Shrinkage,Tangles, & Knots come with the Nappy Territory...More Harm than Good???

[Poohbear]

I read these sayings all the time at another site...

"Knots and tangles come with the nappy territory"...

"Embrace your knots and tangles"...

"That's how our hair is suppose to be... tangled and knotty"...

"Shrinkage is good all the time"...

"You're not truly natural if you straighten your hair with heat"...

But as my natural hair retains more length, these sayings are not quite sitting well with me anymore as I think about hair health and appearance and what I truly want for my natural hair...

I don't like keeping my natural hair all tangled up in it's shrunken state. No matter what natural style I do now, my hair is never completely detangled and I always get those little broken pieces from my ends about a centimeter in length. When I detangle or style, I get a lot of shedded hair. And the single strand knots and splits...all of this can't possibly be healthy.

This thread somewhat tags along with a couple of other threads I made about observations with my natural hair and how I think leaving my hair all shrunken, knotted, and tangled up has caused my ends to be rough and raggedy. And I thought of this thread when I was reading two other threads about "What does it mean to have Healthy Hair?"

Currently, as some you already know, my hair has been straightened out with a flat iron. Even though my ends have been feeling rough, they are still very strong and not breaking off surprisingly. I think they are strong and not breaking because 1) they're not chemically treated, 2) I used heat, and 3) my hair is straightened out and not in it's shrunken state. As many of you have recommended for my ends, I just need to start deep conditioning, something I probably did once or twice throughout my whole natural hair journey. I also need to take better care of my ends if I really want to have long hair sooner than later. With my hair straightened, I have no shedding as well.

When I wear my hair in it's natural state, I get single strand knots and tangles and matted strands and little broken off end coils. This can't be healthy for my hair.

And yes, I know this saying is always thrown out there as well...

"HEAT WILL DESTROY YOUR HAIR!"

I know that it can and that it cannot...

It can if you use extremely HIGH temperatures, use several heat sources all at once, use heat several times during the week, press down really hard on your hair with a hot comb or flat iron, or use excessive heat with no heat protectant for your hair strands...

But heat won't destroy your hair if you are careful, use it in moderation, and use the right tools and methods for straightening your hair.

After straightening my hair with heat a couple of days ago, it seems like heat is going to be my hair's friend like it was when I was a child with natural hair and like it was when I had relaxed hair. When my hair was natural, my mom would always blowdry, grease, and press my hair. When I had relaxed hair, my mom would always blowdry, grease, and use curling irons on my hair, and my hair was long (armpit length/almost brastrap length) before I got it cut to shoulder length several times during high school. If I had never cut my hair, it would had probably been brastrap length or longer by the time I got to college. And get this... I NEVER had any knots or tangles until I experiemented with airdrying and until I started transitioning to natural back in 2004. I believe any breakage I had during this time came from excessive combing when I was relaxed and from dealing with two different hair textures when I was transitioning. I believe the breakage I experience with natural hair is coming from airdrying my hair and leaving it in it's shrunken state.

But I don't know anymore... just throwing random thoughts out there. I really didn't go natural to hate on straight hair like a lot of natural women do. I actually like straight hair that looks healthy... I just didn't like chemical relaxers being applied to my hair. I know when I first wanted to go natural, my plan was to keep my natural hair straightened. Until I came across Nappturality, I thought it was best to keep my hair in its natural state. Plus, I had heat damage from when my mom pressed my hair TOO HARD with a hot comb on the stove with HIGH HEAT which led me to believe that heat was the "devil" so-to-speak.

Now, I'm really trying to rethink some things and revisit some initial goals that I had.... wanting long natural hair and actually having my hair appear long (not having to stretch it out to show people how long it really is). So that means adopting a safe and careful routine of using heat.

If you would like to share your thoughts on this matter, please be my guest. Thanks!

 

[lmjenk67]

I can feel where you are coming from. When I first joined LHCF, I was relaxed and wanted to grow my hair longer. I started stretching my relaxers then eventually decided, I had enough of chemicals. Therefore I went natural with the intent of wearing my hair in its natural state 75% of time and straightening only for special occasions. I still wanted it to grow longer than it's ever has (which is just a little before apl). Well after completing a year of being natural, I decided that I would never reach my goal of growing longer hair if I continued to wear it in its natural state - way too many tangles, knots and snapping of the curlies!

