Natural Ladies...What are the benefits of being natural?

[Cinnabuns]

I would have to say that for me going natural was more of like a way of life, I wanted to be more natural and this was my first step (I have many more to go ).

I was tried of being a slave to the perm (meaning doing what I had to do to keep it alive).

I have saved tremendous amounts of money on hair supplies (I use only shampoo and grease now).

I can workout / sweat without a problem.

I can wash and go, no muss no fuss

Added bonus *** my skin as also gotten 10 times clearer since getting off of the creamy white crack.

 

[mahoganee]

The benefits for me having natural hair are healthier hair, no burning or scalp sores from relaxers and being able to finally dye my hair without worrying about whether or not I'll have hair on my head when I wake up the next morning. Relaxers and color does not mix for my hair. Oh, and I looove how soft my hair is.

 

[mahoganee]

Please stick it out! You won't regret it!

Just wanted to that your hair is gorgeous girl!

 

[babyblue]

~my hair is the healthiest, strongest and longest its ever been
~no need to depend on a stylist
~no scalp burns and irritation from relaxers and hot combs
~no need to run away when rain or moisture hits
~not exposing myself to dangerous chemicals
~having the freedom to wear my hair naturally the way it grows out of my head the way god had intended

 

[sugaplum]

I would have to say that for me going natural was more of like a way of life, I wanted to be more natural and this was my first step (I have many more to go ).

I was tried of being a slave to the perm (meaning doing what I had to do to keep it alive).

I have saved tremendous amounts of money on hair supplies (I use only shampoo and grease now).

I can workout / sweat without a problem.

I can wash and go, no muss no fuss

Added bonus *** my skin as also gotten 10 times clearer since getting off of the creamy white crack.

This is sooo true. I espcially agree with the highlighted quote.

I also wanted to add that my hair has grown faster since becoming relaxer free!!

 

[Shatani]

Okay,
looking forward to everything the ladies have said except the no umbrella comment. Brown sugar melts in the water.....

that was cute!

 

[Melaninme]

Just wanted to that your hair is gorgeous girl!

Thank you!

 

[Tru_Mind]

Honey, there is no comparison! Being natural is the best thing I've ever done for my hair and myself. No longer do I need to concern myself with new growth, touch-ups, scalp burns and hiding from the rain. I can wash my hair whenever I want to and have clean, fresh beautiful hair every day. In other words, every day is a good hair day now. My hair is 1,000 times stronger than it was when relaxed. Breakage has been virtually eliminated. Natural hair is also very versatile. For me, it is the best of all worlds. Can you tell I absolutely love my natural hair???

Every thing that Balisi said...except for the breakage...but that's just my scalp problem that I'm having in my crown area only. Once I get over it than I can say everything that Balisi said. My crown is still sore from the use of chemicals.

Being natural is being free.

-tru

 

[Victorian]

My hair is a lot stronger now. It's easier to keep it well conditioned when I don't have to worry about counteracting any potential damage done by the relaxer.

 

[Tru_Mind]

I've just finished reading the whole thread, and I agree with all of you ladies. Everything is better being natural.

-tru

 

[Sascha]

What a great question this is! I haven't read the thread do forgive me if I say everything that was already stated. I don't even really remember being natural as a child. The earliest I remember was getting press and curls and then having a perm. I went natural kinda on accident. I had wanted to go natural, found a new stylist who looked at me like I was an idiot and talked me out of it. Then I moved and didn't have a stylist. I applied my own relaxers every once and a while and then just got lazy. As my hair started growing out i was facinated by my texture and decieded not to relax again. I found this board and napptuality about a year into my transition, I transitioned for about 2 years.

The benifits of being natural to me are:

1) I am now more comfortable with myself as a whole. I never relised how much of my time that was being lost in fighting my hair and trying to look presentable.

2) My hair is sooooo much healthier. Before when I was relaxing I would always have tons of little pieces of hair all over the bathroom to clean up after doing my hair. Now I only have shedded hair that ends up tangled in my comb and thats because i leave my style in for a long while.

3) I am able to do my hair once a week or once every two weeks and most times it looks better every day.

4) I can put my hair in twists (my main style) leave them in for 2-3 weeks and still rinse my hair every other day if i want.

5) My hair is longer than it ever was as a relaxed head.

 

[eboniwoman]

The benefits for me:

*I don't have to do touch ups

*I don't have to spend money on corrective products

*I don't have to use heat...when having a relaxer I used to flat iron my hair too...so what was the point of me relaxing in the first place?

*I don't have to run from the rain (water is the best thing for your hair...so why run from your hairs bestfriend?)

