WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GO NATURAL?

[Irresistible]

With the 'what seems' to be the new natural craze these days

Just wondering what your reasons were to decide to go natural?

no reason too big, too small, or bad, or better


This is just for curiosity sake

 

[curleeq]

I got tired of spending countless hours in a hair salon, scalp burns from the relaxers and being scared of the elements. I also always wanted to be natural, but didn't know how to take care of it till I did research on the internet and found all the info that I could wish for.

 

[Irresistible]

I got tired of spending countless hours in a hair salon, scalp burns from the relaxers and being scared of the elements. I also always wanted to be natural, but didn't know how to take care of it till I did research on the internet and found all the info that I could wish for.

It was the same for me and my hair kept breaking and breaking and breaking. Got tired of the start over, grow , start over again cycle!

gurl there wasnt no internet when I did it, should have seen the stupid shyt I did at first! LOL

 

[oooop2]

With the 'what seems' to be the new natural craze these days

Just wondering what your reasons were to decide to go natural?

no reason too big, too small, or bad, or better


This is just for curiosity sake

For me, I was just plan cheap. Used to pay $25 for a wash, cut, and style b/c I did my own perms. Moved to Cali and the going rate was $80. I was like HECK NO, I ain't paying that much for a wash, cut, and style. So 1 day I just walked into the place where my DH got his hair cut and told his barber that I wanted a scalp cut. Feb made 10 years

 

[Seraphina]

My hair just didn't take relaxers very well and was always a frizzy, ***** mess. So I just decided that it wasn't serving it's purpose. Plus, I like the variety I have now. I can still wear it straight if I want, but I prefer to wear it curly mostly.

 

[Irresistible]

For me, I was just plan cheap. Used to pay $25 for a wash, cut, and style b/c I did my own perms. Moved to Cali and the going rate was $80. I was like HECK NO, I ain't paying that much for a wash, cut, and style. So 1 day I just walked into the place where my DH got his hair cut and told his barber that I wanted a scalp cut. Feb made 10 years

WOW talk about an on the spot split decision! and you having made your decision that way makes it even more impressive you have stayed natural 10 yrsl!!!! wow!!!

 

[Jetblackhair]

My temples were thinning out and the more I relaxed the thinner they got. My hair stayed the same length forever. Looking back my beautician was relaxing my fine hair too straight.

 

[lilsparkle825]

to get my volume and my hairline back, as well as the versatility. i used to want a curly weave but then i realized that i was born with one of those. now all i need is the length of my 14" sew-in...

 

[discodumpling]

Many reasons, chiefly relaxer damage and ignorance. Now I know better so I do better

 

[ladylibra]

Feb made 10 years

how awesome, i can't wait to say i've been natural for 10 years!

i used super no-lye relaxers and would leave them on for 30 minutes - no joke! my hair was always underprocessed and so i used a TON of heat trying to keep my hair straight... except in summer when i'd just wash and go, cuz i had the same problems as now with humidity! really, relaxing did nothing for me...

i'd never had my hair braided with extensions until i was 21... got it done for Spring Break because i didn't wanna have to pack a separate bag for hair stuff while in Las Vegas. i LOVED the cornrows but the girl who did them used some cheap weave that made my scalp itchy, and she braided them entirely too tight. i had to take them out right when we got back from Vegas because i had those red bumps forming at my hairline.

so i figured i'd find a better braider (SO's sister) and i hopped online to learn more about extension hair (what the best kind to use for braiding is, best way to take care of them, etc.) when i stumbled across NP. that was the first time i'd seen black women wearing their natural texture, outside of mixed girls with very loose waves/curls and women with locs. and i figured, "wow, well if they can do it, maybe i can too."