For the last couple of months, I've alternated between braids and getting it flat-ironed. I will never go back to chemicals but I will not be able to wear natural styles as much as I would like if I want to retain and gain length. Braids and flat-ironed from here on out, with the occasional natural style thrown in.

 

[lisana]

When I was natural (for close to 5 years) I did everything I could to prevent the splits and knots and tangles and major shrinkage. Nothing worked. Yes my hair was very healthy, but the ends were constantly giving me problems even though I deep conditioned and trimmed, etc. I really think that some hair textures will just do this. It just depends on that individual head. I am 4b with a sprinkle of 4a, fine hair, medium density. One of the things that really annoyed me was how the hair at the lower back of my head would develop the little balls of tangles at the end. No matter what, they would develop. I truly believe my hair is genetically programmed to do this and all the DCing and trimming and protective styles in the world is not going to change that. I got tired of dealing with that, so i relaxed and I'm happy.

 

[neenzmj]

I must chime in here, too. I'm at the same crossroad. This is my first time being natural since childhood and I'm finding that the longer my hair gets, the more knots and tangles I have (which, by the way, I end up having to cut off.) I love wearing my hair curly, but if I go more than one day without wetting and detangling, I have an absolute mess on my hands. I've even found myself contemplating a relaxer after one horrible detangling experience (standing in the shower with the hot water turning cold!)

I've come to the conclusion that I either have to: a) wet and detangle daily, b) rollerset or c) flatiron. The rollersetting option is probably the best choice, but I work out a lot and all the work just goes down the drain in a matter of minutes. The other option I'm considering is wearing more buns, but I have to be able to have a really "cute" bun style. I don't think I can just do a basic bun day in and day out.

 

[harrison]

hmmm... this is interesting...My ultimate goal is for my hair to be healthy, I'm not concerned so much with length. I've had bra strap length hair before that was easily turned to shoulder length that easily went to a twa. ALL BY CHOICE!! Not due to a setback.I know there is a lot of emphasis placed on length. But the reality is, as mentioned in several threads... hair grows.. its how well its maintained that determines length. With that being said, we go to great lengths(pun intended) with products and such to improve the condition of our hair. But the problem comes in with STYLE. Twists, puffs, blow-outs, etc can become very boring after a while. If you're anything like me... any style becomes boring after I while. Hence the reason why my hair lengths/styles change so readily. But I do believe its possible to have long natural(afro textured) hair, despite the shedding and occasional breakage. Its all in your technique or method.As you mentioned.. you will have to find a way to use heat that works well for your hair....

 

[SSBD]

Honestly i was beginning to think it was just me thinkin like that. When i was younger i was natural and my hair did very well with heat, even when i had a relaxer my hair was still good with heat, but the chemical was too much for my hair. I remember i posted a thread asking did anybody else's hair like a little heat and it wasn't many replies from naturals, so i didn't know what to think. So just like u i join the band wagon of just wearing it in it's natural strunkin state, but the problem with that is it would get so dry no matter what i put it in or how much i dced and as soon as it dried from the cw it was a dry mess with tangles and knots that matt and all type of stuff. But when i blow dry and cornrow my hair it stays conditioned and strong and feels good.

Last night i flat ironed my hair for the first time since going natural and i clipped my ends for the second time in my journey, and i was like wow i had to cut a lot of hair (which hurt) because the ends were knotted and tangled and breaking and falling and all of that. And i was thinkin when i use to get my hair washed and flatiron ever two weeks my ends did not look like this...it might not of had enough moisture, but the ends were not bad like this...

So i have always disagreed with the statement that straighten natural hair is not natural...theres no chemicals in it, so how isn't it natural. At this point im jut gonna wear it in cornrows for awhile. When my hair get longer and i can braid and protect it without blow drying than i will sometimes, but i don't know if wearing my hair in its strunkin state is good for it anymore.