*I have so much versatility...one day I can rock the biggest 4A,3C fro ever the next I could wear it ceramic iron straight

*My hair respondes to conditioner like never before

*My hair is much healthier

*No scalp burns and irritations

*No spontaneous feelings of "is my hair gonna break off even though I am applying this relaxer right"

*NO MORE FLAKES...dandruff is totally gone!

 

[locabouthair]

i wish iwould have went natural years ago. my benefits are:
im not scared if my hair gets wet
im saving a lot of money
my hair looks thicker

 

[NGC]

What a great question this is! I haven't read the thread do forgive me if I say everything that was already stated. I don't even really remember being natural as a child. The earliest I remember was getting press and curls and then having a perm. I went natural kinda on accident. I had wanted to go natural, found a new stylist who looked at me like I was an idiot and talked me out of it. Then I moved and didn't have a stylist. I applied my own relaxers every once and a while and then just got lazy. As my hair started growing out i was facinated by my texture and decieded not to relax again. I found this board and napptuality about a year into my transition, I transitioned for about 2 years.

The benifits of being natural to me are:

1) I am now more comfortable with myself as a whole. I never relised how much of my time that was being lost in fighting my hair and trying to look presentable.

2) My hair is sooooo much healthier. Before when I was relaxing I would always have tons of little pieces of hair all over the bathroom to clean up after doing my hair. Now I only have shedded hair that ends up tangled in my comb and thats because i leave my style in for a long while.

3) I am able to do my hair once a week or once every two weeks and most times it looks better every day.

4) I can put my hair in twists (my main style) leave them in for 2-3 weeks and still rinse my hair every other day if i want.

5) My hair is longer than it ever was as a relaxed head.

Ditto to this except I wear my hair in a braided ponytail 100% of the time.

 

[Brownie]

--Texture. I love my curls

--I love walking in the rain without an umbrella.

--I get compliments all the time from women of color, who are admiring my waves when I pull my hair back.

--less hair drama. I can comb my hair out in no time. It's not an all day thing to detangle my hair.

---one texture

--no touch ups/no long hours at the salon

--I don't have to pay a hair dresser to literally mess up my hair and destroy my curls.

--Thicker, healthier hair

--When I take vitamins now, not only are they improving my hair, but my hair is going to stay in that improved state; meaning after spending all that money on vitamins, I'm not going to destroy all the hard work I've put into making my hair healthier.

--I have a greater appreciation for natural hair. I can see the beauty in it now. I see other naturals who have fros, or twists, or puffs, and I think to myself how beautiful they look.

--I love wearing my natual hair, to disprove the notion that chemicals are needed to tame our kind of hair.

 

[asummertyme]

for me its just a new journey..nothing spirtual attached at all..i grew my relaxed hair with the help of LHCF for the first time ever in my life i had "long" hair..and now for the 1st time in like 16 yrs..im gonna get to grow my natural hair..and i cant wait...

 

[Sridevi]

I don't dread new growth like I did when I was relaxed.

Instead of watching my once-thick hair grow progressively thinner, I am now watching it get thicker and previously thinning areas return to normal growth.

I feel liberated. No more scalp burns or chemicals and wasted time and money fighting my natural hair texture.

Versatility. I get to wear my natural texture and when I want straight hair I can use a ceramic flat iron although I rarely do.

I feel special because the majority of black women relax their hair so those of us who don't relax stand out more.

I now see the beauty of natural black hair. I'm just not impressed by stick straight hair when I see it anymore. Relaxed hair just seems so ordinary to me and knowing the chemical abuse it takes to achieve the look makes it seem not so impressive. By contrast, I find myself ooh-ing and aahh-ing over other natural heads. I wish we could reach a point where relaxed hair was rare instead of the other way around.

 

[Stormy]

The benefits of stronger hair is really encouraging. As a relaxed person I don't have those other problems of running from the rain, and all that, but I do believe that my hair would be thicker without the relaxers.

Thanks for this thread because it will help me when I try transitioning again.

 

[jodydreams]

wow! i must say you ladies have convinced me. i haven't had a relaxer since January '05 and after reading all of the benefits....I am going NATURAL!!!!!! It feels good saying that..My mom always used to tell me that I never really had good hair from "mornin" with a perm (from the get-go) Maybe that was my hair telliin me somethin....I also like the fact that I will be able to go swimming without worrying about my relaxer and damage....and no one think that my hair is a weave.

my boyfriend is also very exited. he loves curly hair! i always knew that but i just got wet and wavy hair all the time... well no need to spend money on weaves anymore!

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

Man, everything everybody else said. I had to wait to go walking today because it was raining too hard. Then when I left about 4, it started sprinkling again. But not really hard. So you know what I did - stayed out there. Then the rain stopped and the humidity was off the charts. I touched my hair and it was sooooooo soft and felt so moisturized but it wasn't wet. Aaaaaah. I came back in the house and did my weights and got in the shower without a shower cap and got my ponytail puff wet at the back but it was all good.

