Relaxer Update

Hellooo!!!How is life treating you?? So I've finally relaxed my hair at 17.5 weeks post. Here's how it went down.
The day before relaxer
I detangled my hair thoroughly with my Easy Buddy Detangler. Took over an hour. I then put my hair into four sections and applied Vaseline to my scalp.

New growth

Relaxer day.
- I applied Shea butter and Vaseline to my texlaxed hair. I used ORS No-Lye Relaxer in Normal Strength. I wanted to try another No-Lye relaxer to see how it'll work for my hair, but I later decided against it. I mean, if it ain't broke, right??? After mixing the activator with the relaxer, I added two spoonfuls of Coconut oil. I usually use Olive oil since it's much denser but I discovered I'd run out.
- I applied the relaxer to my new growth only. Application and smoothing took 17 minutes. I applied to my edges and nape last.
- Rinsed off Relaxer thoroughly. Neutralised with the ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo that came in the kit. Neutralised three times.
- DCed with the ORS Replenishing pak that came in the kit. I added a spoonful of castor oil and DCed for 20 minutes with heat.
- Rinsed off DC and T-shirt dried for 15 minutes. Applied Double Sheen Argan oil leave-in conditioner. I wanted to roller-set but I had to go out. So I applied the ORS Incredibly Rich moisturising lotion and blow-dried on warm air using the tension method. After blowdring, I put my hair in a ponytail and dashed out.

Texlaxed hair after blowdrying

- When I got back, I proceeded to flat-iron using Shea Butter as heat protectant. I made only two passes and dusted my ends a bit.I'm on a personal no-trim-till-the-end-of-the-year challenge, but I have to dust my ends periodically to keep split ends at bay.

Dusted hair

And now, here's my relaxer results

And comparison shot with the results from my last relaxer in March.

When I saw the comparison shot, I was like WOW!!! IS THAT MY HAIR??? I was amazed at the amount of length I retained. Just when I was starting to think my hair wasn't growing. I'm so super pleased that I'd retained about 2 in of length in about 4 months despite my scissor-happy self. Seriously, I was dancing around my house when I was through. I mentioned at the beginning of my stretch that I wanted to focus on length retention. Looks like my techniques worked. Don't worry; I'll be sharing my secrets with all my lovely readers soon.
Quick question:What length is this?? Is It OK for me to go ahead and claim APL???
And so ends one stretch but begins another. I've decided to stretch for 20 weeks this time. Just to challenge myself. I know It's not gonna be easy, but I'm working on a plan to help make the stretch bearable. Thank God for this blog; It'll help keep me accountable and make sure I don't chicken out before the 20 weeks are up. I can do this!!!! I know I can!!!
Cheers, Fatee