Connie
Well-Known Member
Haven\'t posted in a while
I've been busy working the day job, doing Avon, starting out another homebiz venture, and working out almost every day (I give myself a couple days' rest), so by the time I get online it's shortly before my bedtime. I had to browse through recent posts to catch up on what I missed.
I'm now 74 lbs lighter (76 more to lose) and my last relaxer/touchup was in....I think....July?? I really don't remember. I decided I would give myself a hiatus from relaxers and try to deal with as much new growth as I could before chopping off the relaxed hair. I noticed my hair was thinning, and ditching the relaxer was a way to find out if it was the relaxer or some other culprit i.e., poor diet, hair care/maintenance (both of which could've used serious improvement at the time).
With the way things are going, I'm either going to do a BC because I'm tired of fighting the battle of the two textures, /images/graemlins/wallbash.gif or I'm going to continue relaxing until I'm ready to sport a short afro for life. Did I mention that I'm DYING TO STRAIGHTEN my hair?? It doesn't have to be poker straight. I'd love to keep my wavy kinks; just relax them enough so the comb goes through it like melted butter.
Going this long without a touchup made me realize why I began perming in my 20s, and it had nothing to do with hating my hair or self-hate. It was about TIME; the less time it took to do my hair, the better! What woman wouldn't jump on any opportunity to manage and style her hair in less time? (Okay, so you do have to deal with the oftentimes looonnng salon visit when you get a touchup, but you're talking once every 2 months or so (or longer for some), not every day.) Also, I plan on wearing my hair straight most of the time, which means that it will be exposed to the heat more often (since I work out a lot) via blowdrying and hot comb or flatiron, versus a 5-minute blowdry (low heat) were my hair relaxed (my hair doesn't take very long to dry--it actually starts to airdry really fast.) Maybe if I'm lucky, blowdrying alone may straigten it. Right now, my stylist would definitely chop a few inches off just to even it out and that's cool with me. I could flatiron it, but I don't want to risk damaging any scab hair. If only I could cornrow /images/graemlins/ohwell.gif.
What really has me rethinking transitioning is the realization that I'm doing it for the approval of all my sisters, particularly my natural sisters, rather than because it's what I want for ME. I admit it strikes a sensitive chord when I'm accused of or viewed as wanting to be white or hating my blackness because I straighten my hair, even though I've never considered my hair to be nothing more than just my hair. While growing out my perm may be the best move for my hair health (jury's still out on that one), conforming to other people's ideal of what my black beauty should be isn't.
Whatever I decide to do, it's good to know that all you here will show a sister much love and respect for her choice. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
I've been busy working the day job, doing Avon, starting out another homebiz venture, and working out almost every day (I give myself a couple days' rest), so by the time I get online it's shortly before my bedtime. I had to browse through recent posts to catch up on what I missed.
I'm now 74 lbs lighter (76 more to lose) and my last relaxer/touchup was in....I think....July?? I really don't remember. I decided I would give myself a hiatus from relaxers and try to deal with as much new growth as I could before chopping off the relaxed hair. I noticed my hair was thinning, and ditching the relaxer was a way to find out if it was the relaxer or some other culprit i.e., poor diet, hair care/maintenance (both of which could've used serious improvement at the time).
With the way things are going, I'm either going to do a BC because I'm tired of fighting the battle of the two textures, /images/graemlins/wallbash.gif or I'm going to continue relaxing until I'm ready to sport a short afro for life. Did I mention that I'm DYING TO STRAIGHTEN my hair?? It doesn't have to be poker straight. I'd love to keep my wavy kinks; just relax them enough so the comb goes through it like melted butter.
Going this long without a touchup made me realize why I began perming in my 20s, and it had nothing to do with hating my hair or self-hate. It was about TIME; the less time it took to do my hair, the better! What woman wouldn't jump on any opportunity to manage and style her hair in less time? (Okay, so you do have to deal with the oftentimes looonnng salon visit when you get a touchup, but you're talking once every 2 months or so (or longer for some), not every day.) Also, I plan on wearing my hair straight most of the time, which means that it will be exposed to the heat more often (since I work out a lot) via blowdrying and hot comb or flatiron, versus a 5-minute blowdry (low heat) were my hair relaxed (my hair doesn't take very long to dry--it actually starts to airdry really fast.) Maybe if I'm lucky, blowdrying alone may straigten it. Right now, my stylist would definitely chop a few inches off just to even it out and that's cool with me. I could flatiron it, but I don't want to risk damaging any scab hair. If only I could cornrow /images/graemlins/ohwell.gif.
What really has me rethinking transitioning is the realization that I'm doing it for the approval of all my sisters, particularly my natural sisters, rather than because it's what I want for ME. I admit it strikes a sensitive chord when I'm accused of or viewed as wanting to be white or hating my blackness because I straighten my hair, even though I've never considered my hair to be nothing more than just my hair. While growing out my perm may be the best move for my hair health (jury's still out on that one), conforming to other people's ideal of what my black beauty should be isn't.
Whatever I decide to do, it's good to know that all you here will show a sister much love and respect for her choice. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
