Pros and Cons of Being Natural

I agree with a lot of whats stated above, ESPECIALLY when it was said you MUST TRANSITION YOUR MIND FIRST. This is the most important, you have to be ready to accept whatever sprouts, though you could relax again.

I think the pros and cons depend on what you want your hair to do. :

Relaxers are definately better for people who want their hair straight the majority of the
time.

Natural hair is more versatile,(imo) has more body (most of the time) and all of the above that was already mentioned.


I think if a relaxer is working for you and your going to continue to wear straight hair then dont fix it if it aint broke, but if you want to do wash in gos and have more textured hair then go natural.

Hth
 
^ I think one of the first things we should say to ladies that are considering going natural is that they'll have to do a mental transition and be willing to embrace whatever God blessed them with....its one of the most important concepts to grasp.

Nonie said:
^^ IrisDaVirus, not sure what products you believe are good for natural hair, but a friend of mine when I first joined this forum, told me that the best sources for good conditioners, shampoos for natural hair are relaxed heads. She told me that's why she reads their posts for...good ideas on products to use. She said they knew the most moisturizing products, best strengthening products, etc. I gave it a shot and I have not been disappointed. All the products I use on my hair I can get at CVS or the Vitamin Shoppe. I don't like using products that aren't easy to come by.

A lot of the products that natural heads recommended would feel good on my hair initially and then harden it up. I used to have hair that was hell to deal when I tried to keep up with what natural heads said was good. Not so since I listened to my friend stopped believing only what natural folks use can work on my hair.
Click to expand...
I second that, all my products are purchased at my local African Merchant for my natural butters and oils, BSS or pharmacy and cost $6 or below, or I'll use a fruit or something in my fridge which is free!:grin:

Yea I KISS with my products. My goal is little by little try to purchase much more from black owned businesses though.....
 
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I agree with everyone's post.

I love my hair and plan to keep it this way. I love the variety of hairstyles I can do which I couldnt relaxed. The only thing I do not like is single strand knots.

I advise anyone to strive for healthy hair regardless of what decision is made with wearing their hair natural or not. :D
 
Pros
Stronger hair
Simple reggie. For me it was just wash, condition, moisturize. I didn't worry about moisture/protein balance.
Thicker hair
Bigger hair....I love big hair
Versatility

Cons
single strand knots
sometimes detangling can be a nightmare
takes longer to style (small twists or straightening)

I'm currently relaxed but I love natural hair. I miss mine, but won't go back anytime soon.
 
If you want to go natural so you can have curly hair, don't. If you don't know your true texture, cut all your hair off and find out you don't have wash n go hair, you will regret it.

I think pros & cons are based on each individual and how they feel about their hair. My pros for natural are, not having to comb my hair everyday & I guess not having to deal with relaxer chemicals. My cons include, ssk can be annoying & people touching (messing) up your hair when they don't understand that it's actually in a style.
 
IrisDaVirus said:
PROS

My wallet looks good thanks to not being dependent on frequent visits to the salon to maintain my hair.
It's a breeze to style.
Shrinkage. Yeah I said it. I love my shrinkage. Every last bit of it.
Humidity is my best friend. I don't have to worry about it reverting a straight hair style.
My hair grows like wildfire in the warmer months. I can't say that for my relaxed and texturized days.

CONS

Products. Good products for natural hair can be a challenge to find depending where you are.
Click to expand...

First let me say: I am cracking up at that siggy!!

Ok now: I ditto everything you said. Humidity is my beeeesst friiieeend!
I really can't think of any cons. But the search for the holy grail of products for my hair has been to say the least--adventurous. I have my stash now and I don't use them all. I only use a few at a time. There have been times it was only Giovanni leave-in and coconut oil.
 
Pros: Pretty much everything.

Cons: If I want to maintain my length I HAVE to stretch my ends or they will knot and break.) Sometimes I would love to be able to just wash and go all of the time with no concerns.
 
For the women that are reporting there are no CONS to being natural- If your texture is 4a-CNAPP, do you consider knotting to be a PRO of natural hair? I mean that with all seriousness. Are you saying you don't experience knotting at all?

