Does anyone ever REGRET going natural?

How do you really feel about your decision to go natural?

  • I love my natural hair but I wish I would have continued my journey to longer relaxed hair!

    Votes: 17 5.2%

  • I love natural hair but it's not for me

    Votes: 11 3.4%

  • I regret I went natural

    Votes: 4 1.2%

  • I am happy I went natural-wouldnt change it for the world!

    Votes: 270 83.1%

  • I tried the natural thing but I will go back to relaxers in the future

    Votes: 10 3.1%

  • I went natural-I wish I had not cut my hair-It was the wrong choice for me

    Votes: 18 5.5%
  • Total voters
    325
  • Poll closed .
I don't regret going natural. It has been one of the best decisions I've made. My hair is at mid-back length and now I'm aiming for waist length. I trans. for 11 months then did the BC. My hair never grew that long with a relaxer and I was diligent with the care of my hair when it was relaxed.
 
I am not natural, but my stylist keeps trying to talk me into it. I relax twice a year to help control the humity. I was a late bloomer. I did not get relaxed hair until my very late teens. My dad was really upset when he learned I had a neighbor put a relaxer in my hair. My stylist keeps saying my hair is the same grade as hers and she doesn't have a relaxer. I don't like the puffiness when it's hot outside. I perfer my hair straight.
 
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I love my natural hair.:yep: I regret that I didn't transition when I joined LHCF back in 2008. My hair was severely damaged from a bad sew-in. I began to stretch my relaxers but I would always become frustrated around the 6 month mark. Almost immediately after washing out my last relaxer, I looked in the mirror and said to myself, I'm never relaxing my hair again. I love my kinks and coils and I'm truly amazed at the thickness. If I even feel the need to have straight hair again, I'll just flatiron.:look:
 
Love/Hate relationship with my hair. I love my natural hair, but i don't look right with short styles. So that means i have to opt for PS for the next couple months until it's a decent length.


my fro's poppin and what not, but ehhh ... it's just not BIG enough for me right now. Never will i perm though ... 1 yr natural, maybe 1 more yr until i wear it out with pride. :grin:
 
No. I've been natural since August 2010. I cut off all of my relaxed hair which left me with a snap of hair on my head. It has been a breeze every since. I have not flat ironed it or had it blown out yet although I am curious to try it just to see if I can do it successfully. But I am enjoying my hair's natural texture so much I have yet to purchase a style tool that emits heat. I gave all of my straightening tools to my mother.

I've had it easy. I am not a PJ. I do not straighten (yet). I had no hair type expectations when I BC'd. I have yet to have a hair failure because I consciously choose to expect the unexpected with it and to embrace it's personality. I don't fret over it growing up and out instead of having hang. I don't fret over it having multiple textures. I think it's super cool that it reaches for the sky and does what it wants. I even love it when I wake up in the morning and I look like Gumby but when I get out of the shower I'm back to q tip softness and shape with coils sticking up all over. :)

When I attempt to straighten it I hope I have awesome results but if I don't it's all good because I can always wig it and forget it.
 
Bublin, the way you describe your hair sounds identical to my hair!!!!

I actually have a very similar blow dry/flat iron routine and find that my relaxed hair was always frizzy as well.

I also have fine hair. My flat ironed natural hair looks much better than my flat ironed relaxed hair ever did. I am only 7 months into my transition though and plan to transition for a minimum of 12 months total.
 
Great Thread!

I'm not quite sure how to answer because it depends on what day you ask me. I've been natural for about 2 years now and when I first started I got a lot of great tips here on the board, but I found it very time consuming. So I began straigtening my hair move often, which looked great, but now my hair will not go back to its natural texture. No matter what I do my afro has tons of straight pieces.

So I just took my weave out last night and it was even worse :nono: So I was standing on the ledge, about to run to the BSS for a tub of the crack when I saw this thread! So thanks ladies :grin: . I may not necessarily continue on this natural journey, but i've been reminded of how great it really can be so I'm going to give it another chance. Maybe a steam treatment, a DDDDC and some TLC will help :ohwell:
 
I have to say that I DO NOT regret going natural. This is my 2nd time in the last 2.5 years going natural. First time I BC'd after a 9 month transition (while I was pregnant with my daughter), and the drastic short TWA was just too much for me (I don't look good with hair shorter than bob length). So, I texlaxed it 4 mos after BC'ing in Nov. '08. I voted for option #4on the poll...since I did reach WL while relaxed, I was happy to BC and finally go natural.

This BC I did Jan 11, 2011 after a 18 month transition left me with SL natural hair, APL stretched. I'm okay with this length, and I was actually ITCHING to BC just like the 1st time when I was so sick of the 2 textures I went into my L&D suite bathroom and got some medical scissors and chopped right there before having my daughter like 1 week later. lol I'm happy with the health and texture of my hair since my BC last month. I wouldn't change it, though I'd love more length!

Since I'm not the afro-wearing type, and I don't have lots of time or energy to put loads of work into my hair for it to stay curly and frizz free while down, I just keep it braided beneath wigs 'til I have a lil' mo' to work wit...lol but I don't see myself EVER going back to the creamy crack. I love being natural (and I don't use any type of heat aside from steam or hot towels for DC's). I don't foresee using heat until at least Fall 2011 (maybe once for a good length check), and then not again until maybe the holidays or next year.
 
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Bublin said:
What i have learned about my hair type(3c/4a with very fine strands) is that it behaves in exactly the same way whether relaxed or natural - so i figure relaxing my hair again is just pointless.....

