OH MY GOD, I RELAXED MY NATURAL HAIR!!!

[Nanyanika]

NOT!!!! Sorry how childish
I've been natural all my life, I'm considering relaxing or texturizing my hair, I'm uncertain whether I could accept the permanent change. Many have advised me not to relax, however, seeing so many healthy relaxed heads here at LHCF, is awfully tempting. I would like a change, What would do if you were in my shoes?

 

[keiron]

KEIRON here den and DONT DO THE DAMN THING i never so u must not....them relaxers gone eat out ur head peice and u dont wanna look like brandy do ya? heheh


stay natural no need for that in ur hair... no offence relaxers but den has nice hair like me...hehehe

 

[LondonDiva]

Oh [** potty mouth **]. Don't do that

Den I'm not surprised at the temptation, it is awfully hard. I don't know what to say/advise as you've never been relaxed so you don't know how you'll like the change.

I'd say firstly tell us all the things you LOVE/DISLIKE about your hair right now and also what you'd miss if you were to relax it. I think that may be a good start.

 

[sassygirl125]

That was mean!

I almost broke a nail clicking on the thread thinking you had some photos.

I am in your shoes--I'm thinking of a texturizer, too. But I am incredibly afraid of chemical damage. One mistake and all of my hard work could go swirling down the drain...

 

[keiron]

wooooo jada looks fine in that pic on the left.

 

[Nanyanika]

Keiron, I'm so bored of being natural, I would like to wear my hair straight when I reach my hair goal, I hate the pressing comb, the style reverts too quickly. I don't know what to do, lets face it, i'm confused.

 

[divanrare4m]

Den! I already had my questions in mind before I even brought up the page! I didn't read the wording, just saw the title of the post. Before you do anything think of the difference in taking care of relaxed hair and natural. Whether you wan to keep up with realaxing or not. What ever you decide it up to you, of course. You are such a jokester!

 

[LondonDiva]

Whatever you decide you know we'll respect your decision.

 

[Nanyanika]

LOL !!! I really got you guys fooled

 

[Cami]

I don't think that it's anything wrong with being relaxed-HOWEVER, once the chemical is applied, there is no going back. With saying that, I appreciate the relaxers very much because the hair is sooo much more managable and there are a lot of styles that can be worn. It just all depends on what type of look you want to have/portray. I like a smooth sleek look when I wear my hair down.

How often do you press your hair? Depending on how often you use the hotcomb, you may be better off getting a perm and wrap or rollerset the hair to achieve a finished look. Just remember that with having a chemical, there's a lot more TLC that comes with the territory, but overall, I think it would be worth it. How long have you been natural?

 

[Nanyanika]

Most of my life, I've worn braids and twists. I suppose I'd miss wearing my hair in those styles. I'm worried that If I choose to relax I may regret it, then I'd have cut my hair, I would die If I had to make that decision.

 

[Milkchoc]

Den, I recently found myself with the same dilema. I decided to go ahead with the relaxer because I have had them before, and I know that as long as ALL my relaxers are done by a professional, my hair will grow. I found that with the heat and reversion, and dealing with my hair in it's natural state, caused as much or more shedding than a once ever six-eight weeks relaxing. Just make sure you find a hairdresser that KNOWS what she is doing! I made the mistake of not doing that and got some damage, but with the help of this board, and my own experience working with permed hair, I didn't do much damage. But I will say, I got up out of her chair (the hairdresser) right after she dried my hair and was about to flat iron. My hair was much too crispy and dry, and I thought her iron was much to hot to put on permed hair. Yes, I got up with my hair all over my head, drew it up in a ponytail, paid her HALF what I pay her mom, and headed home for a conditioner. I'm just glad I at least had the sense to do that. Now that I think back, it's kinda funny.

 

[Nanyanika]

Cami, the last time I had my hair pressed was at age 14, I been natural all my life, so I'm not sure what to expect when wearing relaxed hair.

 

[Supergirl]

GIRL! I too was excited when I saw your thread. I just knew I was gonna open it up and click your pictures and see long silky hair to your hiny!

Keiron, don't tell her that a relaxer will eat her hair out. That will scare her if she's seriously considering getting her hair relaxed and look at all the healthy haired relaxed women on this board!

Keiron, Ima call TLC on you if you act up again, OK

 

[Jade21]

Mmm.....Mmmmm.....Mmmmmm

Generally, when one is BORED and wants to do something DRASTIC, it's best to step away, ruminate, and most of all DELAY that decision.

Denise: "Jade, it is really hot, I am kinda sweltering and I am really considering running to get a relaxer?"

Jade: "Girrrrrrl, it's hot enough to fry an egg on the street here in Northern Virginia and I *really* want to rant to some of my other hair sisters at LHCF about this HORRID HUMIDITY. My patience has reached the limit. I looked in the mirror today and saw tons of flyaways...it's a tad humid in my home. Oh, and the worst, my own pomade has left my hair GUMMY...just gooey, gooey. Maybe I should tell my barber to just CHOP AWAY!"

Denise: "Jade, do you REALLY want to do that? I mean seriously."

Jade: "Well, NO, not at all."


Much Love,

Jade

 

[CICI24]

I relaxed my hair 2 1/2 weeks just do your research. The thing that I think will help me with my relaxed hair is that I still treat as though it was natural and my hair stays moist and there is no breakage. You can still wear braids with your relaxed hair. Just make sure you use a mild relaxer if you don't want your hair really straight.
I know its very tempting to relax because you see all these long thick healthy relaxed heads.

