1) No, not really, but then, in all honesty, I never styled my own hair when it was relaxed - it was either done at the salon, or slicked back with some gel and maybe a lil bump under in the back. I find that I have so many more style options now - but I don't like wearing my hair 'down' and I totally HATE hair being in my face - both of which were my main choices when I was relaxed. Blech .
2) Mats and dreads are a sign that you aren't detangling your hair well enough/keeping it stable so that it won't tangle on itself. I've never had to deal with either unless I was doing it on purpose (I was loc'd for 5 years
)
Knots, esp. single strand ones, I don't worry about. It's a function of curly hair, and unless I'm trying to wear it pin straight, I wouldn't even notice them. Multi-strand knots I do get on occasion, but only on my ends, and usually only when I'm being fast while taking my twists down, and don't work from the bottom up. As my hair gets longer, they are easier to take out without breaking/cutting, because I can actually see the knot, and can tell how to pick it apart.
3)
I didn't really like relaxed hair. It might have been because I wasn't used to it (I've been natural for all but about 24 months of my life), and I don't like 'blending' in, and I don't like hair flying into my face, and my fine hair vanishes to nothing when it's relaxed, and I hated the way perm smelled, and the way it would always burn no matter how well I was based, and the fact that I had to waste so much time (and money) trying to get my hair straight when I didn't even like how it looked on me -
- for me, going natural was the obvious thing.
And, I really don't give a damn about what other people think of me, so as long as I liked my hair, I didn't (and still don't) care about any sideeyes I might get.
I think - and this applies to any kind of hair, but natural hair esp. - that hair is rarely difficult, in and of itself. A lack of knowledge/understanding about how to handle your hair, makes it difficult. Imagine trying to cook a cake, and not even knowing what a stove IS. Might cause you to end up with some crappy cakes, and think that your only option is to make ice cream, because you know how a freezer works, eh? But no. It's a different skill set, and like anything being learned, it's going to suck a bit as you go through the learning curve - but don't fall into the trap of believing that because it sucks now, it will always suck.
Listen to your hair. Get used to how it acts, and reacts, depending on what you use on it. Get an idea of what your hair likes, and doesn't like - it's one of the reasons I'm such a PJ, because I cycle through stuff and let my hair be the final judge - not anyone elses. Accept the fact that jsut because you are a type X doesn't mean that you will automatically be able to do the things that other type X's can do.
Thank the gods for the internet, seriously. Read all you can about hair itself - it's structure, it's chemical makeup, it's needs, how it reacts to different environments and ingredients - to me, that makes having natural hair SO much easier - it sounds like a whole lot of information - but MAN does having that knowledge cut down on the headaches.
I truly used to HATE my natural hair. It was dry, hard, always tangled, and never grew - and I blamed it all on my hair, not even considering that 80% of the problem was actually ME and how I was treating my hair.
Expect the learning curve, and enjoy it.