I'm just gonna do it: Who wants natural, heat-stretched hair?

[BostonMaria]

I guess everyone is different. Although I love my natural, heat-stretched hair I tend to get bored with it after a while. I'm dying to have BSL naturally curly hair so I have a long wait.

 

[MekyakaKinkerbelle]

I've literally had it both ways. When I first went natural however many years ago, I wore my hair pressed all the time. Back then, I learned that I simply didn't need a relaxer to get straight hair. I wasn't concerned about my curls, my 'texture', or any of that. I grew my hair long, and it was relatively healthy. I say relatively, because my natural texture was NEVER, ever seen because the weekly heat broke down the bonds that allow curly hair to be, well, curly.

This time around, I choose NOT to use heat because I like my curls. And for me, "heat-stretching" does not mean loosened curls, it means NO curls.

 

[NewYorkgyrl]

I've literally had it both ways. When I first went natural however many years ago, I wore my hair pressed all the time. Back then, I learned that I simply didn't need a relaxer to get straight hair. I wasn't concerned about my curls, my 'texture', or any of that. I grew my hair long, and it was relatively healthy. I say relatively, because my natural texture was NEVER, ever seen because the weekly heat broke down the bonds that allow curly hair to be, well, curly.

This time around, I choose NOT to use heat because I like my curls. And for me, "heat-stretching" does not mean loosened curls, it means NO curls.

This is why I have become terrified of heat! I wouldn't mind straightening my hair once in a while if I didn't have this problem.

 

[NewYorkgyrl]

Any suggestion for a pre-salon visit will be helpful. I still haven't found a stylist that I "trust" yet.

I am looking forward to reading the answers to your question...

 

[PinkSkates]

Re: I'm just gonna do it: Who wants natural, heat-stretched hair?

I don't necessarily want heat-stretched hair, but I do want versatile hair that can be straight or kinky without the help of chemicals. So I press my hair whenever I feel like it. AND my natural texture has not let me down yet.( I've been pressing my hair for a decade now.)
When moisture and water hits my hair it reverts fully. But if regular pressing heat-stretches my hair, then so be it. As long as I retain length, can wear wash n' gos and don't have dry splitting ends...then I'm a happy, natural, MBL camper!

 

[princess_sid]

well one of my relatives she's been natural for 40 something years of her life and as soon as she wet it or wash her hair it reverts back to an afro... its crazy because her pressed and curl hair last a little over two weeks... her hair is long but she keeps it APL because of medical issues....

shoot i want both OP

 

[danigurl18]

I love my curls!! I would never give them up!!

 

[MrsHouston]

Growing up I knew people that would get their natural hair pressed like every two weeks and had long hair. I think they just keep their hair oiled.

Meaning, do you want to go natural but would like to press/flat-iron often enough so that you loosen your curl pattern?

I do - I've got about 3 inches of new growth and I'm thinking of transitioning to natural, but I never plan to wear my hair kinky. I want it straight and sleek. I've taken a major paycut and I can't afford to travel to my stylist and get regular relaxers so I've got to do something.

I have a friend who has LONG bsl, full (no thin ends) 4b natural hair and she's been pressing her hair ever since she's been all-natural. She showed me her wet hair earlier today and her curl pattern is now like a 3a or something similar. She does protein and moisturizing treatment and she has no breakage either! After seeing this, I realized that this is what I would want if my hair was all natural. Like, that is the only way that I'd go natural.

I keep seeing all the recent horror stories about ladies who have gone natural and their kinks keep breaking, knotting, and tangling, keeping them from retaining length.

 

[Marand13]

Meaning, do you want to go natural but would like to press/flat-iron often enough so that you loosen your curl pattern?

I do - I've got about 3 inches of new growth and I'm thinking of transitioning to natural, but I never plan to wear my hair kinky. I want it straight and sleek. I've taken a major paycut and I can't afford to travel to my stylist and get regular relaxers so I've got to do something.

I have a friend who has LONG bsl, full (no thin ends) 4b natural hair and she's been pressing her hair ever since she's been all-natural. She showed me her wet hair earlier today and her curl pattern is now like a 3a or something similar. She does protein and moisturizing treatment and she has no breakage either! After seeing this, I realized that this is what I would want if my hair was all natural. Like, that is the only way that I'd go natural.

I keep seeing all the recent horror stories about ladies who have gone natural and their kinks keep breaking, knotting, and tangling, keeping them from retaining length.