 

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

I'm really in the same boat as you.

When my hair is wet, there are the most pretty textures in my hair and it's soft and combable. When it dries, it's dull, shriveled and it twists, yanks, and kinks into itself, forcing me to wet it in order to style it. I tried wash and goes, and even wave cream.

I'm almost hurt by what I have to go through when people assume that my hair is simply horrible and there's nothing I can do with it except braid it up. I'm 8.5 months into my transition and it feels like I'll never survive naturalness because I want health and length, but I don't want chemicals! It also doesn't help that I'm in hicksville and there are only generic, petroleum laden products and nobody knows what to tell you if you're not using a relaxer or texturizer of some sort.

4 textures are not BAD textures, but they do require lots of maintenance and avery unique strength to deal with. I see several people who claim natural 4a but they appear 3c. Our hair doesn't seem meant to lay down, but to coil upon our scalps as it has been hypothesized ( and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!!!) that our hair texture helps shield our scalps (and our ancestors) from the burning sun in extremely hot climates. I guess this comes with the territory.

I am definitely not a hair maven, however, I would suggest that you shoudl keep looking into a natural straightening routine. I suggest Pink Skates, as she is a 4a and she clearly outlines what she does.

 

[DeepBluSea]

PoohBear, you are one of my natural inspirations. I lurve your hair. But as much as I and some other folks admire your hair, it is still your hair. From your posts, it sounds like you know a lot about haircare. So if you have tried all the nappy tricks, but you are still frustrated, then try the heat thing. You know there is the possibility of heat damage. Sounds like you are making an informed decision. Some naturals are anti-heat and some folks aren't. I don't look at it as a right or wrong answer, but as a preference. Everything ain't for everybody. If you are still unsure, then try wigging it or wearing extensions before you fully decide to take the plunge. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Mook's hair]

I have to say, this is an excellent thread. I am 6 months into my transition and have the same feelings and issues already mentioned.

I have realized that my hair seems to like some heat and my hair is very resilient, strong and sturdy. My hair also likes moisture. It gets very cooperative (under water) I have also discovered that I can very easily detangle my hair in the bath tub submersed. (who knew)?

Air drying seems to be the worst thing for me. And Rollersets don't do anything for my 3 inches of new growth at the roots.

I am just now beginning to experience tangles. And each time they really do make me wonder if I want to return to relaxing.

I can see already that I'm not going to have that Tracy Ellis Ross / Jasmine Guy/ Felicia Rashod type of natural texture. Mine is way more Rudy Huxtable but not quite Vanessa Huxtable. If I were a man, this hair would make a great high top fade. (circa 1989)


I did a flexirod set (without blowdrying) 2 days ago. It was a mess. Curls every where, thick dense roots everywhere, I couldn't even get my fingers into my roots (yikes)
When I cornrow it, you would swear that I pressed it first or that I have a relaxer.? ? ?

Just like SSBD. At this point im just gonna wear it in cornrows for awhile.
Even though wearing it like this makes me look like I'm friggin 16 years old.

Thanks for the great thread. I'm off to look at all of your fotkis now.

 

[Poohbear]

hmmm... this is interesting...My ultimate goal is for my hair to be healthy, I'm not concerned so much with length. I've had bra strap length hair before that was easily turned to shoulder length that easily went to a twa. ALL BY CHOICE!! Not due to a setback.I know there is a lot of emphasis placed on length. But the reality is, as mentioned in several threads... hair grows.. its how well its maintained that determines length. With that being said, we go to great lengths(pun intended) with products and such to improve the condition of our hair. But the problem comes in with STYLE. Twists, puffs, blow-outs, etc can become very boring after a while. If you're anything like me... any style becomes boring after I while. Hence the reason why my hair lengths/styles change so readily. But I do believe its possible to have long natural(afro textured) hair, despite the shedding and occasional breakage. Its all in your technique or method.As you mentioned.. you will have to find a way to use heat that works well for your hair....

Yes, you sound like me. I want healthy hair too plus long hair. Right now, I feel like my hair is healthy... I just want it to look healthy too.