 

[nappy85]

At the time (2004) I was going for a certain look and I couldn't achieve it because I had heat damage to about 25% of my hair (the front left part of my hair would just lie straight down while the rest was curly). I hadn't had a relaxer for about 2 years but I always kept my hair straightened. I consider myself being natural since I did the big chop to remove the heat damaged part of my hair. After I went natural, I realized that it was low maintenance. I also could achieve cute hairstyles without hardly trying which is good for me because I can't really "do" hair that well. There are other reasons, but those are the main reason's why I went natural and will stay natural.

 

[1QTPie]

1. my relaxed hair didn't fit my personlity
2. my relaxed hair was boring though I've had at least 500 different styles.
3. my relaxed hair was fighting my natural hair.
4. i had no real idea why i was relaxing
5. i felt like i was hiding
6. i could go on and on...

 

[Whimsy]

The first time, it was just boredom and a desire to see my REAL hair instead of my texlaxed curls.

this time it's for hair health, versatility, and this inner feeling that natural hair is more RIGHT for me.

 

[Irresistible]

how awesome, i can't wait to say i've been natural for 10 years!

i used super no-lye relaxers and would leave them on for 30 minutes - no joke! my hair was always underprocessed and so i used a TON of heat trying to keep my hair straight... except in summer when i'd just wash and go, cuz i had the same problems as now with humidity! really, relaxing did nothing for me...

i'd never had my hair braided with extensions until i was 21... got it done for Spring Break because i didn't wanna have to pack a separate bag for hair stuff while in Las Vegas. i LOVED the cornrows but the girl who did them used some cheap weave that made my scalp itchy, and she braided them entirely too tight. i had to take them out right when we got back from Vegas because i had those red bumps forming at my hairline.

so i figured i'd find a better braider (SO's sister) and i hopped online to learn more about extension hair (what the best kind to use for braiding is, best way to take care of them, etc.) when i stumbled across NP. that was the first time i'd seen black women wearing their natural texture, outside of mixed girls with very loose waves/curls and women with locs. and i figured, "wow, well if they can do it, maybe i can too."

Wow girl , so it all began with that site! Thats cool!

lol I call it 'that other site' cause back in the day, man it was hateful around that joint!

 

[Irresistible]

The first time, it was just boredom and a desire to see my REAL hair instead of my texlaxed curls.

this time it's for hair health, versatility, and this inner feeling that natural hair is more RIGHT for me.

Its going to be better the second time around!

 

[LunadeMiel]

• I never liked getting a relaxer.
• I have an extremely sensitive scalp and would always get burned while getting a touch up.
• I don't really like straight hair.
• I prefer my own texture.
• I wanted to eliminate all unecessary chemicals from my lilfe.

 

[Irresistible]

At the time (2004) I was going for a certain look and I couldn't achieve it because I had heat damage to about 25% of my hair (the front left part of my hair would just lie straight down while the rest was curly). I hadn't had a relaxer for about 2 years but I always kept my hair straightened. I consider myself being natural since I did the big chop to remove the heat damaged part of my hair. After I went natural, I realized that it was low maintenance. I also could achieve cute hairstyles without hardly trying which is good for me because I can't really "do" hair that well. There are other reasons, but those are the main reason's why I went natural and will stay natural.

wow two years of being natural and not being able to count it!

I did that too kinda, one whole year, then relaxed once, and never went back but cant count that whole other year

 

[ladylibra]

Wow girl , so it all began with that site! Thats cool!

lol I call it 'that other site' cause back in the day, man it was hateful around that joint!

yeah well you know... i try to avoid drama and back in the day i used to keep my mouth shut. now i'm just like WHATEVER i do respect their rules over there, try not to talk about straightening and stuff like that. but yeah, it was part of the reason i also branched out to other sites... to learn more about the things they don't discuss over there.

 

[Irresistible]

• I never liked getting a relaxer.
• I have an extremely sensitive scalp and would always get burned while getting a touch up.
• I don't really like straight hair.
• I prefer my own texture.
• I wanted to eliminate all unecessary chemicals from my lilfe.

Isnt it crazy the burns we went through sometimes , I mean I had actually sores on my scalp after

crazy!