I think you should just continue to relax it. To me it is pointless to go natural and never wear ur hair in its natural state. In the long run ur hair will be healthier if u just relaxed every 3-4 months. It is less of a hassle...

 

[Ericka]

I'm natural and I blow dry and flat iron my hair just about every week. My hair still curls up just fine. I guess it all depends on how much heat you use in regards to damaging your hair.

I also wear my hair in a natural ponytail a few days each week with conditioner throughout my hair. This really helps with moisturizing my hair and keeps my ends healthy.

 

[so1913]

I've literally had it both ways. When I first went natural however many years ago, I wore my hair pressed all the time. Back then, I learned that I simply didn't need a relaxer to get straight hair. I wasn't concerned about my curls, my 'texture', or any of that. I grew my hair long, and it was relatively healthy. I say relatively, because my natural texture was NEVER, ever seen because the weekly heat broke down the bonds that allow curly hair to be, well, curly.

This time around, I choose NOT to use heat because I like my curls. And for me, "heat-stretching" does not mean loosened curls, it means NO curls.

This whole post is my experience. Had to do a whoooole other transition to rid my hair of heat damage since I made the decision to wear my hair in its natural state.

I've opted to straighten minimal times a year. Haven't straightened this year yet, last time was december.

 

[Ms Lala]

I think you should just continue to relax it. To me it is pointless to go natural and never wear ur hair in its natural state. In the long run ur hair will be healthier if u just relaxed every 3-4 months. It is less of a hassle...

Some people want to avoid the chemicals which is why they choose to keep it pressed. I have a friend like this and she has BEAUTIFUL thick MBL pressed hair. Her hair still reverts though she wears twists and other styles in the summer.

 

[DozenRoses99]

For me, constant heat on a regular basis damages and breaks my hair. My mom used to press my hair every week from age 3 to 12 (except for occasional breaks in the summer when she cornrowed it) and my hair was so damaged and didn't grow much. Ironically, my hair didn't grow past my shoulder until I started getting relaxers and stopped using heat on a regular basis.

Its possible that your hair may be able to take the heat better than my hair. However, you may want to look into continuing to relax your hair.

 

[nikamaya]

Yes I actually always wear my hair pressed totally straight. i had a relaxer at a young age and it was totally damaged from it. my hair is softer with a press and i love it. it is also much thicker the only thing is i sweat my hair out so easy it's a shame. but other than that i don't have any problem.

 

[TRINITY08]

I am a natural who just started pressing.

Prior, I wore my hair in braids, wigs, weaves and the occasional fro.

I like the new look with the press even though its hard to maintain while working out and in the summer. Who told me to press for the first time in the summer

For now, I will keep up my twice monthly pressing sessions, until I get tired of it.

 

[kblc06]

Meaning, do you want to go natural but would like to press/flat-iron often enough so that you loosen your curl pattern?

I do - I've got about 3 inches of new growth and I'm thinking of transitioning to natural, but I never plan to wear my hair kinky. I want it straight and sleek. I've taken a major paycut and I can't afford to travel to my stylist and get regular relaxers so I've got to do something.

I have a friend who has LONG bsl, full (no thin ends) 4b natural hair and she's been pressing her hair ever since she's been all-natural. She showed me her wet hair earlier today and her curl pattern is now like a 3a or something similar. She does protein and moisturizing treatment and she has no breakage either! After seeing this, I realized that this is what I would want if my hair was all natural. Like, that is the only way that I'd go natural.

I keep seeing all the recent horror stories about ladies who have gone natural and their kinks keep breaking, knotting, and tangling, keeping them from retaining length.

I wouldn't mind doing it so that my hair pattern (texture) is consistent throughout

 

[Pheonixx]

I don't necessarily want heat-stretched hair, but I do want versatile hair that can be straight or kinky without the help of chemicals. So I press my hair whenever I feel like it. AND my natural texture has not let me down yet.( I've been pressing my hair for a decade now.)
When moisture and water hits my hair it reverts fully. But if regular pressing heat-stretches my hair, then so be it. As long as I retain length, can wear wash n' gos and don't have dry splitting ends...then I'm a happy, natural, MBL camper!

EXACTLY!

I'd actually planned on being one of those 'Flip-Flopping Naturals'.
"One day she's coily; Next week she's straight."

I hadn't thought that flat-ironing natural hair was a bad thing.
Also, the biggest draw for me (besides the lack of chemicals) is the fact that I can be more versatile with hair styling.
But I see that ya'll say that this has the potential to destroy the texture?