What am I doing wrong?! LOL
 
^ Tightly coily 4a/b checking in! I've only experenced SSK's once in my natural journey, and thats when I did pixie braids with iffy ends, thats it.

If I was regularly getting SSK's then I'd feel I was doing something wrong and I need to tweak my regimen.

I keep my hair in a stretched state 100% of the time braid-out, twists, pressed straight, bantu knots, flat twists, senegalese twist extensions and thats pretty much how I avoid them lol
 
Pros

- Healthier, stronger hair (Integrity isn't compromised by chemicals)

- Versatility (flat iron, hot comb for silky straight; blow dry for big lush rudy huxtable straight hair; bantu knot out for curls; twist or braid out for waves; two-strand twists with your own real hair, braids with your own real hair, comb coils, afros (textured or reg., sans headband, with headband, bobby pin styled fro) frohawk, afro puffs (high puff, low puff, side puff) shrinkage will allow you to really diversify your style depending on your mood. You want a cute, sexy, compact 'do one day. The next day you want hair that appears longer...stretch it out.

- Not needing to douse your head with caustic, toxic chemicals

- Feeling beautiful with what you possess naturally.

- LOW maintenance (in my case at least)

- Uniqueness (you stand out, in a good way. You don't look like everyone else walking down the street.)

- Compliments (I cannot tell you how many times I have been complimented on my hair since being natural. All this "men hate natural hair" crap/rhetoric, you need to really take with a grain of salt. Many, if not a majority, of the hair compliments i get are from men.)

- You won't need to be scared of moisture. I absolutely love when the weather is humid. All it means is that my hair is getting a steam treatment from nature. It plumps and shines my twists and makes my hair soft. When you jump into a pool, go to the beach, or get rained on, your hair will puff up and show its natural texture. I love when my hair gets wet because my texture starts poppin'.

- You wont need to be afraid of working out. Sweat will no longer be kryptonite.

Cons
-I honestly cannot think of any for MY hair.
 
jetbeauty09 said:
For the women that are reporting there are no CONS to being natural- If your texture is 4a-CNAPP, do you consider knotting to be a PRO of natural hair? I mean that with all seriousness. Are you saying you don't experience knotting at all?

What am I doing wrong?! LOL
Click to expand...

I only get ssk if I wet my twists or moisturizing (wetting) my twist/braid outs everyday. My ssk only happen on hair that has been manipulated then have water applied to it for it to shrink. I can wear my hair fully shrunken without getting ssk as long as I properly detangle it first and let it dry without touching it.
 
jetbeauty09 said:
For the women that are reporting there are no CONS to being natural- If your texture is 4a-CNAPP, do you consider knotting to be a PRO of natural hair? I mean that with all seriousness. Are you saying you don't experience knotting at all?

What am I doing wrong?! LOL
Click to expand...

I honestly don't. But I don't wear my hair out a lot. I'm also a regular dust-er and I think that helps. If I do have knotting, it has to be so minimal that I don't notice it. Most of the time, I deal with very little hair at a time. This vid kinda gives you an idea of what my sessions of dealing with hair are. Since April, this is as much hair as I deal with at a time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jff-Uqfb_SA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm0c7KPcj08

The rest of my hair is braided or twisted 24/7. When I wear my hair out, it's usually after it's been airdried in plaits, moisturized with S Curl and then braided again and baggied. I undo my hair in the AM to comb without wetting it. And I comb it with only the moisture from last night's S Curl. I don't wet it to style so the sort of curling back on itself that causes knots that happens to WNG hair doesn't happen to my hair.

I never go to bed without putting my hair in braids. I think regularly dusting also keeps ends from getting tangly. I also NEVER wash my hair unless it's in tiny extension braids or twists and I don't mess with it till it's dry in them. The only time I will mess with my wet hair is if I'm getting ready to press it or if a twist unravels...but I tend to only deal with my hair out of braids/twists when it's dry and somewhat stretched.

