Naturals who straighten 24/7 - WHY?

jamoca5

jamoca5

New Member
Recently, I had a conversation about hair with three of my friends: one relaxed, who's thinking of transitioning, and two naturals who always wear their hair straight. Now prior to that conversation, I had no idea that the two naturals were natural- I had just assumed that they were relaxed. So I asked them why don't they just come to school with their hair in its own texture. They both said that it would be too much work. I countered, asking "Well isn't it too much flat ironing your hair all the time?" One of my friends said that she didn't want to come to school "with a bush", and that she goes to the salon every two weeks. The other one said that sometimes she risks being late to school because she's straightening her hair. She went on to say that she would NEVER go out with her kinky hair.

At these comments, I really wanted to say that they might as well relax if they felt that way, but I didn't want to come off as condescending or as a know-it-all. But I'm curious. Why call yourself natural but then constantly run a flat iron through your hair? Don't get me wrong- I'm all for switching up styles every once in a while, but EVERYDAY? If you want to wear it straight all the time, why don't you just let a relaxer do the job?

please please PLEASE don't take this as me trying to insult any straight-haired naturals. I just want to understand the ideas behind it all.
 
I could be very wrong but I don't think that most of the straightened naturals on this forum straighten every day.
 
No naturals on here straighten everyday. I'm transistioning at the moment and when i flat iron it can last for 2 weeks.
 
I can't speak for them but I think straightening natural hair is a lot more healthier (or rather less damaging) than slapping on a chemical then proceeding to straighten it. If I was natural, I just wouldn't want to risk damaging my hair with a relaxer. That's just me though. I could be very wrong.
 
This is a question I often wondered as well. I know quite a few naturals who only straighten their hair and would NEVER go out with it in its natural state. My cousin even just went natural because I talked to her into it, but because she doesn't have a "curl" pattern, she refuses to go out with it without it straight...I also had another friend ask me questions about going natural. She thought it was healthier to straighten natural hair vs getting a relaxer. I believe people think its healthier to have natural hair...so they figure "I will go natural and just keep straightening my hair ". They feel it is safer than a relaxer, which in actuality it probably isnt. Straightening hair all the time with 450 degree heat vs getting a relaxer--relaxer is probably safer. Don't quote me on this, I'm not a stylist or anything (not like stylist actually know lol). Natural hair is fragile but alot of people don't know that. This is just my interpretation based on the women I know that only straighten.

btw, I used to be one of those people who never wore it in its natural state, but that was in the beginning when I was just dealing with a new look and alot of backlash from family. After I embraced it and learned to do it..I do it all. I have nothing against naturals who only wear their hair straight. I notice that alot of ladies that practice this method retain more length.
 
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One of my friends is natural and wears her hair straight all the time. She says that she likes the way that straight hair looks, but her hair can't handle relaxers.
 
No everyone goes natural to showcase their waves, curls, kinks, napps, and whatnot. Some folks stop relaxing for the health of their scalp, because they want to stop using harsh chemicals, etc.

People have different reasons.
 
Yeah, some people do it for scalp/allergy reasons. They actually do prefer straight hair but can't handle the chemicals.
 
lexiwiththecurls said:
This is a question I often wondered as well. I know quite a few naturals who only straighten their hair and would NEVER go out with it in its natural state. My cousin even just went natural because I talked to her into it, but because she doesn't have a "curl" pattern, she refuses to go out with it without it straight...I also had another friend ask me questions about going natural. She thought it was healthier to straighten natural hair vs getting a relaxer. I believe people think its healthier to have natural hair...so they figure "I will go natural and just keep straightening my hair ". They feel it is safer than a relaxer, which in actuality it probably isnt. Straightening hair all the time with 450 degree heat vs getting a relaxer--relaxer is probably safer. Don't quote me on this, I'm not a stylist or anything (not like stylist actually know lol). Natural hair is fragile but alot of people don't know that. This is just my interpretation based on the women I know that only straighten.

btw, I used to be one of those people who never wore it in its natural state, but that was in the beginning when I was just dealing with a new look and alot of backlash from family. After I embraced it and learned to do it..I do it all. I have nothing against naturals who only wear their hair straight. I notice that alot of ladies that practice this method retain more length.
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Bingo. A lot of people just don't know how to take care of relaxed hair either. They'll be relaxed and still trying to flat iron on 450 degrees every week and wonder why their hair falls out. :nono:
 
My sister is natural and wears her hair straight most of the time with the occasional wash and go or curly pony. I'm transitioning now and honestly believe I will wear my hair straight often. My reason for going natural was simply because I moved away from my hair stylist of 6 years and let a new person do it and they messed up big time ( 4 inch difference on one side of my head) then I moved to Germany with not many black ppl so I hey why not.... Sorry so long.
 
