purplepeace79
New Member
I totally agree. Amen to that. I don't believe people would use relaxers or other permanent straightening methods if everyone had type 3, 2, or 1 hair. The issue is manageability, the ability to acheive the desired style with your individual hair type, and the ability to maintain the style (i.e., not having to restraighten with a flat iron repeatedly due to frizzing or coarseness). For a select few, the issue is trying to avoid being like God made their ethnicity to be (those who would rather wear their natural kinks and curls bone straight to be more European in appearance, because they think that's generally most desirable).
I happen to love my natural texture, but I was conditioned to rely on a relaxer for managing it, and heat (pressing combs) in the earlier days. Now I prefer health to anything, and wish to be natural again. That way I can be versatile and if I feel like rocking my hair in its natural state one day, I can...or I can flat-iron it the next.
Why is the desired style automatically presumed to be a straight one? Where'd we get that desire from?
And why do we assume natural hair isnt manageable? Most days, I barely touch my hair. If that isnt manageable, I dont know what is. Once you learn how to care for it, manageability isnt that big of a deal, IMO.
My desired styles are fat chunky twists and soft, thick cornrows. I can't get that with my hair. I'm not jonesing for straight hair in any way, feel me?
As for your idea that most people wouldn't use relaxers if everyone was 1, 2, or 3, I have to disagree to an extent. Just look at how many people with type 3 hair DO relax. It goes beyond having a certain hair type and manageability. determining the likelihood of relaxing. Little girls with type 3 hair are getting relaxers from their mothers who are imposing it upon them, for their OWN convenience/laziness/loathing, whatever. As you said, after that, who knows any better? I'm glad you recognize it for what it was- you being conditioned to rely on relaxers. At least you acknowledge that. Many women won't.