Natural vs Relaxed Hair-How much stronger?

[BlackMasterPiece]

Thank-you!!! Your hair is beautiful as well and quite long.

Yes I will be moisturizing my hair more often. I appreciate your reponse.

:blush3:You're welcome, and thanks!

I just wanted to say I love you,your hair,and blog. I was wondering do you have a youtube page not to sound stalkerish...

Sent from my MB200 using Long Hair Care Forum App

Thanksomuch applecidder no you don't sound stalkerish whatsoever lol, I love your channel! I plan to start one soon, school is slowing down alot of my updates but its definitely high on the priority list.

 

[aa9746]

I'll reply based on my hair. My natural hair is stronger than when it was relaxed.

 

[jahzyira]

Through the power of 3 (SAA'S, Panthenol, Ceramides) AND a consistent regimen, I've been able to make my relaxed hair just as strong as my natural hair.

 

[brucebettye]

From my OWN personal experience my hair is stronger in its natural state. My hair hates perms and just falls out when I put chemicals in my hair and my hair never grows past shoulder length. My hair is now between sl and apl and the only problem I have now is that I always cut my hair when it gets to apl.

 

[silenttullip]

I'm surprised so many people said natural...
My hair relaxed was A LOT stronger or at least it seemed that way
I knew nothing about protein and moisture and my hair stayed on point
With natural hair I have to make SURE I have enough protein so it
won't just slowly tear or break...

 

[sweetgal]

I'm surprised so many people said natural...
My hair relaxed was A LOT stronger or at least it seemed that way
I knew nothing about protein and moisture and my hair stayed on point
With natural hair I have to make SURE I have enough protein so it
won't just slowly tear or break...

This is very interesting. Many naturals state that they dont have to be as consistent with protien treatments because their natural hair seems quite sensative to it. How long have you been natural?

 

[Mandy4610]

I can't even begin to compare by natural hair to my relaxed hair. In terms of strength, the two cannot even be mentioned in the same sentence. Yes...its that different. My natural hair is definitely stronger.

 

[Imani]

I have fine porous 4b strands. My natural hair is much stronger. It never feels weak and I never have to do any type of intense protein treatments. It retains moisture better and has more of a natural shine to it. When I was relaxed I would have to get clear or color rinses to make it shiny.

My last flat iron

 

[allmundjoi]

Imani, your hair looks gorgeous!

Sent from my DROIDX using DROIDX

 

[Ese88]

I have found that the thickness of the individual strand of my hair is the same both natural and relaxed but since going natural it gives the appearance that it is thicker because it is coily and stands up instead of laying down. When i stopped relaxing i didn't gain additional hairs that gave me more density. My strands didn't instantly start to plum up either they are the same strands of hair that are just coily instead of straight.
I haven't noticed a difference in strength yet. I have very fine hair even in its natural state so i use some type of protein every week

 

[NikStarrr]

Definitely natural.

 

[sweetgal]

I can't even begin to compare by natural hair to my relaxed hair. In terms of strength, the two cannot even be mentioned in the same sentence. Yes...its that different. My natural hair is definitely stronger.

I think this is going to be the case for me too! This is part of the reason why I'm transitioning. My hair just seem to break alot and lacks strength regardless of how much moisture and protien I put in.

I was natural about 12 years ago when it was not very popular. I was not very good at taking care of my natural hair because I lacked the knowledge and information that is currently available now. However, despite adequetly taking care of my hair, it seemed to retain lenght much better than my texlaxed/relax hair does. My hair just seemed quite a bit stronger than it was when I was texlaxed/relaxed.

 

[aquajoyice]

If we are comparing a healthy head of natural hair to a healthy head of relaxed I would say natural. Becuase the bonds are intact which gives it more elasticity.

 

[godsflowerrr]

I voted natural hair all the way! You can have healthy relaxed hair because I did and many ladies here but overall I believe natural hair is stronger.

 

[AlliCat]

Relaxed hair is by definition breaking down the bonds in the hair so by definition of course it's going to be weaker than hair that has not had that chemical process...relaxed hair is weaker theoretically no doubt about that...