I didnt know what was gonna grow out of my head or if I would like it or what in the bejeezus I was going to do with it , but I did it!

grease and all!

lolol

 

[Irresistible]

yeah well you know... i try to avoid drama and back in the day i used to keep my mouth shut. now i'm just like WHATEVER i do respect their rules over there, try not to talk about straightening and stuff like that. but yeah, it was part of the reason i also branched out to other sites... to learn more about the things they don't discuss over there.

I still think its cool that they influenced your decision and they get the credit for that, thats the main point of the site anyway

mission accomplished!

1 they didnt run off! *smirk*

 

[Irresistible]

Isnt it much better to spend that money spent on getting relaxers on good hair stuff for your natural hair. I remember being so happy back in those days about that! It was part of my motivation

 

[so1913]

It was almost "accident" for me, but I'm so happy I had it, lol! I graduated from college in 2002, came home and didn't have a hairdresser so I went to my mothers. On my visit for my second retouch, she was in a horrible mood so she took it out on my hair. I was so scared my hair was going to fall out, but everything was cool, HOWEVER, I didn't trust her nor anyone else. So my plan was to wait it out until I found a hairdresser I thought I could trust...3 months passed, 6 months passed, 9 months...it was almost a year and I say to my friend "I need to hurry up and find a hairdresser to get a retouch!" She says to me "Why??? You've gone this long with out one...what do you need it for?"....That's when it clicked. I said "you're right" and that's when the decision was made.

 

[PrincessScorpion]

It was almost "accident" for me, but I'm so happy I had it, lol! I graduated from college in 2002, came home and didn't have a hairdresser so I went to my mothers. On my visit for my second retouch, she was in a horrible mood so she took it out on my hair. I was so scared my hair was going to fall out, but everything was cool, HOWEVER, I didn't trust her nor anyone else. So my plan was to wait it out until I found a hairdresser I thought I could trust...3 months passed, 6 months passed, 9 months...it was almost a year and I say to my friend "I need to hurry up and find a hairdresser to get a retouch!" She says to me "Why??? You've gone this long with out one...what do you need it for?"....That's when it clicked. I said "you're right" and that's when the decision was made.

And where have you been? I have not seen you in a long while? It is nice to see that you are doing well.

 

[Nonie]

I decided to go natural August 2001. What led to that decision was when my newly found stylist, who knew what's up, realized that by the time I came to her, my hair was on its last legs. I had gone back to her for a touch up, and after she'd finished doing my hair, she pulled a chair and sat down before me, and reached for my hand which she held in hers and said in the most compassionate voice--the way you break bad news to someone, "Some people's hair just cannot take relaxers." Oooh, was I offended. "WTH does she mean? If she had relaxed my virgin hair, she'd have known different," I thought. "She came on the scene after 3 different stylists had had their way w/ my hair. So I'ma show her."

So my going natural was to grow a fresh head of hair so I could go back to her to show her that my hair can take a relaxer just like any other hair. I knew that my healthy hair was worth writing home about because whenever I'd walk into a salon for a first relaxer, stylists would look overwhelmed by my 4B hair even before they started on it. Then when all was said and done, they'd ooh and aah about how you'd never have guessed my hair could look like that. So I knew its potential if in the right hands. Ooh, was I going to show her!

But then I fell in love with my natural hair because I now understood it better. I'd been natural for more years in my life than I'd been relaxed yet it wasn't until the new millennium that I started to "get" my hair and enjoy it so much that I doubt I'll ever change it.

 

[Irresistible]

It was almost "accident" for me, but I'm so happy I had it, lol! I graduated from college in 2002, came home and didn't have a hairdresser so I went to my mothers. On my visit for my second retouch, she was in a horrible mood so she took it out on my hair. I was so scared my hair was going to fall out, but everything was cool, HOWEVER, I didn't trust her nor anyone else. So my plan was to wait it out until I found a hairdresser I thought I could trust...3 months passed, 6 months passed, 9 months...it was almost a year and I say to my friend "I need to hurry up and find a hairdresser to get a retouch!" She says to me "Why??? You've gone this long with out one...what do you need it for?"....That's when it clicked. I said "you're right" and that's when the decision was made.

wow the 'it dawned on my I'm already natural now' decision!

these stories are intresting!