Well there goes another bubble that's been burst!

...and here I thought I could have it all....


>>>sigh<<<

 

[Pheonixx]

**Standing up and clapping for this thread**

Im a PROUD fan of heat stretched hair ​

I admit that I get irritated by all the rhetoric saying that naturals who have heat stretched hair have unhealthy and damaged hair. I feel that heat stretched is an option just like texlaxed, relaxed, or natural...its all a continum and all methods that we as black women can use in order to achieve styles that we feel comfortable with and fit with our lifestyles and views. Im glad to hear about all the ladies on the board who have friends and family members with beautiful, healthy, long heads of natural but heat-stretched hair. I understand that it may not WORK for everyone...but thats nothing new. There is not ONE SINGLE thing that everyone can do anyways...thats why there is diversity on the board....ALL of our hair is different....some people cant do relaxers, some people can do texlax, some people refuse to deal with their natural texture...the board is about finding what works for YOUR HAIR and what makes YOUR HAIR healthy and happy.

So with that said, to the OP my hair is currently heat stretched and I LOVE IT!! No my coils are not as tight all over as they once were but thats okay with me. With the looser curls (some of the 4a are still 4a, some are more 3c ish, some are waves, some is frizz, my front is almost completely straight...but always has been..its definitely a mix)...but I embrace all of it and here are the benefits that I find.

1) It no longer takes me over an hour to detangle my hair enough to put it in a ponytail. I can now do it in like five minutes or less.

2)It no longer takes me five or six hours to do my two strand twists. I can do them in like 1-2 hours now.

3)When Im wearing my hair natural, my hair shows much more length. It also has a lot less bulk.

4) I can still wear wash and gos. I just do a modified version, where I wash, twist, and go.

5) If I want to wear a puff, I just wear my afro phony pony...it has perfectly uniform curls.

6) When I get my hair pressed, it lasts 2-3 weeks and doesnt take as long to do.

7) My hair gets washed and co-washed a lot more often since it takes much less effort to detangle and style.

Although, there are moments that I wish my coils were all perfect and the way they used to be...those moments are few and far between. I can still wear my hair both ways (coily and straight) with it being heat stretched. I feel that with anything you are going to have trade-offs and you can truly never have the best of both worlds. In my opinion, having heat stretched hair is definitely worth the trade offs of not having super tight 4a coilss. Once I get to BSL, I plan to move to a regi similar to pinkskates and straighten once or twice a month and keep my hair strong with protein and moisture.​

Your hair and texture are so lovely...

...and I understand what you mean.
I never heard of natural hair being damaged beyond all repair with natural hair--until fairly recently in here and other sites (nappturality, black hair care media). Especially other sites. Like it's just worse than anything. else you can do to your hair. LOL To be quite honest I've only seen this with relaxed heads.

This was certainly not my experience as a child. I was pressed.
My kinfolk (aunts) relaxed my hair while I was staying at their home over the summer. Because they couldn't deal with it. And as you might have guessed: YEAH it was a huge fight...
But when I was very young and natural--I was pressed and I STILL had a lot of hair.

I do worry about loss of my naps, though. But now that I think about it, I'm transitioning but I DO flat-iron my hair from time- to-time and my new growth has not changed in texture.... But I alsso don't flat-iron often either
So I think my little coilies are safe.

 

[sweetsuccess]

your natural?! your hair is gor-geous!

thats a good question.I don't think I've ever had knots.I detangle well when my hair is in its natural state and I break it down into smaller pieces so that I can work with it better. I also slather on the conditioner if it even acts like it wants to tangle.I wonder if its technique?

 

[NGraceO]

omg, when I first went natural, this is exactly what I planned to do! However, as time past, I kind of just forgot about it, b/c my hair was always hidden under weaves or braids. In one weave in particular, a str8 style, I str8end a peice in the front of my head to blend w/ the weave, and that part ended up stretched by the heat. Now when I do my hair, that piece sticks out lke a sore thumb. Although I love the curl pattern it has, its also weaker than the rest of my hair and breaks more easily. At this point, I wouldn't jepordize the health of my hair for a looser curl pattern...I'm in love w/ my natural texture now

 

[luvnmyhair99]

HI EVERYONE! I AM A TOTAL NEWBIE(habitual lurker) AND THIS IS MY VERY FIRST POST(sniff, sniff)!

