SHOULD I RELAX FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER??!!

[DSTAR]

Ok
it's not really the first time...I relaxed myhair with Dark&lovely a few years ago when I was living in England.

My background-
I'm 34 now and I basically had dreadlocks from the age of 9-24. So when I cut my locks at 24 I wanted to know what my combed hair was like. I'm mixed race and basically have hair like Kelis for example (I'll be loading pics soon)

So I have super curly frizzy hair -I basically pull it back and braid it at night but it is impossible to wear out without it turning into a huge mess of frizz and curls. It is about to my bra-strap when dry and shrunk up so pretty long when blown out.

My home relaxer came out after a while and all the curl came back. I want to try something different with my hair and want to be able to wear my hair straight and curled rather than just curly and frizzy...

uggghhh! Sorry to be so longwinded -
MY QUESTION IS THIS??? Do you think I should try getting it professionally relaxed??? What will that do with my kind of hair?? I understand my decision is my own but your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I wish you all bliss & success
Dtar

 

[Eiano]

Maybe you can get a texturizer to make it a little easier for you, because once the curls are ALL gone, you will miss them.

Me? I'd not going back to a relaxer... but like you said it's your choice!!

 

[Candy_C]

Ok
it's not really the first time...I relaxed myhair with Dark&lovely a few years ago when I was living in England.

My background-
I'm 34 now and I basically had dreadlocks from the age of 9-24. So when I cut my locks at 24 I wanted to know what my combed hair was like. I'm mixed race and basically have hair like Kelis for example (I'll be loading pics soon)

So I have super curly frizzy hair -I basically pull it back and braid it at night but it is impossible to wear out without it turning into a huge mess of frizz and curls. It is about to my bra-strap when dry and shrunk up so pretty long when blown out.

My home relaxer came out after a while and all the curl came back. I want to try something different with my hair and want to be able to wear my hair straight and curled rather than just curly and frizzy...

uggghhh! Sorry to be so longwinded -
MY QUESTION IS THIS??? Do you think I should try getting it professionally relaxed??? What will that do with my kind of hair?? I understand my decision is my own but your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I wish you all bliss & success
Dtar

Your hair sounds like how my hair was when natural. If you wanna try somethin different then by all means relax it, just make sure the person is GOOD! try and get recommendations. i'm sure whatever you choose there plenty of tipsand advice to maintain it nicely

 

[beyondcute]

I wouldnt... If youre having a hard time tryign to upkeep your hair now relaxing it wont make it better. Relaxed hair requires alot of care and attention. Id juts invest in a good flat iron and work on finding a good routine. www.naturallycurly.com should help you out alot. They have a forum there for naturally curly hair. As you said before the relaxer didnt even take that well. If your curls came back then Id just stay away from it. No use spending money if it isnt working.

 

[DSTAR]

thanks for the thoughts

Candy C - your hair looks gorgeous- I've uploaded some pics of my hair after the shower- was your hair this curly before you got it relaxed??

Is your hair manageable??

My problem is that after years of having gorgeous low maintenance dreads I am kinda lazy when it comes to hair - the idea of blow drying for 2 hours wears me down.

Do you have to blow dry your hair to get straight and soft like that or can you hair dry since it's been relaxed??

Thanks for indulging me!

 

[Vshanell]

I wouldn't relax it. If you want a straight look try flat ironing it. Get a good ceramic flat iron like the Maxiglide and you'll be good to go. Sometimes on really curly hair relaxing it won't take out all the curl anyway so you will still have some styling to do to get it straight. My maxiglide gets my hair straighter than any relaxer I ever had. My hair is natural now.

 

[Super_Hero_Girl]

I wouldnt... If youre having a hard time tryign to upkeep your hair now relaxing it wont make it better. Relaxed hair requires alot of care and attention. Id juts invest in a good flat iron and work on finding a good routine. www.naturallycurly.com should help you out alot. They have a forum there for naturally curly hair. As you said before the relaxer didnt even take that well. If your curls came back then Id just stay away from it. No use spending money if it isnt working.