 

[BostonMaria]

My natural hair is stronger than my relaxed hair. After the BC it took me a few months to get used to touching my hair without that "who's hair is this?" kinda feeling LOL



Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[mischka]

to be honest, i think my hair is probably just as fragile as it was before. the only difference is that i dont flat iron all the time anymore. so that extra damage is not there but i dont think apart from that my hair is really any stronger...

 

[CityGirl]

I think the debate of the strength of natural vs. relaxed is a tricky one. I have relaxed hair, but because of this site I have learned and adopted some very healthy hair practices. Which has resulted in very healthy hair for me. While the trend is now swinging toward going natural--and I applaud and respect those who can, I don't think that I personally would be able to pull that off simply because my natural hair would require a heat source like a flat iron to get it at least so I could comb through it and far more manipulation than it requires now as relaxed hair. My hair texture is what it is and that is what I think dictates how you can judge natural versus relaxed on some levels. I remember the days of natural hair BEFORE I was relaxed many, many years ago and it was tough. Granted flat irons and the like have come a long way, but...
I think that relaxed or natural once you find what works for you, stick with that and most of all LISTEN TO YOUR HAIR. I can tell you that if I had natural hair I would NEVER be able to condition wash the way I can with relaxed hair. This practice alone has contributed to a healthy scalp for me. A healthy scalp equals healthy hair. I have also learned to sleep with my hair covered, and I have certainly discovered the joys of coconut oil which has proven to be extremely moisturizing and rich. This along with a healthy diet and exercise have given me healthy hair, and I am a woman of a certain age--over 40. Well over 40.
My hair is now BSL and I can tell you that never in my life--even as a natural haired person in my teen years--did I ever have hair this long.
So I've said all of this to say, that the strength of your hair--and this is only my opinion--will come from how well you take care of it. Whether you are relaxed or natural is of no consequence. This is my opinion if I may say so.

 

[sweetgal]

Wow 83% of people in this poll believed that their natural hair was stronger based mostly on their own experience.

 

[sweetgal]

I think the debate of the strength of natural vs. relaxed is a tricky one. I have relaxed hair, but because of this site I have learned and adopted some very healthy hair practices. Which has resulted in very healthy hair for me. While the trend is now swinging toward going natural--and I applaud and respect those who can, I don't think that I personally would be able to pull that off simply because my natural hair would require a heat source like a flat iron to get it at least so I could comb through it and far more manipulation than it requires now as relaxed hair. My hair texture is what it is and that is what I think dictates how you can judge natural versus relaxed on some levels. I remember the days of natural hair BEFORE I was relaxed many, many years ago and it was tough. Granted flat irons and the like have come a long way, but...
I think that relaxed or natural once you find what works for you, stick with that and most of all LISTEN TO YOUR HAIR. I can tell you that if I had natural hair I would NEVER be able to condition wash the way I can with relaxed hair. This practice alone has contributed to a healthy scalp for me. A healthy scalp equals healthy hair. I have also learned to sleep with my hair covered, and I have certainly discovered the joys of coconut oil which has proven to be extremely moisturizing and rich. This along with a healthy diet and exercise have given me healthy hair, and I am a woman of a certain age--over 40. Well over 40.
My hair is now BSL and I can tell you that never in my life--even as a natural haired person in my teen years--did I ever have hair this long.
So I've said all of this to say, that the strength of your hair--and this is only my opinion--will come from how well you take care of it. Whether you are relaxed or natural is of no consequence. This is my opinion if I may say so.

Yes I agree the way you take care of your hair has a major impact on the overall health of you hair. I was natural many years ago and never really took great care of my hair

 

[prettypithy]

My natural hair is infinitely stronger than my relaxed hair. Even before my hair was over processed, it was uneven, dry and prone to breakage--even though it was APL. I used to leave about 30 short hairs in the sink every time I brushed it. Now, I may see 5-10 broken hairs in a whole week, maybe another 5-10 on wash day.

It is hard to judge them head to head though because I also wasn't properly caring for my relaxed hair. No deep conditioning, no protein treatments, surely no moisturizing and sealing. While my natural hair is stronger it is also a whole lot healthier so there is little to no comparison.