When I had relaxed hair, it got shorter by choice (by cutting it), not because of a setback from relaxers or a product).

I also get bored with natural hair styles. That's why I have styled my hair so much throughout my natural hair journey. However, I feel like I have styled it too much and it's wreaking havoc on my natural hair. I think the main reason why I do so many styles is because I stalk so many hair albums and when I see a picture, I want to try that style or change my current hair style.

I also believe natural afro textured hair can grow healthy and long with the right techniques, methods, and care. I just feel like I'm going to end up ruining my hair if I continue to airdry and force myself to be okay with single strand knots and tangles and uneven hair lengths.

 

[cocoberry10]

Oh no ladies, reading this thread is discouraging me! I’m currently transitioning (without the BC). I’m going to resort to using braids and maybe weaves to keep my hair in good condition. However, I’m concerned that even when natural, if it’s going to be this difficult to maintain, I’m going to be sorry I did it! I’m currently rocking a wash and go style. I’m 4a/b by the way! One of the reasons I am transitioning is b/c I find my hair tangles a lot relaxed!

 

[meaganita]

Heat is a natural resource, so I don't get how naturals who straighten with heat aren't "really" natural.erplexed You don't have to be militant to be natural.

I straighten my hair occasionally. I deep condition regularly, trim, use heat sparingly, and still get single strand knots and hellacious splits. My hair is still very healthy and growing long. Those are issues that come with the territory (I guess) and I seem to be unable to control it.

The only reason I'm don't straighten on a regular basis is because I haven't met my hair goals yet. But once I do, I plan to heat straighten
my hair every 2 weeks. The only thing I'm afraid of, is losing my curl pattern. One of my girlfriends is (was) 4b natural and she gets her hair straightened every two weeks. After doing this for 9 months, her curls are now like 2c. Her hair is thin and her ends are breaking. But that's only because she doesn't take care of her hair in between shop visits and wears her hair down every day. Plus she never trims.

In the end, I think it really depends on how well you take care of your hair.

 

[meaganita]

Don't fret Cocoberry.
I used to get nasty tangles and even dread locs when I was relaxed. Once I became natural, I was scared to airdry for that reason. But I'm happy to report that I've been airdrying my 4a/b mane recently and haven't had that problem at all since becoming natural.

ETA: I airdry in braids.

Oh no ladies, reading this thread is discouraging me! I’m currently transitioning (without the BC). I’m going to resort to using braids and maybe weaves to keep my hair in good condition. However, I’m concerned that even when natural, if it’s going to be this difficult to maintain, I’m going to be sorry I did it! I’m currently rocking a wash and go style. I’m 4a/b by the way! One of the reasons I am transitioning is b/c I find my hair tangles a lot relaxed!

 

[Poohbear]

Oh no ladies, reading this thread is discouraging me! I’m currently transitioning (without the BC). I’m going to resort to using braids and maybe weaves to keep my hair in good condition. However, I’m concerned that even when natural, if it’s going to be this difficult to maintain, I’m going to be sorry I did it! I’m currently rocking a wash and go style. I’m 4a/b by the way! One of the reasons I am transitioning is b/c I find my hair tangles a lot relaxed!

Don't be discouraged. The issue isn't so much about being natural versus being relaxed... it's more so of wearing my hair unstraight versus straight.

Let me explain... I see that you said you experienced a lot of tangles when relaxed...

1. When I wore my relaxed hair straightened or rollersetted smooth, I never experienced tangles, knots, or shedding and minimal breakage.

2. When I wore my relaxed hair in a braidout or bun or airdried style which makes my hair bend at different areas along the hairshaft, I experience tangles, knots, shedding, and breakage.

3. When I wear my natural hair straightened, no tangles, no knots, no shedding, no breakage.

4. When I wear my natural hair in shrunken styles or airdried natural hair styles, I experience tangles, knots, matting, shedding and some breakage.