Ditto to what she said and be sure to check out naturallycurly.com Good luck!

 

[DSTAR]

Hi ya Pokahontas

Thnaks for your thoughts- I was just looking at you photos. Your hair seems like the same texture as mine but perhaps abit more of 3b where I am definitely 3c.

I have a really good ceramic iron I bought but it seems to take ages to straighten my hair and it doesn;t really get that straight.

In the salon a woman once used Matrix Sleek and that was awesome. I think I might go get some and try it.

How long does it take for you to dry and straighten your hair? Do you have any advice for cutting down the time?

Thanks so much

 

[PretteePlease]

oooh its so nice i wouldnt relax it what about blow drying it i'm sure there is a dominican salon in philly that could hook it up something lovely

 

[Vshanell]

Hi ya Pokahontas

Thnaks for your thoughts- I was just looking at you photos. Your hair seems like the same texture as mine but perhaps abit more of 3b where I am definitely 3c.

I have a really good ceramic iron I bought but it seems to take ages to straighten my hair and it doesn;t really get that straight.

In the salon a woman once used Matrix Sleek and that was awesome. I think I might go get some and try it.

How long does it take for you to dry and straighten your hair? Do you have any advice for cutting down the time?

Thanks so much

You're welcome. Well, straightening can be time consuming for sure. It takes me approx. an hour to dry under the hooded dryer (air drying would be much longer) and an hour to straighten....but keep in mind that even if you are relaxed you will still have to do pretty much the same thing to get it straight. My hair stays straight until I decide to shampoo again. For maintenance I just wrap it, put it in a ponytail or bun at night and I don't have to do anything but take it down and comb it out in the morning. I'm on naturallycurly.com also and like the ladies mentioned, it will help you a lot w/ styling your hair when you wear it curly. I've learned a ton about styling my curls from there because before I had no clue. They have a lot of good products that you can order there also. HTH

 

[Vshanell]

I just checked out your fotki and man your hair is georgeous! It's so long and very thick. Beautiful curls.

 

[DSTAR]

Thanks SOOO much!

I think I will put it off for a little while anyway and try my best to style my hair as it is.

The one time I did do an at home relaxer it was just like you said. My hair didn't really get totally straight and it seemed to come out all together after a month or so.

I also use Creme of Nature and Motions Conditioner in the tub. I use Africa's Best Herbal Oil which is incredible and 100% natural. It only costs about $2 but for some reason I never see anyone biggin it up..so I will.

Thanks again.

 

[asummertyme]

another hair inspiration!! your hair is beautiful... thats a tuff decesion..think on it for a while, but i know that somethimes we all want a change.

 

[Mystic]

Your hair is so gorgeous and looks very soft. I would not relax it if I were you. I would develop a good wash and DC regimen and then I would plait/braid the hair in small sections to air dry. If you want it straight, when the hair is dried, I would loosen each braid, one at a time and flat iron each section (loosen, flat iron; loosen, flat iron until the whole head is done). If you try to flat iron your hair all at once (including blow drying) the process might get overwhelming and tiring.

Alot of women texturize their hair to get soft curls like yours. Therefore, you don't need to relax or texturize. On the days when you are really tired, try Paradise Island in Vine Street, Philly for a straight look. Kysha the stylist will hook you up really good. Only negative thing is, she is expensive.

 

[DSTAR]

Awesome- I don't mind spending the money if she can hook it up right. The only girl I knew in Philly was up in Germantown and that's just to far for me these days.

 

[Mystic]

Awesome- I don't mind spending the money if she can hook it up right. The only girl I knew in Philly was up in Germantown and that's just to far for me these days.

She is very hair health conscious and might want to give you a trim (and take off more than you want) so insist that you either do not want a trim or want only a tiny piece off and watch her. Apart from that, I guarantee you will LOVE the way your hair looks and feels when she is done with yah! You won't stop touching it. If you go, please update so we can see pic as well as hear your experience.

