I will admit I roll my eyes at people who put toxins in their hair and then complain about hair problems. Yes, we can speak of taking good care of your hair and being knowledgeable. But the fact that relaxers contain the same chemicals as Nair and Drano still remains. Using said chemicals seriously increases your chances of severe damage to your scalp. If you read into the warnings on the box, they basically tell you that. I don't think being natural will solve all problems, but I do think avoiding them cuts down on the chances. I get annoyed when folks complain when the chemicals cause them to go bald or affects hair growth. They made the decision to use harsh chemicals and have to live with it. Just like I don't like folks who stop relaxing and then expect sympathy because they don't like their natural texture. If you weren't really for the results, whatever they may be, then you shouldn't have done it.
As a general comment: I will admit that I think Blacks should stop adoring long super-straight, silky, hair. Just like I think Whites should stop worshiping Barbie-type women and Asians should stop having that stupid eye surgery. I'm all for looking nice, but I think ridding yourself of any ethnic trait is crossing the line. Obviously some people are willing to cross those boundaries. To each her own.
I also think saying that your own hair is too hard to take care of it a total cop-out. If Africans did it for thousands of years with the most primitive tools, then we can do it in the year 2003. If you just like the way straight hair looks, fine. But don't make your natural texture out to be some untamable, monstrous, unmanageable mess.
Bella, I will say this to you since I'm ASSuming that your natural:
You ought to know that strange history that follows women of color. You ought to know that it takes courage to wear your natural hair in this country. Black women do not think logically when it comes to their hair. That's why so many of them are loosing their locks, or don't have any at all. The women on this forum, or any forum on the net are not representative of the average Black women. Relaxed or natural, we all have taken the time and initiative to become truly informed about our hair. I'm sure most of the ladies here have seen all the information about relaxers. If they wish to continue, so be it.
When I first went natural and started reading up on hair, I was shocked that some people could continue to chemically process. But after a while I really stopped caring. I just started to feel lucky that I didn't have the need, want, urge, or pressure to strive for something that God obviously didn't mean for me to have. That has saved me a lot of trouble, time, and pain. But I cannot ever expect or even hope for people to see things the way I do. And neither can you, Bella.
