Considering a relaxer...... (kinda long)

[locabouthair]

My last perm was Jan 02. I never wanted to wear my hair natural. I still planned on wearing it straight but i would press it instead. I started wearing natural styles since May 05. That was eight months ago. My coarse, kinky, dry, 4b hair is very hard to manage. It is becoming way too time consuming to me. I don't like twists, afros. I usually wear twistouts or cornrows. But twistouts are becoming too time consuming because they don't last and I have to re do them every night. the cornrows style was cool but it was hard to find someone who could braid my hair every week. 80% of the time I am wearing hats and headties because my hair is never done. I have to plan events around my hair. I will be going to grad school next year and preparing sessions with clients will take up a lot of my time and I know that I wont have the time it takes to style my natural hair.
I did have lots of breakage and damage with the perm but I think I know where I went wrong. I would wear my hair in braids for long periods of time (which grew my hair) and I would relax the day after taking the braids out. At the time I didn't know this was a no-no. My stylist didn't tell me anything. Since then my hair wouldn't stop breaking. I lost all the hair that I grew with the braids. My hair would also break at the line of demarcation but I didn't know about moisturizing the new growth. Also I think my stylist overprocessed my hair. I have learned a lot since coming to the boards. I wish I knew about these boards when I had a relaxer.
If anyone can give me an tips on how to take care of relaxed hair I would be greatful. Also are there any naturals who decided to relax again? Do you regret it? And can anyone recommend any good salons in Brooklyn, NY?

 

[Raenababy2006]

I feel your pain!!!! I too am natural and I am going through the same thing. I don't have the time to do my hair, and I too have to plan events on when my hair will look good. I'm very seriously contemplating getting a relaxer, because my hair is one of the most stressful things to even think about. The only thing I'm scared of is coming so far with a head full of healthy, though highly unmanageable hair, and it becoming damaged. BUMPING for responses

 

[honeycomb719]

I understand where you ladies are. I was once in the same boat. But, for me I just had to realize that relaxers didnt work for my hair.
Only advice I can give, is think back to what your reasons were for going natural in the first place. Dont make any rash decision about relaxing, because once you do, you will be starting from scratch if you decide to return natural.
I did that, went from relaxed to natural, relaxed again, and now Im back to natural. Lost alot of time, and money on products, all to return to natural again.
If your want freedom in styling and not exactly health, then make your decision from there (considering if you have had a relaxer and healthy hair at the same time) I know I never have.

Good luck on your decisions ladies.

 

[pyxis777]

I have had the same questions. A few weeks ago I asked about the damage of pressing vs. relaxers.
See: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=73724

I decided to relax and I am going to have my first relaxer in about 2 years on 1/7/06. I figure that if I'm gonna be wearing my hair straight, I might as well get it relaxed. As long as the relaxer doesn't completely burn my hair off, I'll be ok with taking care of it myself - thanks to this site! I will only go back for touch ups.

I'm still concerned b/c my stylist doesn't know that much about hair care. I'm still not sure whether I'm going to go with the Affirm Mild Lye or No Lye. And I know I'll hate myself if I let her leave it on too long and get narsty scalp burns...

I just bought a digital camera yesterday, and I'm going to track my progress with that.

 

[blueabyss333]

It's really up to you but 1) if your natural hair too time consuming 2) you wear it straight most of the time and 3) you feel confident in knowing how to take care of relaxed hair then relax. You said that you're going to grad school and will be working with clients? Well, if your hair is hardly done while natural, and you do want to look professional, you might have an easier time taking care of it relaxed because at least you can just throw it back in a bun. You also have to consider that your hair might be that much more healthier natural. I might be a little biased, so maybe the naturals can help you out with some ideas.

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

Well there is plenty of info. on the board for relaxed and natural heads from poo's, cond., protein treatments, and moisturizing aids, plus the main one is what relaxer you will use? So do some research and pick your products wisely things that will moisturize and strengthen the hair. Maybe this time around you can relax 80% instead of bone straight I know plenty of ladies here that do that, I would go w/a lye relaxer, and just make sure that you are ready for this change. If you are this time around being relaxed may be a better out come for your hair because of the knowledge you have gained. Hopefully all will be well w/any decisions you make.

 

[determine3]

funny...you sound like me except for the fact that I plan on relaxing my hair when I reach brastrap!! I never intended on staying natural for life unless for some reason, by the grace of God, my hair texture changes! You're right about 1 thing though, we have learned so much from these boards that going for a relaxer the second time around will be a hell of a lot easier. A lot of my hair inspirations are relaxed (ie...SouthernGirl, Robin Woods etc) and their hair is nice and healthy.

 

[locabouthair]

I have had the same questions. A few weeks ago I asked about the damage of pressing vs. relaxers.
See: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=73724

I decided to relax and I am going to have my first relaxer in about 2 years on 1/7/06. I figure that if I'm gonna be wearing my hair straight, I might as well get it relaxed. As long as the relaxer doesn't completely burn my hair off, I'll be ok with taking care of it myself - thanks to this site! I will only go back for touch ups.

I'm still concerned b/c my stylist doesn't know that much about hair care. I'm still not sure whether I'm going to go with the Affirm Mild Lye or No Lye. And I know I'll hate myself if I let her leave it on too long and get narsty scalp burns...

I just bought a digital camera yesterday, and I'm going to track my progress with that.

if your stylist doesn't know much about hair care you should probably find another one. you don't need someone who doesn't know what they are doing or might give you bad advice and God forbid your hair becomes damaged.

 

[locabouthair]

the reason i grew out my hair was because it was breaking terribly from the perm because of the reasons i listed above. I didn't realize how important it was to moisturize. I'm not even sure what type of perm would be best for me. My hair is very hard, thick, and coarse.