 

[PrincessScorpion]

I had the hairdresser from he!! in Atlanta that took over 3/4 of my hair in the back out. I wait for 6 months and I got a Phyto. I got a another Phyto then the girl that put the last one in I could not see her for another 2 weeks and I wanted my hair done NOW. I went to see another lady and whatever she did my hair started breaking off again. Not long after that I found the board and went to my first meeting. The lhcf ladies kept talking to me about waiting to give my hair a chance to get healthly. I whined about what am I going to do with it until then because I did not want to look a hot mess. They told me to keep braids in it and that is what I did. One thing lead to another after slowly trimming the relaxer off(every 6 weeks for 6 months) and the final chop was July 2006.

 

[biancaelyse]

Me becoming a mother was the final straw. My hair grew significantly while pregnant (an inch or 2 above my waist) and now it took several hours to do in the salon. Precious time I couldn't afford with 2 babies!! Also, I began seeing my kid's curls and it made me nostalgic for my long ago texture and wonder what lurked under all of those inches of perm.

Also I'd begun working out regularly and would sweat my hair out so it didn't seem proactical to keep on relaxing.

I've been natural for many years now and don't regret a minute of it!!

 

[so1913]

And where have you been? I have not seen you in a long while? It is nice to see that you are doing well.

I've been "steady on the grind" with work and other things in life lately, but trying to jump back in the swing of things here!

 

[Irresistible]

I decided to go natural August 2001. What led to that decision was when my newly found stylist, who knew what's up, realized that by the time I came to her, my hair was on its last legs. I had gone back to her for a touch up, and after she'd finished doing my hair, she pulled a chair and sat down before me, and reached for my hand which she held in hers and said in the most compassionate voice--the way you break bad news to someone, "Some people's hair just cannot take relaxers." Oooh, was I offended. "WTH does she mean? If she had relaxed my virgin hair, she'd have known different," I thought. "She came on the scene after 3 different stylists had had their way w/ my hair. So I'ma show her."

So my going natural was to grow a fresh head of hair so I could go back to her to show her that my hair can take a relaxer just like any other hair. I knew that my healthy hair was worth writing home about because whenever I'd walk into a salon for a first relaxer, stylists would look overwhelmed by my 4B hair even before they started on it. Then when all was said and done, they'd ooh and aah about how you'd never have guessed my hair could look like that. So I knew its potential if in the right hands. Ooh, was I going to show her!

But then I fell in love with my natural hair because I now understood it better. I'd been natural for more years in my life than I'd been relaxed yet it wasn't until the new millennium that I started to "get" my hair and enjoy it so much that I doubt I'll ever change it.

wow this was the 'I'm on a mission to show them' but fell in love with my hair already

girl thats a love story *smiles*

this is so interesting to me to find out how it all began for some of you, for some of you its like you just fell into it!

 

[Irresistible]

I had the hairdresser from he!! in Atlanta that took over 3/4 of my hair in the back out. I wait for 6 months and I got a Phyto. I got a another Phyto then the girl that put the last one in I could not see her for another 2 weeks and I wanted my hair done NOW. I went to see another lady and whatever she did my hair started breaking off again. Not long after that I found the board and went to my first meeting. The lhcf ladies kept talking to me about waiting to give my hair a chance to get healthly. I whined about what am I going to do with it until then because I did not want to look a hot mess. They told me to keep braids in it and that is what I did. One thing lead to another after slowly trimming the relaxer off(every 6 weeks for 6 months) and the final chop was July 2006.

lhcf gets the credit for your lovely natural hair!

wow interesting. Braids are a really good way to go!