Can you truly have healthy hair

[babygirl_00]

if you relax it? I'm at a lost.perplexed I've been battling with myself back and forth rather or not to relax my natural hair. I really want to relax my hair for various reasons. I've even purchased Design Essentials products to achieve the relax look, I've bought Ion keratin protein rebuilder, which I used the other day and love it.... I've viewed many albums. I've seen natural locks and I've seen relax locks. My question is how healthy is your hair if it's relax.

I hate this...I'm torn on what I want or should do with my hair

 

[newflowers]

This is an interesting question which I think can be applicable to both natural and relaxed hair.

I am relaxed. My hair is strong, shiny, non-breaking with little sheeding. I have, in fact, the best hair i have ever had in my life. I give all of the thanks to the ladies of LHCF and my big sister TSmith. Never have I been ablet o achieve such results, but it does come at a price, a price in money, a price in time. I am perfectly fine with the price I have to pay because this is what I want for myself - long hair, that, if I can't truly call it healthy because it is relaxed, certainly gives the appearance of healthy.

I was fully natural for one week - I darn near drove me to drink. No heat, so no pressing or flat ironing, I had no clue what to do with and did not want to fight the tangles that returned the second I combed them.

Ultimately, I think if one has natural hair and uses heat, it is possible to have some serious hair health problems even if the hair gives the appearance of health.

I thought about being natural for about one point two seconds before I realized it would not work for me. Regardless of the amount of money and time I spend, I am absolutely loving my hair.

 

[dillard]

this is a very good question. from what i understand, chemically relaxing actually loosens and changes bonds within the hair strand, so ultimately, your hair has been "damaged". But if you are careful not to relax too often and make sure to condition and add protein to build up your hair, it will be relatively healthy... but when it comes down to it, hair is dead anyway, so as far as I'm concerned, whether you are natural or relaxed, you are just giving it an "appearance" of life and health.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

According to my ex-stylist, once you relax...BOOM! It is damaged and all you can do is try to give it the appearance of health.

 

[chica_canella]

For me, telaxed was better meaning I relaxed about 75% of the way, if that. I am about a 3a texture now.

When you are telaxed/relaxed, it makes it easier because you don't have to deal with as much tangling or shrinkage. But you also have to make sure you are moisturized and deep conditioned, ect.

Pretty much the same things you worry about when you are natural minus the tangling and stuff.

 

[babygirl_00]

Thank you sooo much ladies....I guess no matter what type of hair you have ie relax or natural...You still have to maintain it...care for it and keep those ends trim

 

[dillard]

Thank you sooo much ladies....I guess no matter what type of hair you have ie relax or natural...You still have to maintain it...care for it and keep those ends trim

yes, you sure do! To be honest, I think my relaxed hair is healthier than my natural hair was. I thought that because I was natural, I didn't have to worry about it or do deep conditioning or protein treatments. I was always coloring it which I think does as much damage as a relaxer, atleast for my hair it did... so healthy hair comes with a lot of effort whether relaxed or natural!

 

[babygirl_00]

BUMPING for more...

 

[chellero]

I think that natural hair is healthier if you treat it gently, moisturize it regularly, and stay away from heat. However for me, it was impossible to do that and have a decent looking hair style, so I texlaxed. Less heat, and less tangles equaled longer healthier looking hair for me.

 

[OneInAMillion]

Thank you sooo much ladies....I guess no matter what type of hair you have ie relax or natural...You still have to maintain it...care for it and keep those ends trim

I think this is the best way to answer our question. Hair can be healthy relaxed or natural in my opinion, depending on how you maintain it. For example, knowing that I have fine hair, I understand that my hair will not be healthy if I overprocess it, use too much heat, or comb 5x a day. Even when I was natural, pressing every two weeks meant that I had to trim frequently and didn't see length accumulate. My mother is natural, and she used color successfully for about two years but then started experiencing breakage. It truly depends on knowing your hair's needs and how to respond to them before you experience setbacks.