The life is with the natural!! My husband makes these comments like "you're going to mess up your hair" with this cheesy grin. He LOVES natural hair. And I walk around the house with a ponytail puff or a HUGE afro and he doesn't say a word. I get his input on styles all the time - I just haven't had the time to really put them together to wear out.

 

[jainygirl]

I look prettier for one thing -- my natural hair just complements my features completely. I finally am creative with hairstyles. I style my hair all the time now. Before I chopped all I wore was a bun or if I wanted to be daring a ponytail. I stand out -- well not so much in Atlanta because naturals are ERRRWHERE in this city, but I still look unique I think . I'm just a big ole shallow sounding natural . But also my hair has never been healthier. I would say since I was a kid but mama was pressing it all the time before I ever got my first perm so i'll say this is the healthiest it's been since I was a wee baby. Good luck with your hair !!! -- jainygirl

 

[hottopic]

~my hair is the healthiest, strongest and longest its ever been
~no need to depend on a stylist
~no scalp burns and irritation from relaxers and hot combs
~no need to run away when rain or moisture hits
~not exposing myself to dangerous chemicals
~having the freedom to wear my hair naturally the way it grows out of my head the way god had intended

BABYBLUE...I LOVE YOU ALBUM. WE HAVE THE SAME HAIR TYPE, YET I DON'T THINK MY HAIR WILL EVER LOOK LIKE YOURS...THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR ALBUM.

 

[Sridevi]

I look prettier for one thing -- my natural hair just complements my features completely. I finally am creative with hairstyles. I style my hair all the time now. Before I chopped all I wore was a bun or if I wanted to be daring a ponytail. I stand out -- well not so much in Atlanta because naturals are ERRRWHERE in this city, but I still look unique I think . I'm just a big ole shallow sounding natural . But also my hair has never been healthier. I would say since I was a kid but mama was pressing it all the time before I ever got my first perm so i'll say this is the healthiest it's been since I was a wee baby. Good luck with your hair !!! -- jainygirl

I have to agree with you Jainy- you do look pretty with the natural. I love the pic of you with the twists in your signature. There's nothing wrong with tooting your own horn--at least when it's true

 

[Chicoro]

I travel alot and sometimes for extended periods of time. With natural hair, I can always find some olive or castor oil , some cheap conditioner and some hair gel whether I am in Asia, Europe or Latin America. Hair pulled back is elegant in any country. Natural hair allows me to be autonomous. I am not dependent on a stylist and I know that where ever I am in this world, my hair can always look fresh, neat and professional or fun and funky at my will.

 

[sugaplum]

Bumping

I'm also noticing faster hair growth since I've become natural. Any of you ladies otice this too?

 

[Divastate]

Bumping

I'm also noticing faster hair growth since I've become natural. Any of you ladies otice this too?

My hair grew out ridiculously fast once I big chopped. I wasnt taking supplements or anything just sprouted hair like crazy.

My greatest benefit since becomming natural is probrably that I am no longer fighting my hair. When I was relaxed my hair was never thick enough, straight enough, swinging enough, doing anything that I wanted to do so I would try to beat it into submission with heat. Now my natural hair just is what it is and I love it more with each passing year whille spending a lot less effort and time.

 

[Country gal]

Being natural does show off my features better. I love my Thelma from the good times look I sport with my head band and afro puff.


It feels good being hit on my men because they are seeing the natural me. I don't have to worry about being relaxed and having my man trip because I want to be natural.

I see relaxed heads looking at me and telling me they love my hair. It gives me an opportunity to teach them that natural hair is very freeing.

Washing my hair all the time. Natural hair loves water so no fear of rain. I love going in the pool and not worrying about messing up my hair.

 

[*Happily Me*]

i'm not 100% natural yet - been transitioning since Feb - but i'm really looking forword to learning how to work with my new natural hair someday. I hope to have long thick beautfully natural hair. yes... that would make me very happy indeed

 

[mscounselor]

Funny enough I said I didn't like the rain and my hair, but yesterday it rained so bad people wanted to call Noah. My skirt and shoes were wet, but my braids were just fine. It was one day I didnt have to worry about humidity.
I also drive down the highway with the windows open. (don't have to worry about the style).
Imagine what it will be like COMPLETELY natural.

 

[Country gal]

i'm not 100% natural yet - been transitioning since Feb - but i'm really looking forword to learning how to work with my new natural hair someday. I hope to have long thick beautfully natural hair. yes... that would make me very happy indeed

You will sweetie. There is proof all over the board.