Some people may be allergic to relaxers, they may be trying to avoid potential scalp burns, they may just prefer straight hair without the chemicals. They may not like to wear natural styles. When it comes to hair its all about a person's preference.
 
Thanks for the input, you all. I'm still not 100% clear on the matter, but like you guys said: it's a style preference, and it all depends on the person.
 
I know people that have natural hair and never do wash and go's. Most of these have never used a relaxer. Some people don't prefer the wash and go look. I don't know why, they just don't. I have friends with natural hair that are always in braids and I haven't seen their real hair in years.

Most of us here love and accept our curly side (or "bush" as your friend said LOL) but some people just prefer the straightened look on natural hair, which is so pretty so I don't blame them.
 
I'll tell you what, I've seen more naturals who straighten with healthier, very long hair (despite the frequent use of heat) than relaxed heads with super long hair. So, though heat is used, compared to chemicals that permanently alter the state of the hair strand, I think heat is actually less damaging when used properly. I think not wanting to wear the hair in it's natural textured state is just a matter of preference for style or look, rather than people not "embracing their natural hair in it's natural state." Just my opinion.

When I'm natural (when I was before I never straightened it), I will likely straighten only for very special occasions and wear it textured the majority of the time. I like the straight look, but I chose to transition for the overall health of my hair, scalp, and body (I'm getting away from using so many chemical-laden products all around). Plus, I've always adored natural hair and all that it embodies.
 
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Now that I'm natural, I can't for the life of me figure out why other naturals are so concerned with why other naturals choose to wear their hair one way vs. the other. It's a choice.

I know plenty of women IR who are natural and straighten ALL the time and they have very healthy long (BSL or longer) hair. At that same time I know several who always rock it in their natural texture. Honestly a few of my friends who always rock their texture tend to do so for fear of heat damage. Like they want to straighten every now and then but are afraid they will have no reversion.

Personally I didn't choose to grow my relaxer out for anyone but myself. It's an added benefit that my hubby finds it sexy both curly and straight, but I could personally care less why someone chooses to straighten all the time or wear it textured all the time... do you.
 
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Oh to answer your question (although I don't wear my hair straight all the time), people who are natural and heat straighten all the time do so because they can and because they want to.... that's it; no other reason. :look:
 
spacetygrss said:
One of my friends is natural and wears her hair straight all the time. She says that she likes the way that straight hair looks, but her hair can't handle relaxers.
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Oasis said:
No everyone goes natural to showcase their waves, curls, kinks, napps, and whatnot. Some folks stop relaxing for the health of their scalp, because they want to stop using harsh chemicals, etc.

People have different reasons.
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these and similar reasons are the only reasons that i think matter as far as understanding why people make certain choices with their hair. just because i don't want to chemically straighten my hair doesn't mean that i don't want to wear my hair straight; there's more than one way to skin a cat. and even if a natural doesn't want to wear her hair straight all the time (or even at all) doesn't mean they want to wear a "bush" lol either. it's preference.
 
lexiwiththecurls said:
This is a question I often wondered as well. I know quite a few naturals who only straighten their hair and would NEVER go out with it in its natural state. My cousin even just went natural because I talked to her into it, but because she doesn't have a "curl" pattern, she refuses to go out with it without it straight...I also had another friend ask me questions about going natural. She thought it was healthier to straighten natural hair vs getting a relaxer. I believe people think its healthier to have natural hair...so they figure "I will go natural and just keep straightening my hair ". They feel it is safer than a relaxer, which in actuality it probably isnt. Straightening hair all the time with 450 degree heat vs getting a relaxer--relaxer is probably safer. Don't quote me on this, I'm not a stylist or anything (not like stylist actually know lol). Natural hair is fragile but alot of people don't know that. This is just my interpretation based on the women I know that only straighten.
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Very true. With a relaxer it takes less heat to straighten and less time. If straightness 24/7 is the goal, I think that a relaxer is the way to go.
 