Paradise Island Hair Studio and Spa on Vine Street
1223 vine street 19107
Tel: 215-569-9644

Saturday appointments are impossible to get - she is ALWAYS booked!!

 

[Faith]

Ok
it's not really the first time...I relaxed myhair with Dark&lovely a few years ago when I was living in England.

My background-
I'm 34 now and I basically had dreadlocks from the age of 9-24. So when I cut my locks at 24 I wanted to know what my combed hair was like. I'm mixed race and basically have hair like Kelis for example (I'll be loading pics soon)

So I have super curly frizzy hair -I basically pull it back and braid it at night but it is impossible to wear out without it turning into a huge mess of frizz and curls. It is about to my bra-strap when dry and shrunk up so pretty long when blown out.

My home relaxer came out after a while and all the curl came back. I want to try something different with my hair and want to be able to wear my hair straight and curled rather than just curly and frizzy...

uggghhh! Sorry to be so longwinded -
MY QUESTION IS THIS??? Do you think I should try getting it professionally relaxed??? What will that do with my kind of hair?? I understand my decision is my own but your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I wish you all bliss & success
Dtar

Hi

Can't you just blowdry and flatiron when you want it straight?

 

[DSTAR]

well I have tried blow drying it out and flat ironing but quite frankly it takes about 3 hours by the time I've finished it and I never can get it as nice as the lady inthe salon did. She got it realy soft and sleek and flat.

When I try it, it stills seems to come out really thick (a la Chaka Khan style)even though its straight.

perhaps I need to learn how to actually blow dry my hair straight the right way.

 

[DSTAR]

I meant to ask you- what does texlaxed mean?

 

[Vshanell]

well I have tried blow drying it out and flat ironing but quite frankly it takes about 3 hours by the time I've finished it and I never can get it as nice as the lady inthe salon did. She got it realy soft and sleek and flat.

When I try it, it stills seems to come out really thick (a la Chaka Khan style)even though its straight.

perhaps I need to learn how to actually blow dry my hair straight the right way.

My hair won't blow dry straight either so I don't even try it. Mostly I just wrap my hair after I wash it or put it in a ponytail and sit under the dryer, then flat iron. This way it is already semi-straight and less over-whelming to straighten.

 

[brooklyngal73]

I'm relaxed and I airdry it in a bun--turns out pretty straight. You can also finish it off with a flatiron for an extra-sleek look.

Bottom line: do what's best for you; after all, it's your hair and no one else's...

Do you have to blow dry your hair to get straight and soft like that or can you hair dry since it's been relaxed??

 

[OneInAMillion]

Speaking as someone who has texturized to your current hair state (and thinking of going natural), I would not relax. Your hair is beautiful , and I can't let you do it!!!

All joking aside, the choice is up to you. But let me suggest trying rollersets and blowing your roots when you want a straight style. It wil last until the next wash. It's only my opinion, but if you relax, you'll loose that thickness that will make your hair look bouncy with a rollerset. Otherwise, it may just look flat.

Now you're one of my new hair inspirations! Please try all these other options (rollerset, blowouts, or flatironing) on your natural hair and see how you like it. I'm sure the rollerset won't take that long.

Good luck on your decision

 

[DSTAR]

Thanks so much for your thoughts on this.

I will try some of the things mentioned here but I think I will have to get someone to actually show me how to wrap my hair. There is just so much of it that I really don't know how to begin.

I have looked at the photos on fotki someone put together of how to wrap hair but my hair still has lots of waves and curls in it when I try and wrap it.

I would just love to have fly sleek hair once in a while and wish I could just get a regime that works for me.

I'm pretty tenacious so I won't give up. I try a few more things before actually go the chemical route.

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[DSTAR]

Now you're one of my new hair inspirations! Please try all these other options (rollerset, blowouts, or flatironing) on your natural hair and see how you like it. I'm sure the rollerset won't take that long.

Good luck on your decision

Thanks so much!

Do I really need one of those hooded dryers for a rollerset? SHould I flat iron after I rollerset?
Do you know a good how to on rollersetting, I would really like to try and don;t mind spending money on descent rollers.