Is Your Hair Longer As A Natural Versus Relaxed Hair?

[I Am So Blessed]

As a relaxed head, my longest layer was BSL. I could only touch BSL with my V-shape hair. My sides were always breaking.

Now, as a natural, it is lower MBL. I am about 4 inches from my waist. More importantly, my strands aren't stringy, thin and uneven like it was when I was relaxed.

The chemicals were eating away my strands and caused more breakage, which stunted my growth. Now that I am natural my hair can reach its full length potential (I'm shooting for waist).

You are probably WL now right? Since this post was 10 months ago.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

The chemicals from the relaxers agitated my already sensitive, eczema-prone scalp. I was lucky to reach chin length with a relaxer. Now as a natural my hair is past APL and will reach BSL (goal length) soon

Are you at BSL yet!?

 

[Neomorph]

Are you at BSL yet!?

Not full BSL yet, but at least 25% of my hair has reached that length

 

[Lucie]

It is the same both ways.

 

[MzSwift]

I think my hair grows the same either way. Retention is a whole nother story. Lol

I rocked texlaxed hair for about 15 years. I always kept it short and curly, no longer than 3”. Then I shaved, started my HHJ and went natural. I grew to WL from a ceasar cut in 4.5 years by PSing 99% of the time and adhering to a regimen.

Then I texlaxed again and got hair lazy. A year later started relaxing bone straight. Then threw it in some interlocks a year after that, some of which I had to cut out when I combed them out 6 months later. I have just cut back to BSB to get rid of most of my bone straight hair and to start my HHJ again texlaxed.

So growth wise, it’s still growing. What went wrong was that I stopped PSing, got lazy with my regi, wore my hair out 85-90% of the time and I stopped sleeping in a satin scarf using only a satin pillowcase. The biggest problem was relaxing it bone straight. Since I’ve started texlaxing again for the past 9 months, my hair’s health has improved. It retains more of my natural texture, and gives me more ease and flexibility than being natural but without the damage of thin, bone straight hair. I’m hoping to be back to WL by next year.

Sorry so lengthy, I’m a SAHM and don’t get much adult interaction these days.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Relaxed hair was MBL. Natural is HL/TBL. My relaxed hair was thick and healthy but it is thicker and healthier as a natural. My hair grows pretty fast either way.

 

[NicWhite]

Relaxed hair was MBL. Natural is HL/TBL. My relaxed hair was thick and healthy but it is thicker and healthier as a natural. My hair grows pretty fast either way.

Now sis, how are you going to through the bolded out there with no pics.

 

[charmtreese]

My relaxed hair can't hold a candle to my natural hair. Not only is my natural hair longer, it's more voluminous, healthy, has more sheen, and requires less work. But to my relaxed hair's defense, I have fine hair strands that really can't withstand any chemical process. So, to grow as long as it did (thin looking BSL) is commendable.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Now sis, how are you going to through the bolded out there with no pics.

I am so bad about posting pics. I don't even know if I have any.

 

[Bountiful7788]

bumping

 

[AmethystLily]

Yes, somewhat. I pulled a section and it actually touches APL, to my shock. It hadn't been that long since I was a young child. I got a relaxer when I was around 9-10 years old and decided to transition at 14 (though I didn't know that was the term for it at the time). Though my hair remained dense, I don't think I retained as much length; it stayed around my collar bone. I had pieces break off especially around my edges and stylists would get scissor happy on top of that. I just went back to letting my mom braid it up for a while, then in high school I started constantly straightening with heat and broke it off again. When I started college, I started wearing mainly natural styles. At this point, I realize I retain by protective styling in twists, braids, and buns... and using moisture-based products and heavy sealing. Simply put, I'm going old-school: after washing I use Softee Coconut Oil (grease formula) on damp hair.

 

[Dee-Licious]

No, I stretched and did mostly rollersets/heat-free when I was relaxed, and I was a healthy BSL even though I have fine, low-density hair so it wasn’t uber thick.

I don’t take as good of care as my hair due to busyness, so I haven’t been back to BSL as a natural. I should be a full APL by summer, and I plan to make my hair maintenance more of a priority to get my dream hair back. I have an inspiration pic that is my own hair... I need to get my mom to send it to my phone for me to use it as a reminder.

 

[levette]

Bump

 

[Misseyl]

My hair was longer when it was relaxed but I'm still on the journey so time will tell. I'm only three years natural. In another two years (that's 5 years total), I want to be able to say that my hair has been the longest it has every been, relaxed or natural.

1/5/2020 -- I'm now 5 years natural and my hair is still nowhere I expected it to be. However, it is healthier, my edges look better and I'm confident that it will be where I want it to be in the next 4 years. My goal is to have hair comfortably touching my ears and neck and possible covering my forehead. I don't necessary want hair blowing in the wind and in another 4 years I'll see if I reach that goal.

 

[PlanetCybertron]

My natural hair made it to MBL. I was natural all of my life up until graduating high school. My hair is very fine, but requires different care and attention in its natural state.

My current length now is upper thigh length, and I’ve been relaxed for nearly 6 years now.

 

[Misseyl]

Washed my hair using Camille Rose Hair products this weekend. Hair is extremely fine. Not sure what the outcome of this will be but I'm 5 years older since big chop and some people lose hair during this time. Hopefully because I've concentrated on taking care of it I don't experience the usual age related hair loss. I'll continue doing what I'm doing to see if I gain more length and probably thickness in the coming months.

 

[Anewme2019]

My hair is longer relaxed than natural

 

[kim1006]

No. My hair is not longer natural than it was when I was relaxed. However, there may be several factors as to why: 1) My last relaxer was July 2016 and I did not big chop - transitioned for 3 years, 2) I did a hard protein treatment in December that resulted in a major trim, 3) When I went to good salons and kept my hands out of my hair when it was relaxed, my hair grew like weeds, 4) I used black color with developer that caused damage to the front of my hair, and 5) I stopped layering my hair products (I have high porosity hair) after watching a YouTube video by Moknows Hair. When I started layering products again, which are mostly conditioners, my hair thrived again. Prior to listening to Moknows Hair, I would not need to have my hair trimmed according to the stylist I scheduled to trim my hair.

My hair is currently mid back length. However, I am convinced it would be at least waist length if relaxed and I was going to good salons with my simple styling regimens: 1) wet buns and 2) wash and gos.