ya leave it alone. the more i mess with them the more damage it does and the longer it actually takes to lock up. i used to spray my hair with seasalt water tho - not sure if it helped... b/c i dont know how fast it would have locked w/o it.. patience is also not one of my virtues.
a lot of people use bronners here. just be sure to dilute it. there is a bunch of threads regarding bronners if you do a search for it. some ratios even for how much to dilute it.. ive only used the liquid soap - but works great for my hair. dries it out a little bit pending on which type im using. some dries my scalp out more than others.
ive only lightened tips and sections but have had no problems with chemical lightener on more mature locks.. pls do be sure to get it ALL out tho if you do end up going that route. im not suggesting it.. just letting u know my results.