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I'm transitioning and straighten my hair once a week. I DON'T want to relax because it breaks off my fine thin hair badly. I tried natural styles and no heat last month and my hair began breaking off near the root because of manipulation.To each his own.My hair is healthier with reasonable heat.
 
shan_2001 said:
Bingo. A lot of people just don't know how to take care of relaxed hair either. They'll be relaxed and still trying to flat iron on 450 degrees every week and wonder why their hair falls out. :nono:
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I straighten my hair once a week. It hasn't fallen out yet. I know there are other relaxed people on here that straighten once a week and they still have nice healthy hair.
 
chelleypie810 said:
I straighten my hair once a week. It hasn't fallen out yet. I know there are other relaxed people on here that straighten once a week and they still have nice healthy hair.
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I'm sure you're taking other protective steps though. :yep: The average woman isn't using heat protectants or deep conditioning regularly and maintaining protein levels. And they're blow-drying and THEN flat-ironing on top of it. :look: That kind of abuse is really common. I'm sure somebody's hair can withstand all of that, but I don't think that's gonna be true at large.
 
Some may like the flat iron natural look verse a relaxer look.. because with a relaxer if you want that flat iron swang (or what ever, i hope u get what im talking about) you would have to flat iron. Like when i wash and dry my relax hair ... it sure doesn't come looking like it just been flat ironed :perplexed
 
shan_2001 said:
I'm sure you're taking other protective steps though. :yep: The average woman isn't using heat protectants or deep conditioning regularly and maintaining protein levels. And they're blow-drying and THEN flat-ironing on top of it. :look: That kind of abuse is really common. I'm sure somebody's hair can withstand all of that, but I don't think that's gonna be true at large.
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ooohhh I see. She probably meant people that don't use any type of protectants. Understandable.
 
20Something said:
Some may like the flat iron natural look verse a relaxer look.. because with a relaxer if you want that flat iron swang (or what ever, i hope u get what im talking about) you would have to flat iron. Like when i wash and dry my relax hair ... it sure doesn't come looking like it just been flat ironed :perplexed
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Exactly. I understand that you can rollerset, but even with a relaxer, to get that bone straight look you would still have to flat iron. Why double the damage?

I would rather skip the hassle of getting and paying for relaxers every few weeks. I choose to just flat iron my hair every two weeks instead. I also choose not to relax because my straightened natural hair looks a lot thicker and healthier than it would if I relaxed.

ETA: Also with a relaxer there are just too many things that could go wrong. There's the risk of overprocessing, underprocessing, burns etc. Its too much for me, I would rather just take an hour of my time to flat iron every two weeks.
 
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Well what about white or hispanic women who flatiron their naturally curly hair constantly instead of undergoing permanent straightening (a la the japanese straightening method)? I think the reasons behind the decision are the same for everyone - wanting versatility, not wanting to depend on chemicals, not being able to afford the upkeep, etc.etc.

It's a choice that everyone other woman gets to make about their hair without being given the side eye, so why not us too??? :perplexed

(not natural btw, just had to speak on this :grin:)
 
There are quite a few facets to this:

If you have hair like mine, thick, coarse, resilient strands, and naturally oily skin that coats the strands and keeps them moisturized, as a natural, you can retain length nicely (BSL wasn't unusual for me) by pressing with every wash for years, with almost no effort. I didn't DC, I didnt moisturize between washes I just pressed my roots flat ironed my hair, pin-curled and tied with a satin scarf at night and I retained length and thickness easily. My relaxed hair was much more delicate and high maintenance then that. For alot of ladies, attaining thick long natural hair is much simpler and easy then maintaining thick long relaxed hair.

Initially I thought I was gonna go natural because I simply wanted to restore the strength of my strands that diminished when I relaxed. I figured if I stop relaxing and go natural, my hair will be at its full strength and I'll have long thick hair like I did when I was a little girl again....... I was right.

At first all I was interested in doing was wash press and go. At a certain point I began to ask myself why it was that I always felt I had to press my hair, I knew I loved my coils why didn't I go out and rock them? I knew I had a bit of a mental transition to make and I made that mental transition and began to wear a myriad of natural styles with pride.

Some ladies never went natural to rock their own texture but rather to no longer expose themselves to harsh chemicals and no longer compromise the natural strength of their strands........... some ladies are like me, they went natural to embrace their own texture but it was a journey to get there and that journey and mental transition involved alota pressing lol.

I still enjoy my press n curls and do them often, but I also love to do my textured styles as well:yep:
 
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