Natural by force or by desire???

[Carolina18]

I love my natural hair, but the only thing stopping me from relaxing is reversion. My hair simply goes back to its pre-relaxer stage once I wash it, which makes relaxing pointless. Quite a few members on this board (usually 3b/c) seem to have the same issue as well, and find a rollerset and flatiron more effective at straightening their hair than relaxers. I'm still trying to decide though.

 

[Southernbella.]

I went natural by desire. I had healthy MBL relaxed hair when I decided, so it definitely wasn't because of any issues.

 

[Raspberry]

Right now my hair looks like Lil Henry's (Seal and Heidi's boy). I'm transitioning to natural and then back to texurized.

Finally! I've been wonderin all this time who the hayell little Henry is and why his hair matters so much

 

[jetbeauty09]

Hello Ladies. I am going in my 17 weeks post my last relaxerspinning: thats crazy for me to think about!WOW!) and I tell myself everyday that I am going natural because I have to get healthy hair. I know a lot of women go natural because they just want to but how many women went or are going natural almost by force because they strive to have healthier hair????

I have to say I was natural and transitioning back to natural by force. My hair has a habit of breaking off at SL and I'm pretty sure its due to the relaxer. Now that I have more knowledge about healthy hair, I'm sure I could have relaxed hair and take care of it but I don't wanna chance it. I think natural hair is beautiful and very versatile. I'm sticking with it this go 'round!

 

[carib_n_curly]

natural by desire.
never had a relaxer cause i never wanted one and i got make a choice
thanks mum

 

[kblc06]

I love my natural hair, but the only thing stopping me from relaxing is reversion. My hair simply goes back to its pre-relaxer stage once I wash it, which makes relaxing pointless. Quite a few members on this board (usually 3b/c) seem to have the same issue as well, and find a rollerset and flatiron more effective at straightening their hair than relaxers. I'm still trying to decide though.

This is definitely true for me. My hair was relaxed bone straight and wet-wrapping was sufficient until about 30 weeks post...it typically took all of 10 minutes. But my hair would always revert at any sign of moisture. I didn't relax more than 2x a year anyway so what's the point. If I can ever figure out how to wet-wrap my natural hair and have it come out straight, I will be set for life , but for now rollersetting and then wrapping suits me just fine. If I wrap my hair and sit under the dryer for an additional 10-15 minutes, you REALLY wouldn't know that I wasn't relaxed- no direct heat needed

 

[Briabiggles]

I'm transitioning by desire. I feel like I only relaxed my hair out of pure ignorance. I had chemicals put in my hair so long ago that I didn't remember what my natural hair was like. Now that I'm 7 months into this transition I can see that I'll be just fine without a relaxer. My curls are beautiful and they do not need to be oppressed!

 

[luckiestdestiny]

Originally by force now by choice. I had grave's disease and my hair became super brittle and shattered like glass. I ended up buzzing it off and deciding to grow it out w/o relaxer so that it would stand a better chance. Now that my system is balanced, I'm sure I could switch back to relaxer and I debated over it...but decided to remain natural. Pro: I like the versatility I have now. Con: Time
But I believe I'll find ways to manage the time thing and stay natural. It took me months to decide but I've decided to rock on naturally!

 

[Lynnerie]

Natural by desire. My relaxed hair was fine and I finally got it to a healthy state after finding this site.

But I always longed to know my real texture. Now that I have it...there's no going back to the lye.

 

[kryolnapps]

I stopped relaxing by force, but I stay natural by choice.

After trying to take care of my hair for more than a year and seeing an expensive stylist and buying all the products she recommended, my hair started shedding badly and I had a bald spot! I think she didn't rinse the relaxer properly, but I was also very stressed at that time. I started thinking about all the effort and money I had wasted on my hair and didn't want to go through that again. I was ready for a change! I was hard at first, I had to mentally transition for almost a year before letting to of the miserable relaxed ends, but now I loooooove my hair! I don't think I'll ever go back to relaxers.

 

[bluediamond0829]

I am natural by desire. I like the way my hair feels in the natural state. It is thicker and healthier.

I believe that relaxed hair can be still just as healthier but i really didnt know how to take care of my hair with it being relaxed and I believe my hair truly was more fragile with chemical relaxer on it. I believe it doesnt take much for my hair to get straight.