ALL THE RESPONSES TO THIS TOPIC HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE! THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD OPTION FOR NATURALS WHO WISH TO WEAR THEIR HAIR STRAIGHT WITHOUT THE CHEMICALS.

BUMPING FOR MORE RESPONSES...AND PICS OF HEAT STRETCHED TEX IF ANYONE HAS SOME TO SHARE..

I am a true hair addict and this is the bestest haircare forum I have ever been addicted to! I have gained so much valuable information! You ladies rock!!

Transitioning to 100% natural from slightly texturized
last Phyto I 4/08
Hair type: 3b/3c/4a... i think
approaching full BSL
GOAL: Even MBL winter 09
Pics: WIP

 

[NaturalBeauty87]

Sometimes I do and other times no. I'm still on the fence about what I wanna do with my hair. I'm transitioning,BTW. I love wearing my hair straight because it shows my true length and I love long hair( which i don't have yet). Then I also love culry hair, but those sinlge strand knots make me want to wear my hair straight All the time! I think I'm just gonna do what I feel for the moment and as long as my hair keeps getting longer and staying thick, I will will take curly or heat stretched hair!

 

[Duchesse]

This is actually what I want to happen to my hair. I realized that the main thing that I love about my hair when it is natural, is that I haven't used any chemicals. I love my natural hair, but my main motivation for not relaxing anymore isn't so much because I love my texture (though I do), but because I really can't stand relaxing in the long term and the use of such chemicals.

When I was younger I used to get my hair washed, blowdried, and pressed about every two weeks and my hair was still thick and healthy. Any problems that I had were due to ignorance, Pink Lotion, and super tight scrunchies . Eventually, my hair stopped reverting to the same degree of "kinkage", but it wasn't bone straight, more like a frizzy fluff which I like.

Relaxers just degrade my strands too much and make it break off, but I personally have no desire to wear my hair in it's super coily natural state. I never had a term for it, but looking back, my hair was at a wonderful state of heat stretchedness, and it was very nice.

 

[ImFree27]

This is actually what I want to happen to my hair. I realized that the main thing that I love about my hair when it is natural, is that I haven't used any chemicals. I love my natural hair, but my main motivation for not relaxing anymore isn't so much because I love my texture (though I do), but because I really can't stand relaxing in the long term and the use of such chemicals.

When I was younger I used to get my hair washed, blowdried, and pressed about every two weeks and my hair was still thick and healthy. Any problems that I had were due to ignorance, Pink Lotion, and super tight scrunchies . Eventually, my hair stopped reverting to the same degree of "kinkage", but it wasn't bone straight, more like a frizzy fluff which I like.

Relaxers just degrade my strands too much and make it break off, but I personally have no desire to wear my hair in it's super coily natural state. I never had a term for it, but looking back, my hair was at a wonderful state of heat stretchedness, and it was very nice.

This is the main reason why i went natural at the bolded

 

[LaLa85]

HI EVERYONE! I AM A TOTAL NEWBIE(habitual lurker) AND THIS IS MY VERY FIRST POST(sniff, sniff)!

ALL THE RESPONSES TO THIS TOPIC HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE! THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD OPTION FOR NATURALS WHO WISH TO WEAR THEIR HAIR STRAIGHT WITHOUT THE CHEMICALS.

BUMPING FOR MORE RESPONSES...AND PICS OF HEAT STRETCHED TEX IF ANYONE HAS SOME TO SHARE..

I am a true hair addict and this is the bestest haircare forum I have ever been addicted to! I have gained so much valuable information! You ladies rock!!

Transitioning to 100% natural from slightly texturized
last Phyto I 4/08
Hair type: 3b/3c/4a... i think
approaching full BSL
GOAL: Even MBL winter 09
Pics: WIP

I've got heat stretched hair in the front/top of my head. It's not that damaged other than not curling up, no extra splits or breakage. (That area was actually the longest part of my hair before I cut it.) My natural hair is 4a (I think?) but the heat stretched part, depending on what i do to it (brushing it out or scrunching) looks more 3b (maybe 2c? since it doesn't curl much just kind of loose waves with a few stick straight areas) erplexed

july 8th. the part that's up and in twists looks way different than the non-heat stretched hair in the back/sides

august 19. i've cut about 3-4 inches in the front since the first pic

comparison. the sides are curly, not heat stretched. I *think* this is what the front/top will look like when it grows out (it's been like 5 years since my hair has had all it's natural curls )

 

[dlove]

