Ladies Who Went From Relaxed To Natural or Texturized

[lsubabiedee]

I decided to be natural again after about 7 years of relaxing...I decided to do this at first just to grow my hair out and give it a break, but after a month or so, I realized that I wanted my hair to be natural always...

So the main reasons I chose to be natural again are:
-I hated being ashamed of my hair texture, it was something that really bothered me growing up and I was made to feel very insecure about it, and as an adult, I was tired of that...
-I knew my hair and scalp would be so much healthier if I didn't relax
-I was tired of feeling as tho I needed to relax my hair
-I missed my natural texture!

 

[Country gal]

I wanted my thick hair back so I decided to start transitioning. Then I became curious as to how my natural hair would look. I had been toying with the idea and liked how some naturals in the area were holding it down. I am still transitioning. I just hope that it turns out to be a life long choice.

 

[Divastate]

I went natural for a variety of reasons originally i went natural because

1. I was tired of how thin my relaxed hair was compared to how thick it had been in childhood

2. I was exhausted with being able to grow it out to a nice length with braids but as soon as I got a relaxer my hair would all break off.

3. I was tired of having hair envy- it was never straight enough, never thick enough, and never bounced or swung with a relaxer like other heads of hair I saw. Its truely sad to walk around hating your own hair- going natural allowed me to love the real me for the first time in my adult life.

4. If I someday had a daughter I wanted her to know that her own hair was beautiful - plus I wanted to get a clue of how to care for my own natural hair so I could care for my children's hair properly.

Going natural has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. My natural hair has actually been far easier to wash and style (my relaxed hair took forever to detangle) and its grown healthier and thicker than ever.

Good luck to you Stormy- the TWA is an experience I'm definitely glad I got to have and the summertime is one of the best times to enjoy one if you do decide to go through with a big chop! It will grow out before you know it though so whenever you chop hope you enjoy that liberation

 

[hopeful]

Hi Stormy,

Boy you really got yourself some thread started! I've only been natural for two months now but I can definately see a big difference, especially in the areas where my hair was most damaged. Just the other day I was thinking about how I wish my hair was longer, blah, blah, blah. Then I realized how much longer, thicker and healthier my hair already is in the broken off areas. I mean to think that just a few months ago I was so hopeless, lost really, trying to figure out what to do with my hair, knowing I could no longer tolerate a relaxer. And now, I'm so happy and I feel so free. Everyday with a twa is not easy and the in between stage, not quite a twa, no where near a baa, is not easy. But this is a pleasurable and fulfilling journey. For the first time in my life I love all of my hair and cherish everything about it. I feel lucky and blessed.

Good luck Stormy.

 

[inthepink]

I transitioned simply because a relaxer made my almost waist length hair break off. I was devastated. I found info on the internet and ultimately decided to transition. I never even considered wearing my natural hair. It's been 2 years since my last relaxer and I am SO happy that I transitioned to natural hair. I love washing my hair daily and having fresh hair. I love my curls. I love that my hair is so versatile that when I wear it curly, it looks like a short chin length bob and when I wear it straight, it's bra strap length and swingy. I get so many compliments. Way more than I ever did with my bone straight relaxed hair. People commented on the length but never really the style. I'm so happy that I made the change. I don't plan on ever going back to relaxing. More so, my ends retain their thickness. My nape area is just as long as the rest of my hair. And I don't have to make sure I'm in the salon every 2 months and worry about whether my hair is going to fall out in the sink after relaxer application. It was a tough, TOUGH road transition. I felt so ugly for about a year and a half. But in the end, it has been worth it.

 

[misspriss]

I started my transition after trying to "stretch" my relaxer for 3 months, 3 months turned into 6 months and my hair was healthier, as long as it had ever been, and I liked the coily new growth. My last relaxer was Feb04 and I've cut off 85% of the relaxer. I like my hair most days, sometimes the two textures bother me and the fact that it is still pretty short (shoulder length when pressed), but I never regret going natural. I just wish my hair will grow out faster! Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Stormy]

Ditto!

Let me add...

My sister is natural and she wears her natural hair WELL!
If I didn't get my hair "fixed", I didn't want to go out anywhere.
If I didn't have any money to get it "fixed", I "wouldn't" go anywhere.
That was too much control over my livelyhood and well-being.
Now when it rains, I walk to my car, unless it's cold.

Wow! hungry4info if I get my TWA I hope I look as good as you!

 

[Stormy]

I went natural for a variety of reasons originally i went natural because


2. I was exhausted with being able to grow it out to a nice length with braids but as soon as I got a relaxer my hair would all break off.

Oh my god! You went through the same thing I've been going through! Once I take my braids out and get a relaxer, about 1 month later it's starts breaking off.

 

[Stormy]

Thank you so so much everyone! Reading about your experiences is so encouraging! I'm loving these hair albums, and seeing the neat things you can do with a TWA like wearing the head bands is good.

For those of you who texturize your hair, when you redo it, do you just touch up the roots as you do with a relaxer, or texturize your strands all the way to the ends? After a year of being natural or once my hair gets long, if it's too much to handle, I may try texturizing.

 

[chocolate01]

Im not natural yet but im transitiong (8 months into it) but here are my reasons:

1. My hairline started to thin and I wawsn't making the progress I thought I should be and so I felt the best thing for me to do was to stop relaxing.

2. I love, love natural hair. My cousin has been natural for about 7 years and I love her hair. I also have so many friends that are natural and I got tired of being envious of there hair.

 

[CLASSYEBONYGIRL]

What was your reason, and have you seen a dramatic improvement? If so in what way? If not, why do you think so? I am seriously planning to transition. I got my last relaxer last month. That's it for me. Let me just share this with you:


I went from relaxed to texturized and I am loving it and my hair thanks me for the change.

My relaxed hair got badly damaged and it started to get really thin and break off because I didn't take very good care of my hair (too much heat and less moisture) so I got really frustrated and just chopped every bit of relaxed ends off leaving me with bald head.

I always wanted to have curly hair and I couldn't figure out how to get it until I found LHCF and I got alot of information on texturizing.

I wanted to see if my hair would be healthier if I started all over again but with a texturizer instead of a relaxer.

I wanted to see if my hair would grow faster, have less breakage and be thicker.

I wanted to be able to wash and go, no stress of using any electronic styling aids or roller settting.

I can have the best of both worlds,wearing it curly or straight whenever I desire.

Having texturized hair than fully relaxed hair is the closest to being natural so it is much easier for me to manage because I don't think I would be able to handle my natural hair. I remember as a child growing up I used to scream and cry on my wash days and then after all that torture I had to undergo more torture when my mom pressed my hair with a hot comb .

I have seen major improvement since I texturized my hair. My hair is much healthier, less breakage, it's growing and my fine hair has become thick. I can also stretch out my texturizer with less breakage.

Good luck on whatever decision you make!!

 

[hungry4info]

Wow! hungry4info if I get my TWA I hope I look as good as you!

Thanks Stormy! I'm sure you will be naturally gorgeous!

 

[Ronda123]

I decided to transition because I have a sensitive scalp and relaxers were thinning my hair. I was also tired of the breakage. Since I have been transitioning my hair is much thicker and I am loving my natural texture.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[Poohbear]

Hey Stormy! I got your PM so I decided to post in your thread!

I never thought about going natural in my entire life until I found this forum. I thought as long as your hair is not a wig or weave, your hair was natural (real). I thought all blacks got relaxers. After learning that was not true, I considered going natural in Apr 2004, a few days after joining this forum! One of the main reasons was because I saw so many beautiful natural hair pictures and I thought to myself "I can have healthy long hair without getting a relaxer." But, I think my initial goal of having long relaxed hair took over because I messed up and relaxed twice after that decision, once in July and once in October. On Thanksgiving Day, I decided to go natural after seeing one of my aunts who did it. So October 7, 2004 will be my last and final relaxer.

I'm transitioning without the immediate big chop because I do not feel comfortable with short hair. If I had more guts, I would do it. But hanging on to these relaxed ends hasn't been too bad. Yesterday, I finally discovered a plan that would work for me while I transition that may differ from others. I will be blowdrying my hair every two weeks in order to blend in the two textures. Airdrying just didn't work for me.
I plan on cutting my relaxed ends off once my natural new growth reaches my shoulders unstretched, which I predict it will be that way between April - Oct 2006.

Reasons why I decided to go natural:​

1. I want to experience what it's like not having to worry about getting a chemical application every few months. I was tired of those occasional scabs I would get from burns. I would dread the day when my mom said "Your hair is getting nappy, time for a relaxer." I think without getting relaxers, my hair and scalp will be in better shape. After reading and doing research about how chemicals actually break down your hair and actually cause more bad than good, I couldn't imagine being relaxed for the rest of my life. Relaxers did work for my hair as far as appearance but as my hair grew out, I noticed my hair would stay the same length (a lil passed shoulder length) and would always be thinner at the ends than at the roots. Come to find out, my hair was also overprocessed because I never knew that you were not suppose to relax the entire hair shaft which is what my mom did with my hair for years!

2. I want to appreciate the hair texture that God gave me. I remember getting a PM from sillygirl18 about this and it gave me something to think about. Most other non-black women do not get chemical relaxers to straighten their hair, why do us black women have to do it? God created me in His image. I feel like when I get my hair relaxed, I'm altering what God has made. I'm giving God a slap in face because it shows I don't appreciate the hair He gave me. With natural hair, I'll be ME! I never thought about this until it was brought up as well.

3. I want to see what it's like to deal with natural hair. My natural hair happens to grow in tiny spirals. I don't see why natural hair so unmanageable to our black race. Is it because we're so stuck on having straight hair? I think that's why I ended up relaxing those two times back in 2004. Now, I'm very excited about having natural hair. I feel like you can do more styles as a natural. I could wear it down in curly spirals if I want to. I can't wait to do my first afro and afro puff.

4. I want to break the cycle of the idea that black women need relaxers because their natural hair is not good, unkempt, unattractive, and all other bad things associated with it. Also the idea that black women need to have their hair straighten. Don't get me wrong, I did like how relaxers got my hair straight. But straight hair doesn't always mean good hair. When I'm completely natural and want it straight, I'll just blowdry or flat iron it. There's also the idea that black women relax their hair straight to fit more into the image of whiteness. When growing up with relaxed hair, that never crossed my mind so I don't think all blacks think this way. It's just an "invisible" idea now that started long ago....if you really think about it, why did black women start relaxing their hair in the early to mid 1900's? Because their hair was not acceptable to society, but I'm sure some got relaxers merely because they wanted to have nice looking straight hair or they just didn't want to deal with their natural hair.

To all my black women who are relaxed, texturized, and natural... be blessed with whatever you do to your hair!

 

[Poohbear]

Oh! I forgot to answer your question about seeing a dramatic improvement!!!

Yes I have! Here's how:

My hair grows faster
My hair is stronger
My hair is thicker
My hair is healthier
My scalp feels and looks better
My scalp itches less

 

[Stormy]

Thanks Poohbear!

 

[naptrl]

Oh! Naptrl girl I didn't see that you posted before. We must have been typing at the same time or something. Anyway I NEVER would have thought your hair was that short!! From the meeting until now?! Wow! That's A LOT of growth! It's so pretty and curly too! It looks even better than the braids. I know you're glad you took them out.

Yeah, girl! You know I was gonna respond!! Yes, my hair was VERY short. all I could do was brush it! Everybody told me I was crazy for cuttin my extremely long relaxed hair, but now they can't believe how much it's grown! Look who's laughin now!! I can't wait untiil it gets really long!!!

 

[DMarie]

That's what happened to me. I went natural because I wanted something low maintenance. I had planned to keep a twa for a while but then I got engaged and decided that I wanted to do an updo for the wedding, so I started growing my hair out. Once my natural hair got longer it was just too much to control, so I decided to get it relaxed. No such luck. After being natural for 1 1/2 years my hair just REFUSED to relax. I relaxed my whole head 3 times (which was crazy) and the coils got looser each time, but nowhere near straight. So I decided to go with it. I really liked my hair texturized. My curls were very defined and it was much easier to manage than when I was all natural. The only problem is that I have different textures on my head. The front is more wavy than curly, the middle, back, and one side are curly and the other side is just nappy. I could never get the textures to match when I texturized. That was the only drawback to being texturized, in my opinion.

I thought I was the only one who was having a problem going back to chemical straighteners and getting straight hair. I too had to relax all of my hair more than once to attempt to get it straight after 16 months of being natural. As of now I've used 3 different relaxers and have different textures too.
I went natural cause I wanted to see what my natural hair was like. My relaxed hair was looking thin and I have a full face and look better with full, thick hair. I started using chemicals again cause my natural hair would knot up onto itself and cause me to have to cut the knots off. I found myself excluding myself from social events cause I felt my hair didn't look presentable enough. Puffs gave me headaches and caused my hairline to loose some hair from pulling it back. I got headaches from combing my hair-I even sectioned in small parts and combed gently. I got tired of spending soo much time doing 2 strand twist- but I loved the style and consider it my favorite while natural. I was tired of the tangles I'd get from the twist. But I must say that my natural hair was the healthiest it's ever been in my life!! It was back to it's original thickness. It was full, never shedded, it was resilent and never broke while combing it. My hair returned to it's original color which is almost jet black. It was tough and soo strong that I was shocked. While wet and well moisturized it was soft. My curls were soo pretty.

But now I have applied a chemical and my scalp seems to have gotten severly sensitive while I was natural which makes me think that our scalps start to build up a tolerence to the true reactions/pain associated with chemicals. I have applied many relaxers myself in the past and have gotten my hair straight and never gotten burns. I got 3 burns last time and underprocessed hair. I do miss the health of my natural hair. Perhaps if I allowed it to grow longer I never would have relaxed. My relaxed has now allowed me to return to rod sets and curls and better manage my hair. It's just a shame that my natural hair worked me soo hard just to style it how I thught I wanted to wear it.

 

[PretteePlease]

i basically went natural to see if my hair would grow and it has
-i found that my hair can go beyond a chin length bob
-basically i found out that my hair cant take even a mild relaxer left on for 8-10min
-my hair cant take perm. color
-and my hair cant take being curled with the curling iron on a wkly basis

since going natural i have found that you can spend as much time/money on natural hair as relaxed hair. it just depends on what look you want and how often you are willing to do it.

sometimes i want to go back to the relaxer or texturizer but my hair just cant take it

 

[Enchantmt]

Within the last three years...

What was your reason, and have you seen a dramatic improvement? If so in what way? If not, why do you think so?

I orginally went naturall 10-15 years ago, I did a big chop. It lasted all of a year or so. I wasnt successful because I kept trying to treat my natural hair like relaxed hair, using the heat and all. Somehow I was able to get it to last better as far as being humidity resistant tho. I wish I knew what products I was using then. This time I tranisitoned for 8 months. I originally planned for a year but too many social things were going on where I had to have my hair look "right" and I was doing heat damage to my natural hair trying to get it straight, and it would only last 5 minutes. I BC'd on the spur of the moment, more out of frustration, but I knew the reason I wasnt happy with my hair was the relaxed hair and it just felt the right thing to do.

Anyway, I wanted to go natural because I was tired of having to HAVE to relax my hair. It was a type of bondage. I wanted to be free. I wanted to feel "authentic", and I'm sort of on a quest to embrace and own what is me, what is mine, and this is just another step along the way.

I never had a problem with relaxed hair. Or rather, I had problems but I didnt recognize them as problems because I thought they were a normal part of existence. Like dry, itchy scalp, this has all but disappeared since about my second month of transitioning. Right now I'm kind of style challenged, but I know I will get inspired along the way. My hair is thicker and stronger. My nape and my baby hair is growing longer. I didnt know the baby hair was missing until someone else mentioned it in a post and I noticed mine was back. Again, my scalp is healthier and doesnt itch. I havnt had time to really sit and play with it or try all the products I would like. I still plan on cutting after my year to get rid of the heat damage/scab hair. (If I can hold out that long)I'm sure I will discover more joy along the way.


ETA: To answer your other question, when you do touch ups for a texturizer its the same as relaxing, new growth only. A texturizer is just a mild relaxer where you dont get rid of all your curl pattern.

 

[MeccaMedinah]

Here's something that I posted a while ago, regarding my decision to go natural :

I transitioned because when I initially found LHCF I was looking to grow long, healthy & relaxed hair. I had no idea what my natural hair texture was like and didn't really care. After browsing around the site for a while I began to realize the potential of 'our' hair. I realized that I did not need a relaxer to look cute. And, that you didn't need "good" hair to wear your hair naturally. I was a slave mentally and physically to that relaxer... I knew no better. Since January 2004 (when I found this site) I have totally embraced my naps. I haven't even been tempted to relax. Another thing I have a daughter that I hope to teach that she doesn't NEED a relaxer,period.

Now, as far as dramatic improvement is concerned, I can't really say too much. I basically have learned to appreciate my God given hair/self.

And after I have learned how dangerous relaxers are, I really try spread the NATURAL message to my family & friends.

 

[Lucia]

bimping up for all

 

[Ms Red]

Thanks for bumping Lucia.

What was your reason, and have you seen a dramatic improvement?
I am at the beginning stages of my transition (almost 3 months). I want to transition from relaxed hair to natural hair b/c I miss my napps. I was natural for 18 or 19 yrs. and then relaxed for 5 yrs. The breakage, thinning, shedding and constant frustration with my relaxed hair pushed me over the edge. I miss my BIG, fluffy hair! I had so much more versatility than when I relaxed. Although I'm not 100% natural (yet), I know there will be a drastic improvement. My hair will be an extension of myself and a proud piece of me-- instead of being a crutch (like when I relaxed and depended so much on the chemicals). I want to see the real me.
I'm tired of going to stylist and letting them have free reign over my hair. They get scissor happy, chemical happy, heat happy. I want to be in control of my hair and be accountable for the state that it's in.

I cannot wait to be 100% natural. When I joined LHCF, I knew I wanted to transition and I want that healthy versatility that you have when you are au naturale. I am planning to transition as long as I can stand it. I would love to go until I have shoulder length natural hair but I am aware that I may have the urge to BC sooner.
Right now my immediate goals are:
-To stick to my simplistic regimen and use good organic products
-To limit the new products that I buy
-To limit the heat alltogether
-To not use weaves as a crutch
-To start styling my hair as if it were chemical free. This will help me get acquainted with natural hairstyles.
-To read and learn as much as possible about being natural.
-And finally to transition my mind. I don't want to wake up one day and be 100% natural, freak out and run to the nearest Affirm bottle.

 

[africa]

bumping and subscribing

 

[Digital Tempest]

I was too lazy to upkeep a relaxer because I hated getting them. They also thinned my hair out way too much. I was also inspired by a friend who'd gone natural some months before I had. I've always loved the look of natural hair. I love the style options it gives me, and it just seems to suit my personality more. My hair is DEFINITELY the healthiest it's ever been. Even though I still have fine/thin hair, it's thickened more. It's stronger. And, for me, it's just easier to deal with. I don't have nearly as many scalp problems now as I did while I relaxed.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I've always wanted to be natural, but I caved in due the fact that I didn't know how to care for my hair or style it. My problem was that my hair started rejecting relaxers and the stylist relaxed it too strait where it had no body. My relaxed hair "looked good" to others, but I knew it was damaged and it would not hold a curl. Now I have just BCD and the hair care I've learned has made a difference in my natural hair. It is soft and moisturized looking. All I have to do now is coloring the gray and let it grow.

 

[sweetsuccess]

I used to want to be fully relaxed, but nature stopped me from doing it (extremely resistant hair)

My texturized hair is as healthy as it's ever been, easier to handle than my natural hair (less tangling and it's softened) and it doesn't shrink as much plus I can go from curly to straight with no heat added if I want to.

So I'll never go back to wanting to be fully relaxed. Being completely natural is a maybe, but not anytime soon.

whats ur hair type? what texturizer did u use? i think i have 4a textured hair n the thickness of going natural is killing me. if i can loosen it up.. i would love to, im just scared that if i texturize i may actually be chemically overprocessing it as if i just put a relaxer in my head.
is texturizing the same as texlaxing?.... im confused when it comes to this stuff. im currently 85% natural. i refuse to cut off my permed ends. am i suppose to? i could trim em thru time right?? well.. yea, im currently transitioning but always have to go to salon to starighten my hair cuz i just cant handle it.

thanks for ur help in advance,

*td