I love my texture when i wash my hair and how my hair curls up with just some water and gel and how it can easily straighten out with a blowdryer, oil and a flat iron.

 

[Junebug D]

Kind of both. I didn't know how to take care of my relaxed hair , couldn't afford (or find) a salon in college, and it was looking pretty bad. Going natural seemed to be the solution to all of my hair problems. but the relaxer itself never chewed up my hair or anything (besides those scalp burns!), I just didn't know how to care for it.

 

[Rei]

probably force. My hair was terrible relaxed. It's a lot better natural, but I'm still not really used to the look of it.

 

[lashannasmall]

I would have to say it is by force. If someone came out with a truly non damaging straightening system that was so easy that I could do it myself and not worry about mistakes, I would jump on it in a heartbeat. I am not a twists and braids type of gal and my hair is 4B and does not curl so a "wash and go" look is not an option. I was natural for close to 10 years and I wore braids and twists and I liked my hair but I never loved it. I always felt like a little girl with the braids and stuff. Due to my job, I sweat everyday so twistouts and straightening don't last to long. I am growing it back out and I have a weave until it gets long enough to put into a puff and I will rock that until I come up with some other ideas.

 

[Fleurzty]

I'm natural by desire. My relaxed hair was long, shiny and strong and getting better at the time I stopped relaxing. I found a new hairdresser that was so good to my hair and though my hair was not in bad condition when I met her, it definitely was a lot healthier in her care. I found myself wondering more and more about my natural hair though. The more I thought about it, the less satisfied I became with my relaxed hair until it just wasn't enough. And, the desire is still there and burning :heart2:. I guess I'm in love lol

 

[chebaby]

i went natural this past saturday and it was because i wanted to for so long but i was told everything from i didnt have a certain texture to if i do keep relaxing my hair would fall out. my hair was healthy when it was relaxed but i've always wanted to be natural so yaaaaayyyy me lol.
getting another relaxer isnt an option for me. they say never say never but i can promise you that i will never get another relaxer.

 

[Hairsofab]

Initially it was by force. My relaxed hair was so damaged it wouldn't even keep a curl. It was like straw. So I decided to keep my hair in braids and grow it out. After a couple of years, I'm scared to get a relaxer again and don't think I'll get one for a while now. I like my routine and I'm retaining my hair.

 

[that_1_grrrl]

Desire. Always wanted curly hair but didn't realize that was what God gave me.

 

[Nayna]

It was a mixture of both, relaxers never straightened my hair anyway, I always had a loose wave thing going, eventually my hair started shedding and nothing I did helped it. So I figured this thing isn't straightening my hair, I dread getting it done and on top of that my hair is shedding, it was a no brainer. Lol.

 

[bludaydreamr]

I would say both.

The force was more like desperation. I could not understand after 3 years, touch-ups every 2 months, why my hair was not any longer, and why my edges were thin. So I changed stylist; she told me on my first visit that she did not relax hair. I was never told that I did not have to relax my hair and after about 2 visits I saw a change in my hair. I decided then I was going to go natural. I knew nothing about natural hair; I didn't even know how to style my relaxed hair.

It has been my choice to stay natural. Once I found this site I had so much information to guide me, so many examples of hair types, styles, products, and techniques; I wasn't worried about how I was going to wear my hair. 4 months into my transition, the new stylist asked me "if I wanted to relax", and I told her No. My journey has been fairly simple/easy, the longer it gets, the more I love the look of it, so I just don't have a desire to relax my hair.

 

[Stormy]

Well I'm natural by desire because I basically wanted to wear some styles that I couldn't wear relaxed and I was tired of having limited options to combat limp looking hair. Plus I really wanted to see what my natural hair was really like since it had been so long, like 10th grade since I saw my natural hair (I'm 41 now).

But... I'm finding that although I thought my hair was pretty healthy when relaxed I was wrong! For example, I thought I just had fine hair, well I really don't. It was the relaxers making it fine. I didn't know my edges would fill in so much and in only a month's time my hair is just thriving and retaining growth so much better!

I thought I might texlax in the future if I can't deal with it, but after straigtening it for a special event, and seeing that I can get it relaxer straight I don't think I'm ever gonna try texlaxing! I loved how I was able to go right back to the natural kinky state in a snap! It's so versatile. And did I mention healthy? Guess it should have been by force.