I went natural......So I could wear a weave

[glamazon386]

OP, I understand. For a period of time I only wore wigs and weaves. I go back and forth between my hair, weaves and wigs now. It was something I had to ease into. It took some time and some getting used to. The weave was a crutch. I had to learn to let it go.

I was self conscious about my short natural hair for a while. It wasn't that I didn't like my hair or it's texture it was the shrinkage that drove me nuts. Now that it's longer I feel more comfortable wearing it out. I wear my own hair more often than extensions now. I do love a weave every now and again but I don't prefer it to my own hair.

It sounds like you're putting too much stress on the hair that's left out to blend. Are you only doing straight weaves? Have you thought about a curly or kinky curly weave? Or maybe a full head weave so that you can put all your hair away.
That may help you ease into wearing your own hair out.

ETA: Another thing OP you mention that your hair is fine/thin, it may just grow like that. That was something I had to get over too. My hair is naturally fine. I get it from my Daddy. Sure it's thicker than it was when it was relaxed and damaged but nowhere as thick as my weaves are. And it never will be. I had to get over it. I'm always surprised when people comment that my hair is thick or I have a lot of hair because in my mind I don't. My hair breaks so easily because it's fine. Sometimes if the wind blows too hard I can hear a strand snap. But I've learned to deal with it.

 

[Kindheart]

Op,whatever you do ,dont post this on Nappturality ,they ll kick your behind,lol. On a serious note,you should browse this and other websites for hair tips.Kinky hair is so beautiful and unique ,weaves cant compete with that,and they re harder to keep clean.

 

[Carmelella]

EDIT: sorry i didn;t read your last post before i responded (its hard to read 50 million responses. You probably take better care of your hair than i do. Maybe switch up products though... Pantene to me doesn't give me the moisture that my 4b hair needs.

You sound a lot like my friend. When i was younger i envied her 4a/3c hair but she hated it cuz she thought it was thin. She relaxed it,.. it broke all off, but even before that it just looked FLAT! From that day,.. and this is junior high,.. i have never seen her real hair!! i'm sure she's all natural now, but she constantly wears weaves b/c it gives her the fullness that real hair can't achieve.

Like others have said, i think you just have to learn how to work WITH your hair. straight might just not be for you. Even on this site i see people straightent heir hair for length checks and IMO its looks ten times better shorter and curlier.

The next time you take down your weave try out some cute vogue curly styles (thats also my plan). As a model if your hair is straight they'll always want you to have lots of body... even the white girls get tracks,.. so thats different.
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In a sense I know how you feel because i love my weaves,.. they are like an accessory, and even after i attain the lengths that i want i do see myself wearing weaves occassionaly to spice it up without changing my real hair. However, just like anything else,... you must take care of the real thing thats under the facade, and if the facade proves to be damaging you must either find a better reggie or give it up for a while. its Like tanning,... its fakish,.. but white girls love it,.. I must admit that some of them look better with it,... but its damaging if done too often or not the right way.

I think you should just get a closure with bangs so that you can give your hair a rest. Thats what i have now,... its simple,.. very easy care,... looks great if done right,.. and real hair is protected. When i use to perm my leave out my retention was lacking and it did break. When i stopped i turned to flat ironing every couple days and the retention was better but not as great as my unrelaxed, un flatironed hair.


I think we both need to find products that keeps our real hair moisturized without making the weave weighed down and greasy looking. Moisturized healthy hair actually straightens a lot better than damaged/dry hair.

Not saying that you MUST wear your real hair but you should keep it healthy enough so that it wont be an embarrassment if ever you had to. If a friend runs into you at the hair salon with your weave out you shouldn't drop dead in shame. Not saying that you do now, but if you dont make hair care a priority then its in your future.

 

[IndianAngel22]

I want to say thank you to a lot of the responses here. I had to run away from this thread for a while I was scared I was going to come back to a bunch of mad LHCF'ers bashing me But.... I'm glad to see a lot of people understand. My hair is naturally fine, and that is something that can't be changed that was given to me at birth. Now it is extremely THICK and healthy underneath, I take care of my hair underneath very well, I keep it moisturized, I get regular trims, and my hair IS way past shoulder length. I have not done an actual measure in a while but when I stretch it it's longer than I've ever remembered my hair. I did not wear weaves at all majority of my life so I know what my hair is like without them. I do give my hair breaks and I wear clip in without the sew ins to add some body. Now that I've gotten it back to a healthy state and I've held off for as long as I can, I'm still bouncing back and forth between the idea of texlaxing my hair or not, or relaxing my edges a little. Re- pressing the hair straight is a lot more damaging everyday than that wold be. I also believe that the way my hair fell out in previous years was because I'd been relaxing my hair sense I was a kid! Double processing probably from my mother. I've learned a lot over the years and I am now happy with the hair on my head. Yes it's still annoying to me, yes I still prefer my weaves.... BUT, yes because of my career, it is necessary to have them and I don't mind them at all. Maybe eventually I will texlax my entire head after doing some more research, but for now, I'm going to leave the majority of it natural. If anyone has some texlaxing advice for me I would love for you to inbox me. Til then I will read up on it on my own and browse the forums. Thanks ladies!