I don't use a lot of products but doubt that is the explanation. I do use ACV rinses which keep strands smooth. I think my secret is keeping hair stretched and not manipulating it too much.

ETA: PerplexingComplex mentioned something else that is true of me: completely detangled hair. I never let my hair get tangled. I did it one time out of laziness and it never happened again. I think her explanation was so concise and true to form about my hair.
 
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jetbeauty09 said:
For the women that are reporting there are no CONS to being natural- If your texture is 4a-CNAPP, do you consider knotting to be a PRO of natural hair? I mean that with all seriousness. Are you saying you don't experience knotting at all?

What am I doing wrong?! LOL
Click to expand...

I have type 4 hair. Its bushy and thick... i have that 'dense forest with no scalp showing' going on, lol.

Honestly whenever i read about ssk's and how people cannot comb their hair, and that it takes hours to detangle ... i cant relate to that. My hair tangles, but it isn't rocket science to get the tangle out...a few seconds. IMO tangling is just what comes with having hair on your head, any texture. It isn't that serious to where it'd be a con, lol.
 
I love this thread. I stan for my hair, I really do. I'm gonna have to co-sign with just about everything said here.

As far as SSK's:
I don't really get SSK's (thank GOD!) B/C I keep my hair stretched I only detangle in the shower on wash day and I band her in sections and let her air dry. If I'm wearing a twist out, I try my best not to touch it b/c that's how tangles form. When I take my hair down from the bands to moisturize I moisturize in sections with my fingers and a wide tooth comb.
 
When I was natural, whenever I had a bad hair day, I could spritz it with water make give it a shake to revive my curls.
My cons were my fault. I didn't take the time or have the patience on how to style my natural hair. It led to my hair looking like crap, so I relaxed it.:ohwell: I am not getting breakage, but my natural hair was much stronger and more healthy looking than my relaxed hair. I also got good growth and retained it. In the future, I'd like to transition again and be natural for good. I have a lot of learning to do before that happens.
 
Maria and Nonie, very good posts! Thank you!

Let me think...
Pros:
-Uniqueness among other women. Even if you are around a bunch of other natural ladies, everyone's texture varies so much that the same style can often look so different
-Variety. I can do so many different styles now compared to being relaxed
-Retaining length faster
-Hair is thicker (or is this a con? LOL!)
-Not having to worry about rain and humidity
-Depending on the style, I can have a style up to 3 weeks
-Depending on the style, I can rinse it after working out
-Loving what's growing out my head and appreciating it. It took me a long time to get there, but I'm so there and loving it :)

Cons:
-This one is actually because of the thickness of my hair. Even as a relaxed person, my hair was so thick it would take me 2+ hours to flat iron it. As a natural, it still takes me a few hours to put in twists or coils, but it's worth it because I can keep them in for so long
-Knots. I do have to keep it protective styles, but I this would be something I'd have to do as a relaxed person anyway to retain length
-Hats and bike helmets. I have to wear certain styles to wear certain hats or bike helmets. My 'fro does not fit under them now
-Long drying time, also something that I suffered from when relaxed
-Haters. They are coming out more often the longer (and bigger) my hair gets
 
idk about you gals but this thread is making me fall in love with natural hair all over again <3
 
Pros

No longer dependent on Chemicals
Thicker
Stronger
Able to Dye w/o fear
Less worry about damage

Cons

50-11 textures. I litterally have clumps of different textures in my hair. Some coils, some fluff, and some kinky straight.

Tangles and SSK. - Having SSK as far up as the middle of my hair shaft caused me to texlax out of frustration. My hair is extremely fine even when natural and I have knotting and SSK issues even when wearing twists. Stretching my hair in twists only seems to ruine the last 1 to 1.5 inches. Tangles and SSK caused me alot of setbacks.

Time-Every weekend became a 3-4 hour twisting or braiding ordeal. I want long hair so I can throw it up into some quick updo. I do not enjoy spending hours doing my hair.

