is there anyone who's hair thrived more when relaxed as opposed to natural?

[Penspringz]

I have a friend with nearly bra-strap length hair who told me that her hair has not always been long. She claims that it was after she relaxed her hair that it started to get longer.
My hair is really short and I have always wondered whether it would be longer if it were relaxed. My ends tend to snap and I attribute that to the texture. My friend said the same thing so now I am wondering whether I should just relax my hair and see.
Have any of you noticed that you are able to retain more length now that your hair is relaxed?

 

[sweetwhispers]

what is your regimine penspringz? If your hair snaps off and your natural, this may get worse when your relaxed. I think you should find the cause of why your hair is breaking before you decide to relax. What products do you use. Do you use heat? Do you wash and moisturise regularly?

 

[DDTexlaxed]

ITA w. SW. My relaxed hair grew very fast because I just wash and wrapped w/o heat and bunned it. I used heat once a week and had almost BSL. My natural hair grows probably just as fast, but shrinkage makes it look shorter. The only difference is my hair is curly natural and you can't tell how long it truly long it is. I have no breakage w. my natural hair. Just lack of skill in styling it. Before you relax, please check your regimine to see what is going on with your hair. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Carlie]

I think it's a matter of relaxed (straightened) hair appearing to grow faster because it hangs straight. Natural has lots of shrinkage and has to be stretched to get an "idea" of how long it is.

Also, some people just don't know "how" to care for natural hair and don't take the time to actually learn how to care for natural hair types.

 

[CAPlush]

I have a friend with nearly bra-strap length hair who told me that her hair has not always been long. She claims that it was after she relaxed her hair that it started to get longer.
My hair is really short and I have always wondered whether it would be longer if it were relaxed. My ends tend to snap and I attribute that to the texture. My friend said the same thing so now I am wondering whether I should just relax my hair and see.
Have any of you noticed that you are able to retain more length now that your hair is relaxed?

She may have completely changed her maintenance routine after she got her hair relaxed to something appropriate to grow out relaxed hair. I don't think it is necessarily about the texture alone. If you want to keep your hair natural, I think you should work on developing a routine, products, and getting the right tools to maintain your hair. Good luck

 

[Penspringz]

Hey ladies, thanks for the responses. I find that the ends of my natural hair tends to snap when it is combed, which is not very often because I wear weaves most of the time. I have 4a texture hair which has tiny curls and when I comb my hair by the sink I see lots of little 'c's in the sink. I would't say that my hair is particularly dry because i keep it well moisturised, I think it is just the texture and the fact that the strans wrap round eachother causing it it tangle and snap.

I was thinking that if my hair is straightened, the strands wouldn't wrap round eachother as much and I wouldn't have to comb it...finger combing may be better. That's what my friend does. She was saying that she hardly ever combs her hair with a instrument other than her fingers.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Hey ladies, thanks for the responses. I find that the ends of my natural hair tends to snap when it is combed, which is not very often because I wear weaves most of the time. I have 4a texture hair which has tiny curls and when I comb my hair by the sink I see lots of little 'c's in the sink. I would't say that my hair is particularly dry because i keep it well moisturised, I think it is just the texture and the fact that the strans wrap round eachother causing it it tangle and snap.

I was thinking that if my hair is straightened, the strands wouldn't wrap round eachother as much and I wouldn't have to comb it...finger combing may be better. That's what my friend does. She was saying that she hardly ever combs her hair with a instrument other than her fingers.

What kind of comb are you using? That alone could be the reason why the ends are snapping. Have you tried finger combing your natural hair? That may help also.

 

[Victorian]

I also have 4a hair, and finger combing is where it's at You can untangle the ends without them snapping if you avoid the comb most of the time.

 

[Cheleigh]

I'm a 4a, and I never see little "c's" in the sink. I also never comb my hair dry (I can't get a comb through it even if I'd wanted to), and I almost never see little hair pieces. My hair ends love to wrap themselves around other strands too, but frequent detangling, good end maintainence minimizes this. I finger comb or detangle with a brush with wet hair full of conditioner.

My hair seems to be thriving as a natural, and did okay as a relaxed head. The only thing is that I see how thin my hair is as a full natural, and I wonder how much longer I could have relaxed bone straight before my thin hair made it look like a hair helment.

 

[Penspringz]

What kind of comb are you using? That alone could be the reason why the ends are snapping. Have you tried finger combing your natural hair? That may help also.

I use a metal wide tooth comb. Metal because it doesn't have any knicks in it and it glides through my hair better. I don't comb my hair that often. Maybe once a month because i keep it in protective styles. I may try and comb it only when it is wet with conditioner but that won't allow me to see the full length, which is frustrating but I will try this for a few months and see.

To be honest, I don't think the 'c's i see in the sink are evidence that my hair is unhealthy etc. It has always been like that so I guess it is just the texture of my hair.

 

[keluric]

I think the reason some people can grow their hair longer when relaxed is because it's easier for THEM to care for. Everyone doesn't have the patience for natural hair and they can get frustrated with it and rush through combing and styling.

I don't find it difficult to care for my hair but I also take the time to baby it. While I see nothing wrong with relaxed hair, I wouldn't recommend relaxing to anyone. I can, however, see how relaxed hair would be easier to maintain if you're not going to take the time to care for natural hair properly.

 

[thefineprint]

#1 rule of natural hair = DON'T COMB IT! Never comb dry natural hair or you will end up bald. I gently fingercomb my hair. Also, your friend may not have been moisturizing her hair properly which led to snaps and damage. In my opinion maintaining relaxed hair is more difficult but it is obviously not impossible

 

[KiSseS03]

Hi Penspringz. I have all natural tight coils as well and since the BC I don't get breakage. Those little c's you're seeing in the sink, unfortunately sound like breakage too me. A few things in your post stood out for me as culprits:

1) You constantly wear weave. Yes, there are women who have success with this method of growing their hair, but a lot don't. I've never had one, but I think it would be difficult to keep the hair adequately moisturized.

2) That METAL COMB! and on DRY HAIR! Girl, you need to stop that yesterday! I would never use a comb on my dry hair. My hair stays soft and moisturized because I take very good care of it BUT the very nature of our hair, the way it coils tightly around itself does not lend itself to dry combing. That's a sure fire way to get breakage, even on the most healthy head of hair.

3) Trying to show length on hair that has already dried is probably not the best idea. Instead why don't you try to do a twist-out or braid-out. Or use the banding method. Don't wait til your hair dries! Plait it wet and then take them out once dry, and your hair will be more stretched out... or you could just embrace the shrinkage!

You didn't mention this, but if you're constantly using heat on your hair to wear it straight. You may be better off getting a relaxer. I don't believe there is anything in the nature of a relaxer that will cause hair to thrive more with one than in it's natural state BUT if you prefer to wear your hair in straighter styles, a relaxer would probably be better. Good luck!

 

[sweetwhispers]

Penspringz everyone has given really great advice. Try Combing when saturated with conditioner. Also i would try and lay off the weaves for a while just to see if as KiSseS03 said they may be the culprit. Are you washing regularly? What do you moisturise with? As CAPlush said she may have changed her routine when she relaxed.