* Don’t leave the relaxer on longer than the directions say you should.
* Wash it out with a neutralizing shampoo. (You can get neutralizing shampoo in most places where you buy shampoo.)
* Use conditioner often after relaxing your hair.
* Be extra careful when you use hair relaxers on children. Keep hair relaxers out of children’s reach. Children have been hurt playing with hair relaxers.
* It can be a good idea to get help with relaxers instead of doing it all by yourself. That way you can be surer to use the relaxer evenly and rinse it all out from places you can’t see.
* You can protect your scalp by putting petroleum jelly on the scalp before using the relaxer.
* Don’t scratch your head or brush your hair before you use a relaxer.
* Remember that curling and blow drying can hurt your hair, too.
Are “no-lye” hair relaxers safer?
* Any relaxer can burn your scalp if you use it the wrong way.
* Lye is something found in many hair relaxers. It helps the product work, but it can also burn the skin.
* Relaxers without lye don’t usually bother your skin as much, but you still need to be safe and use them the right way.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration