SweetTea
New Member
Hey all 
Well after 1+ year of lurking (yes, that was me lurking in your blog), I've finally subscribed!
at all the extra boards I can see now! I posted my problem at the bottom, so you can skip my wordy hair story if you want.
I stumbled upon LHCF around February of 2009 when I was wondering whether or not to go natural. It wasn't the first time I'd thought about it. I'd actually wanted to be natural for the majority of my life. I've been relaxed since about age five or six. My hair was always full SL, "long" by black people's standards, but it was never long enough for me. Especially not when my younger sister, who was allowed to remain natural, had hair that just kept growing longer. The only explanation I ever got was that my hair had always been "too thick to manage." (In case you're wondering, my hair is mostly 4a with some 3c, my sister is all 4b) As a kid, my mother refused to let me go natural and I was always told I "needed" a perm.
Back to 2009, I was in college (still am) and I realized, my mother wasn't around to make me get a perm.
After looking at the lovely natural heads here and RusticBeauty's channel on Youtube, I decided I was done with relaxers. I didn't relax from December 2008 until March 2010. Yes, I relaxed again, but it wasn't by choice.
In March I was home for spring break and I had a job interview. I was all set to get braids with my usual braider, but they kept flaking out on me. So there I was, the day before my interview with my hair not done. I decided I would just flat iron. My mom flipped out and said that wasn't acceptable because the last time I flat ironed my hair it looked bad (it honestly didn't and we were in Jamaica at the time...I'll let you figure out how my hair responded to straightening). I was practically forced into being relaxed. Fortunately, the relaxer didn't really take...so now I am texlaxed. I don't know how long I'll remain texlaxed. I really hate the drama of relaxing. I don't like putting chemicals on my scalp and two weeks post, my hairline frizzes or I have new growth. I'm not going to be a slave to touchups for the rest of my life.
Since I'm starting a job on Monday, I "have to" relax again.
(Did I mention I'm almost 21?) My mom has always relaxed my hair for me, but I might have to do it myself if she won't relax the new growth only. Since I've been home, I've been having bad breakage on my ends, so I'm actually really scared to relax.
Oh, but whining aside, I could never have transitioned or kept so much natural hair as long as I did without you guys! With all that I've learned, I know my next transition will go a lot smoother. And, I'm at a new length now. I'm about 3 inches from BSL and that's after cutting the majority of my old relaxed hair off (I still have about 4 inches of relaxed hair, but it's healthy and the ends are good, so I let it be.) Thanks so much! (And sorry for the massive pictures.)
ADVICE NEEDED: The help I need actually isn't for me, but for my sister. If you read my hair story, I mentioned she was natural for a long time, had long, healthy hair. A few years ago she relaxed because I guess she was tired of our mom complaining about caring for her natural hair. I watched her hair go from nearly MBL to thin and scraggly NL. This past year, we both transitioned together and she even did a BC. Her hair is now touching SL, but the problem is her edges/temples. Our parents hate natural hair to be out and insist it stay braided and "tame-looking" I suppose. Braids are slowly pulling out my sister's edges. They are really thin, nearly bald and I know if this keeps up, they won't grow back. I know certain oil concoctions can help stimulate growth, but what are some "neat styles" she can still wear that will give her edges a rest?
Well after 1+ year of lurking (yes, that was me lurking in your blog), I've finally subscribed!
at all the extra boards I can see now! I posted my problem at the bottom, so you can skip my wordy hair story if you want.I stumbled upon LHCF around February of 2009 when I was wondering whether or not to go natural. It wasn't the first time I'd thought about it. I'd actually wanted to be natural for the majority of my life. I've been relaxed since about age five or six. My hair was always full SL, "long" by black people's standards, but it was never long enough for me. Especially not when my younger sister, who was allowed to remain natural, had hair that just kept growing longer. The only explanation I ever got was that my hair had always been "too thick to manage." (In case you're wondering, my hair is mostly 4a with some 3c, my sister is all 4b) As a kid, my mother refused to let me go natural and I was always told I "needed" a perm.
Back to 2009, I was in college (still am) and I realized, my mother wasn't around to make me get a perm.
After looking at the lovely natural heads here and RusticBeauty's channel on Youtube, I decided I was done with relaxers. I didn't relax from December 2008 until March 2010. Yes, I relaxed again, but it wasn't by choice.In March I was home for spring break and I had a job interview. I was all set to get braids with my usual braider, but they kept flaking out on me. So there I was, the day before my interview with my hair not done. I decided I would just flat iron. My mom flipped out and said that wasn't acceptable because the last time I flat ironed my hair it looked bad (it honestly didn't and we were in Jamaica at the time...I'll let you figure out how my hair responded to straightening). I was practically forced into being relaxed. Fortunately, the relaxer didn't really take...so now I am texlaxed. I don't know how long I'll remain texlaxed. I really hate the drama of relaxing. I don't like putting chemicals on my scalp and two weeks post, my hairline frizzes or I have new growth. I'm not going to be a slave to touchups for the rest of my life.
Since I'm starting a job on Monday, I "have to" relax again. (Did I mention I'm almost 21?) My mom has always relaxed my hair for me, but I might have to do it myself if she won't relax the new growth only. Since I've been home, I've been having bad breakage on my ends, so I'm actually really scared to relax.Oh, but whining aside, I could never have transitioned or kept so much natural hair as long as I did without you guys! With all that I've learned, I know my next transition will go a lot smoother. And, I'm at a new length now. I'm about 3 inches from BSL and that's after cutting the majority of my old relaxed hair off (I still have about 4 inches of relaxed hair, but it's healthy and the ends are good, so I let it be.) Thanks so much! (And sorry for the massive pictures.)
ADVICE NEEDED: The help I need actually isn't for me, but for my sister. If you read my hair story, I mentioned she was natural for a long time, had long, healthy hair. A few years ago she relaxed because I guess she was tired of our mom complaining about caring for her natural hair. I watched her hair go from nearly MBL to thin and scraggly NL.
This past year, we both transitioned together and she even did a BC. Her hair is now touching SL, but the problem is her edges/temples. Our parents hate natural hair to be out and insist it stay braided and "tame-looking" I suppose. Braids are slowly pulling out my sister's edges. They are really thin, nearly bald and I know if this keeps up, they won't grow back. I know certain oil concoctions can help stimulate growth, but what are some "neat styles" she can still wear that will give her edges a rest?
