Japanese Hair Straightening Updated!
Hello everyone! I think this is my forst post in this community. I am a new relaxed bee 🐝
I apologize for the unexpected length of this, but I sincerely hope you find it enjoyable.🙏🏾☺️🙏🏾
So, I live in Osaka, Japan. On November 18th, 2025, I decided to relax my 4C hair (which is also colored, not bleached). This was my first time ever putting chemicals in my hair, let alone two different kinds. I guess I just wanted to tick a few things off my bucket list. I'm currently reverting back to my natural jet black hair, but I will continue to get retouches.
Since my 4C hair was already colored, we went with a weaker JHS treatment. I waited two days before putting anything else in my hair, just to avoid overdoing it. After that, I added some leave-in moisturizer to hydrate it and basically kicked off my relaxed hair journey. It's definitely been a lot of trial and error, and I'm still figuring things out, but overall, I'm happy I decided to relax my hair.
My hairdresser told me to wait 4-6 months before a retouch (at least 2-4 inches of regrowth).
Around four to five months, managing the regrowth became increasingly challenging. I encountered significant difficulty in locating products suitable for two distinct hair textures. It is truly a miracle that I still retained hair on my head. I persevered for six months, at which point I had enough regrowth for a retouch.
Which brings me to this post! Today, I finally went in to get a retouch. Now, because it's my natural black 4C hair and it's healthy, strong hair, a stronger JHS treatment was needed. My stylist did warn me that it might be difficult because of overlapping, but he had it under control. 😊😊
Before we started, he examined the condition of my hair, which was looking good until he reached the back right side, and we lost a few strands 😭😭. But it was honestly such a small section. I think it happened when I put box braids in my hair during the awkward 5-month regrowth. I WAS DESPERATE 😩!
Today was a success, and I'm super happy with the results 🍻 . I'll attach two photos of my 2025 November relaxer and today's 2026 retouch. I'm not sure if I'm going to wait 6 months again or wait 4 months, but hopefully on this journey we'll see much more regrowth.
P.S. I didn't leave this retouch in as long this time because I didn't want it bone straight. I wanted some volume in my hair since my hair goal is for thicker hair. So from now on, I'll be asking for less processing time.☺️🙏🏾
Just wanted to share my journey and hopefully this helps someone else! Feel free to ask me anything about the procedure or products I'm using. I'm also using some Japanese products, some of which were recommended by my hairdresser. 💖