All that said, I am transitioning. I do not like the uncertainty that dealing with chemicals presents. It seems I grow my hair out only for some absent minded stylist to make a "mistake" and take me back to square one. I know that although I love my natural textures, I will be a blowdrying and flat ironing my natural hair this time around. It is the only way I can think of to balance my pros and cons.
 
I was natural for a long time and then succumbed to the cream crack. I went back natural this year. Here are my pros & cons. . .

Pros. . . .
* No relaxer burns

*Don't have to worry about water

*Depending on where you live, having a unique hairstyle.

*In my experience, no bad hair days.

*Some people will argue that hair dye kicks you out of the natural club, but if you do decide to color your unrelaxed hair, it does less damage. Being the subtle person I am, I've had a bright red braid out among other colors and styles.

*I got a lot of compliments on my hair. I don't remember getting a lot of ignorant comments.

*Personally, it really suits my personality.

*You really get to know your hair. It wasn't until I was natural that I figured out that my hair in the nape area was finer then the rest.



Cons. . .
*I don't know about other ladies, but wearing a hat was not easy for me. I ended up having to crochet my own. And I really like hats! Since I don't know how to cornrow and have a little bit of trouble with coils, it was frustrating! I have kinky, coily, thick hair. It does not play around.

*Straight hair/variety envy. Even though there are different things you can do with natural hair, sometimes I would look at someone's bob or cute relaxed style and get jealous. And my hair laughs at pressing combs and flat irons. That's what caused me to go back to relaxing. Bad idea. Of course, this was before I became slightly addicted to wigs. So, hopefully I won't find myself staring at boxes of relaxer.

*People like touching fluffy hair. A lot.

*The first time I went natural, trying to put it all in a ponytail was a joke. But then again, I didn't know then what I know now thanks to LHCF.

*For me, I had to switch up my hair care system. The conditioning I needed on relaxed hair, resulted in too much build up on my relaxed hair.

*The kinkier/thicker your hair is, the more detailed you have to be when rinsing your hair to make sure there's no conditioner or shampoo left in your hair or scalp.
 
Major Pro: Big, fluffy hair!

Con: knots, time it takes to straighten (unless my mom does it), shrinkage, random ppl touching your hair, heat damage is majorily obvious when worn out, and conditioner addiction :look:
 
Pros
-healthier skin & scalp (i have very sensitive skin and relaxers broke me out)
-versatility with styling
-less prep in the morning
-no daily combing, have gone as long as a month w/o combing
-natural hair is more flattering to my face and fits my personality
- shrinkage- allows me to wear a shorter style w/o cutting my hair

Cons
-single strand knots!
- shrinkage- it's annoying when I want to show off my length
- lot more trial and error finding products that work than when I was relaxed
 
Pros:
Thicker, healthier hair
money saved
hand in hair disease
hair fits my personality
Shrinkage ( I like it because I can wear a short style without cutting my hair)

Cons:
hand in hair disease
Single strand knots
Detangling
Time investment
 
Can't wait to read the responses.

Pro's:
-Healthier, thicker hair
-Wash and Gos
-not a slave to relaxing every 3 mos or so
-More styling options
- Individuality
-the feeling of being "natural"
-Longer time to straighten

Cons:
-Shrinkage
- Your hair absorbs more product
-Unfortunately, many people feel that your hair isnt done unless its straight
-you can forget straightening it in the summer
-hair is very picky about products
-having family who dont like kinky/natural hair.
 
I've been natural most of my life and recently texturized.

For me, the pro of being natural was super big, thick, fluffy hair.

For me, the cons of being natural were the tremendous amount of time (that I don't have at the moment) it took to wash, condition and style the hair (super big, thick, fluffy hair does not work every day and in every setting), a limited number of styles that I felt looked attractive on me and were easy to maintain, shrinkage, and the fact that my ends often looked horrible after straightening even though they looked "healthy" while the hair was in its curly state.
 
Pros:
Its YOUR hair, the way God intended. God doesn't make mistakes. (if you are a believer in the idea of a "God")

Cons:
None. How can there be anything wrong with being who you are?
 
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