 

[azul11]

I agree with cami. dont look at the pictures of the ladies on this site and get tempted. a lot of those pictures comes from years of trial and error, nasty stylist and trying to do everything to maintain the health of their hair. not to say that there arent knowledgeable ladies here who could help if you decide to get relaxed but realize it is not as easy as to say oh i dont like how this relax hair is working let me go back to my natural. you will have to grow it out and go through the same trial and errors. i think you should really think about why you want to go relax and make sure it is not because of temptation but because you really and truly want your hair relaxed and are ready for the responsiblities that comes with relax hair. btw i think your hair is gorgeous the way it is and you have been an inspiration to women natural and relaxed so there are ladies who wanted to go natural because of your hair.

God bless you all.

 

[Nanyanika]

I have three sisters with 4a/4b relaxed hair, which caused a lot of damage and breakage, due to improper care and knoweledge of chemically treated hair, with this in mind I still remain skeptical of processing my hair.

 

[sweetcocoa]

Girl if I had your length I would not. Yes, I know I relaxed a couple of weeks ago...but if I had your length I would of waited. I'm not unhappy with my hair...but I notice it is drier than when I was natural..plus despite the relaxer the humidity is frizzing my hair...not as bad when as when I was natural...but frizzing none the less. It's really up to you girl. I look at it as I can always transition again if I want to go back.

 

[Nanyanika]

LD, If I were relaxed I would miss, wearing natural styles, the stength, elasticity, thickness and body of my natural hair. The relaxer would eliminate shrinkage, painful comb outs, less tangles, plus styling time would be greatly reduced, only thing is I'd have to spend more time performing treatments to keep my hair strong, healthy and well moisturised.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

Den, You really have to do what you think is best for your hair. Sit down and write all of the pros and cons of being natural vs. relaxed. Your hair is so beautiful in it's natural state and has really been an inspiration to us all.

I am currently going back and forth with the same decision. I am almost 8 months into transitioning and I have changed my mind so much. I don't have nearly as much hair as you though.

But as others have said, once you relax you can't go back! Whatever your decision may be you know that you have the support of me and all of the ladies on the board.

Good luck and let us now what you decide.

 

[Nanyanika]

Sweetcocoa, do you regret texturizing your hair? The problem is my hair type shrinks up tremedously, If I had your hair type I would never consider relaxing my hair. I would like to wear my hair to its full length,thickness plus manageability but there really Isn't a natural permanent alternative, no matter what I do, If I straighten with pressing comb/blowdryer/relaxer/texturizer, It will cause some damage to the curl bonds.

 

[Nanyanika]

Thanks for the advice and support everyone, I will take into consideration the different hair care needs of relaxed/natural hair, then decide which method is best suited for me. With natural hair I have the option of pressing/blowdrying, the relaxer is however permanent going back to my natural will mean transitioning, it makes me nervous just thinking about it. I know I have been an inspiration to a lot natural ladies here and I do not want to let them down in anyway. Don't worry!!!I'm not making any final decisons yet, THANKS ONCE AGAIN

 

[Supergirl]

Den,

You've got a good thought going with possibly blowdrying/pressing your hair. Does your hair flat-iron well?

 

[Sindeee]

Den1,

Your hair is lovely as is. The only thing I can say is if you decide to perm/texturize your hair, just be very careful with the application that's all!

Sindeee

 

[Nanyanika]

Hello Supergirl

I've never flat-ironed before, I don't know how my hair will handle it. If I choose to remain natural and wear my hair straight most of the time, It could cause heat damage. At the moment I'm trying to stay away from that evil heat. At least with relaxed hair, heat is not a necessity to achieve straight looks.

 

[GinuwinesBoo]

you should just do what you want to do because everyones hair is different. some peoples hair can handle it and some peoples cant so you should do a strand test to see if you like it first. and not every lady on this board has gone thru trial and error with relaxed hair. at least i know i havent. there are ups and downs with both relaxed and natural hair. when people have jacked up hair whether relaxed or not then thats because they did something stupid and trust me if a relaxer was that dangerous for our hair i dont think they would be on the market.
~Lauren

 

[Brownie]

[ QUOTE ]
I relaxed my hair 2 1/2 weeks just do your research. The thing that I think will help me with my relaxed hair is that I still treat as though it was natural and my hair stays moist and there is no breakage. You can still wear braids with your relaxed hair. Just make sure you use a mild relaxer if you don't want your hair really straight.
I know its very tempting to relax because you see all these long thick healthy relaxed heads.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I was natural for a long time---but now, I'm texturized, and it was the best thing that I could've done for my hair. My hair is 100% healthier than it was before, and almost 50% longer, so no, I don't regret a thing. And I also like being texturized. And I only have to see the hairdresser every 12-20 weeks (2-3 times a year)for a touch up. I would just say, do your homework. You hair is so beautiful now, and you're such a detail oriented person that I'm sure your hair would look nice and continue to thrive either way. Good luck Den, and don't let anyone scare you. You know what's best.

 

[Supergirl]

Well,

Make sure you're comfortable with whatever you choose. The reason I asked about flat ironing is because I feel that it's the lesser of 2 evils when compared to pressing. Ya know?

 

[Nanyanika]

Sindee, I would need to do plentiful research before I allow any stylist to relax/texturise my hair. I have learnt so much from this board, I believe that it is possible to still have strong, healthy hair even after relaxing, a good example: Adrienne, and so many others. I was ignorant all those years, now I am armed with a wealth of factual information, that will help me achieve and retain my hair goals whether, I choose remain natural/relaxed.