For example....
Relaxed - cannot airdry as it turns into a tangly, frizzy mess no matter what technique i use so i have to blowdry and flatiron - I feel my ends are sealed doing this.
Natural - behaves the same.

Relaxed - because i sweat from my scalp my hair frizzes out easily if i go to the gym or out clubbing so i have to style my hair pulled back and sleek.
Natural - behaves the same.

Relaxed - hair only looks fresh for about 3 days after a wash and style then i have to wear it pulled back.
natural - behaves the same way.

Relaxed - suffer from a dry, flaky scalp that i have to wash once a week.
natural - exactly the same.

relaxed - the wash, blowdry and style session takes about 2 and a half hours.
Natural - exactly the same.

However as a straight-haired natural people have been complimenting how shiny and healthy my hair looks compared to being relaxed and straight. When i run my fingers through my straight natural hair it feels unbelievably soft but through my relaxed hair it has a stiffness to it.
Click to expand...

Agreed:yep: I'm a 3c/4a mix with thick dense strands though.

The whole "relaxed hair is easier to maintain" theory never applied to my hair. I eventually circled back to using the products and regimen I was using as a permie. The only difference now is I have the wash and go option.
 
I don't regret going natural. I do regret relaxing my natural hair 21/2 years ago. If I had been patient I would be at almost waist length now, instead of NL!!!!
 
Nope. No way. No How. Best decision I ever made. I went natural when I was about 26, and haven't looked back in 10 years. And I did the BC after a month or so of transitioning. I did another BC almost 5 years ago, due to pregnancy hormones. :lol:
 
healthyhair2 said:
I don't regret going natural. I do regret relaxing my natural hair 21/2 years ago. If I had been patient I would be at almost waist length now, instead of NL!!!!
Click to expand...


YEP... now that I am transitioning again, all I can think about is how long my hair would be if I hadn't relaxed after that last BC. Not too mention how far along I would be in my stretch if I hadn't relaxed at 5 months post around Thanksgiving.
 
I don't regret going natural... I just wish I'd done it a long time ago... like back in 2008 when I tried to transition and gave up (b/c of the two textures) and slapped a relaxer in... My hair would be soo much longer now...
 
Well I had no choice this time (Stylist left me with a huge bald spot, I home relaxed around it for awhile but I said "forget" it and chopped it all off after a 6 month transition) The first time I went natural 9 years ago I did regret it, I was 17 and it wasn't the thing to do but my entire family had locks and I felt the pressure to be natural. I got a relaxer 2 years later and was happy as can be. This time I'm loving it and can't believe I ever relaxed to begin with, this is the happiest I've ever been with my hair!
 
I don't regret going natural. Nothing is perfect and my hair can put up a fight sometimes, but I am very happy with my hair. The women in my family don't really have luck with relaxers; they have caused extreme hair loss and I noticed my hair was starting to thin out. My sister had the most success with relaxers because she has very coarse strands, but she had started losing hair too. I want to keep my scalp healthy and there are ways to get straight hair without having to put my scalp at risk if that makes sense.
 
I don't regret it at all. I love being natural wish I could have done it sooner . I was relaxed from 12 years old to 37 I transitioned for 17 months and did my big chop 8/2/14. I had no idea what to expect out of natural hair. Over the years through several stylists I would ask if there was an alternative to relaxing and their answer would almost always be "no what else would you do with your hair." In 2013 while at my sister's wedding some of her friends were natural and I had several conversations with them about being natural. When I got home I started doing research online on how to go natural. Through my research I decided I wanted to do a long-term transition. The transition was one of the most challenging things I ever did. It was truly mentally draining at times and dealing with the tangles was the worst, but I got thru it and finally I was mentally ready to cut my hair. It was very freeing once I got my hair cut. The last nine months have been rewarding I have learned a lot long the way. For me natural is best I don't feel like I'm fighting with my hair anymore. With the relaxer I enjoyed my hair until the new growth would become noticeable then I would spend the remainder of the time between touch ups trying to camouflage the two textures. The only thing I don't like is my current length, but that has nothing to do with being natural, and will be fixed once my hair gets longer(which it does everyday).
 
I don't regret going natural at all, my three-year Naturalversary is tomorrow. I love my natural hair and its versatility. Relaxers did nothing for the health of my hair or scalp. While I've learned better healthy hair practices, as a woman in my 40's I don't want to chance the health of my scalp. Straight hair is boring to me and I don't want to lose my curls or my texture. A fluffy TO or WNG just marvels me. I wish I knew then what I know now about maintaining a healthy head of hair. I never would have relaxed.
 
I still am not 100% natural as I still have about 3inches of relaxed in the front of my hair. As my hair has gotten longer it is easier to manage. I actually thought my hair was a tighter curl pattern when my new growth would come in but it is actually not as tight as I thought it was. In the summer it does get puffier because I wear it straight, but tbh it would puff up even with the relaxer. This year I plan to try a few wash and go, braid outs or twist out to see how I fair. I do not regret going natural at all. So glad there is a lot of information to help learn the hair and give ideas for care of hair. I was in the bathroom just as long doing my hair when it was relaxed as I do natural so not much difference on that front. No regrets here...
 
Hell no! I'm almost 2 months shy of my 1 year anniversary and I LOVE my hair. I wish I had the courage to do this years ago. My only issue is styling right now. I've been wearing twist outs every day all day. Once my hair gets longer I'd like to explore other styles things to do with old twist outs.
 
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