber Mask
Chemical Addiction Peptide Bonding Spray
Atomic Hair Repair Leave-In
Renew Porosity Balancing Oil
Total Refresh pH Balancing Conditioner
Questions, answered.
How long should I wait between relaxer touch-ups?
The standard professional recommendation is 8–12 weeks between touch-ups, applied only to new growth at the root. Touching up too frequently or processing previously-relaxed hair compounds damage. The protocol on this page applies between touch-ups and around the next service — it doesn’t shorten the wait, it makes the fiber more resilient when service day comes.
Does this protocol work with both lye (sodium hydroxide) and no-lye (calcium hydroxide) relaxers?
Yes. The chemistry of fiber damage is similar across both relaxer types — disulfide bonds break, cuticle stays raised, lipids are stripped. The Oli G protocol addresses the structural and lipid layers regardless of which alkaline base was used.
I’m transitioning out of relaxer. Is this protocol still relevant?
Yes, with calibration. The previously-relaxed lengths are permanently chemically-processed and need the full peptide and lipid protocol on this page. The new natural-pattern growth at the root needs the standard Type 4 routine. See the Type 4 routine here. Many transitioners run both routines simultaneously — same products, different dosing by section.
What if I get both keratin treatments AND relaxers?
Stack the service-specific calibrations. Keratin treatments deposit a protein coating on the cuticle; relaxers break disulfide bonds inside. The Oli G system supports both — sulfate-free Total Refresh is keratin-safe; Pure Detox waits until week 3+ post-keratin; Atomic and Chemical Addiction work across both service types.
Will this protocol prevent damage from future services?
The protocol significantly reinforces the fiber before and after services — but no peptide system prevents the chemical breakage that defines relaxer service. What it does is keep the fiber intact, hydrated, and structurally supported between services, which is what compounds across years of relaxer maintenance.
Where does AquaLush fit if my routine is already five steps?
AquaLush is the wash-day conditioning step on weekly-wash routines (the relaxed hair baseline), replacing Total Refresh Conditioner once a week. The other Total Refresh days remain unchanged. AquaLush is also the post-service flood-the-fiber moment in Phase 02 of the protocol above.
Six products. One service-paired system.
The full Oli G system is the System Intro Kit — every step of the relaxer protocol in one purchase. Or build piece by piece as you go. Both work.