**Standing up and clapping for this thread**​

Im a PROUD fan of heat stretched hair ​

I admit that I get irritated by all the rhetoric saying that naturals who have heat stretched hair have unhealthy and damaged hair. I feel that heat stretched is an option just like texlaxed, relaxed, or natural...its all a continum and all methods that we as black women can use in order to achieve styles that we feel comfortable with and fit with our lifestyles and views. Im glad to hear about all the ladies on the board who have friends and family members with beautiful, healthy, long heads of natural but heat-stretched hair. I understand that it may not WORK for everyone...but thats nothing new. There is not ONE SINGLE thing that everyone can do anyways...thats why there is diversity on the board....ALL of our hair is different....some people cant do relaxers, some people can do texlax, some people refuse to deal with their natural texture...the board is about finding what works for YOUR HAIR and what makes YOUR HAIR healthy and happy.​

So with that said, to the OP my hair is currently heat stretched and I LOVE IT!! No my coils are not as tight all over as they once were but thats okay with me. With the looser curls (some of the 4a are still 4a, some are more 3c ish, some are waves, some is frizz, my front is almost completely straight...but always has been..its definitely a mix)...but I embrace all of it and here are the benefits that I find.​

1) It no longer takes me over an hour to detangle my hair enough to put it in a ponytail. I can now do it in like five minutes or less.​

2)It no longer takes me five or six hours to do my two strand twists. I can do them in like 1-2 hours now.​

3)When Im wearing my hair natural, my hair shows much more length. It also has a lot less bulk.​

4) I can still wear wash and gos. I just do a modified version, where I wash, twist, and go.​

5) If I want to wear a puff, I just wear my afro phony pony...it has perfectly uniform curls.​

6) When I get my hair pressed, it lasts 2-3 weeks and doesnt take as long to do.​

7) My hair gets washed and co-washed a lot more often since it takes much less effort to detangle and style.​

Although, there are moments that I wish my coils were all perfect and the way they used to be...those moments are few and far between. I can still wear my hair both ways (coily and straight) with it being heat stretched. I feel that with anything you are going to have trade-offs and you can truly never have the best of both worlds. In my opinion, having heat stretched hair is definitely worth the trade offs of not having super tight 4a coilss. Once I get to BSL, I plan to move to a regi similar to pinkskates and straighten once or twice a month and keep my hair strong with protein and moisture.​

YOU HAVE CALMED MY NERVES...THANK YOU!!!
ITA with what you said. Girl, those tight 4b condensed coils made me look like I had no gowth, month after month. I've been natural for 15 months and am shoulder length after a twa bc in may of 07. I did it, yeah, I'm the culprit of heat damaging or shall I say training my hair. See pics of a plait out. My hair is not bone strait, but the curl pattern has loosened considerably.

 

[tocktick]

as far as i'm concerned, heat-stretched = heat damaged. if i want the looser curl look, i'd rather do a mild tex than continually put heat on my hair in order to damage it (i.e - "loosen" the curl). i've seen heat-damaged hair and it's not cute, imo. the only thing that can apparently be done with it to make it look nice is keeping it straight. at least with a tex, i could have more versatility.

 

[dany06]

I love my curly hair. I would hate to damage the curls but I wouldnt mind them being a tad bit looser. One good thing that I found is that my natural hair pressed is much more silkier and smoother than any relaxer that I have ever gotten. It actually felt softer and looked silkier than the indian remy hair I have laying around my house.

 

[cutiebe2]

I want to wear my hair stretched to see length. But m ultimate goal is to be able to wear my hair unstretched/no heat and have it a little passed my shoulders..or at least have my braidout come passed my shoulders (at around APL or a little before)


But I will not be flat ironing my hair too much...thats a lot of work

 

[RENIBELL]

as far as i'm concerned, heat-stretched = heat damaged. if i want the looser curl look, i'd rather do a mild tex than continually put heat on my hair in order to damage it (i.e - "loosen" the curl). i've seen heat-damaged hair and it's not cute, imo. the only thing that can apparently be done with it to make it look nice is keeping it straight. at least with a tex, i could have more versatility.

i dont think this is all that can be done with heat stretched hair, my DD's hair is heat stretched, she is 4b,she has no breakage , and she wears it in mini twists to school, see pic attached, her twists use to be bulky and stiff but now they are springy and bouncy and longer.the twists were done on wet hair an she wore them for three weeks,second pic is week 3, as a twist out, her twists never looke this good before.