I definitely feel like my hair is much stronger natural than it was relaxed. However, I am finding that keeping it in its unstraighten natural state is wreaking havoc on the ends of my hair strands. I initially came to this forum to achieve longer hair after I cut my hair to chin length back in 2003. Then I wanted to give up relaxers and go natural and wear my natural hair straight. Then after I had heat damage, I decided to wear my hair in natural hair styles like twists, puffs, fros, etc. These styles have caused my hair to get single strand knots and splits among other things. I never experienced this with straightened hair.

And as I grow out my natural hair, I sometimes ask myself "Why am I even trying to grow my hair long when it's not going to look long." My initial goal was to grow long healthy natural hair that appears long. In order for my natural hair to appear long, it has to be straightened with heat.

And then you have those people who say "Straight hair (regardless of whether it's natural or relaxed) is a European/White beauty standard." YEAH RIGHT! I NEVER thought this in my life until I discovered the hair boards. I can see where that statement comes from, but I never had those issues of wanting my hair to look like a white girl's hair. I'm tired of people getting hung up on certain hair issues and can't come to grips of enjoying their God-given hair.

 

[Meli]

I read these sayings all the time at another site...

"Knots and tangles come with the nappy territory"...

"Embrace your knots and tangles"...

"That's how our hair is suppose to be... tangled and knotty"...

"Shrinkage is good all the time"...

"You're not truly natural if you straighten your hair with heat"...

But as my natural hair retains more length, these sayings are not quite sitting well with me anymore as I think about hair health and appearance and what I truly want for my natural hair...

I don't like keeping my natural hair all tangled up in it's shrunken state. No matter what natural style I do now, my hair is never completely detangled and I always get those little broken pieces from my ends about a centimeter in length. When I detangle or style, I get a lot of shedded hair. And the single strand knots and splits...all of this can't possibly be healthy.

This thread somewhat tags along with a couple of other threads I made about observations with my natural hair and how I think leaving my hair all shrunken, knotted, and tangled up has caused my ends to be rough and raggedy. And I thought of this thread when I was reading two other threads about "What does it mean to have Healthy Hair?"

Currently, as some you already know, my hair has been straightened out with a flat iron. Even though my ends have been feeling rough, they are still very strong and not breaking off surprisingly. I think they are strong and not breaking because 1) they're not chemically treated, 2) I used heat, and 3) my hair is straightened out and not in it's shrunken state. As many of you have recommended for my ends, I just need to start deep conditioning, something I probably did once or twice throughout my whole natural hair journey. I also need to take better care of my ends if I really want to have long hair sooner than later. With my hair straightened, I have no shedding as well.

When I wear my hair in it's natural state, I get single strand knots and tangles and matted strands and little broken off end coils. This can't be healthy for my hair.

And yes, I know this saying is always thrown out there as well...

"HEAT WILL DESTROY YOUR HAIR!"

I know that it can and that it cannot...

It can if you use extremely HIGH temperatures, use several heat sources all at once, use heat several times during the week, press down really hard on your hair with a hot comb or flat iron, or use excessive heat with no heat protectant for your hair strands...

But heat won't destroy your hair if you are careful, use it in moderation, and use the right tools and methods for straightening your hair.

After straightening my hair with heat a couple of days ago, it seems like heat is going to be my hair's friend like it was when I was a child with natural hair and like it was when I had relaxed hair. When my hair was natural, my mom would always blowdry, grease, and press my hair. When I had relaxed hair, my mom would always blowdry, grease, and use curling irons on my hair, and my hair was long (armpit length/almost brastrap length) before I got it cut to shoulder length several times during high school. If I had never cut my hair, it would had probably been brastrap length or longer by the time I got to college. And get this... I NEVER had any knots or tangles until I experiemented with airdrying and until I started transitioning to natural back in 2004. I believe any breakage I had during this time came from excessive combing when I was relaxed and from dealing with two different hair textures when I was transitioning. I believe the breakage I experience with natural hair is coming from airdrying my hair and leaving it in it's shrunken state.

But I don't know anymore... just throwing random thoughts out there. I really didn't go natural to hate on straight hair like a lot of natural women do. I actually like straight hair that looks healthy... I just didn't like chemical relaxers being applied to my hair. I know when I first wanted to go natural, my plan was to keep my natural hair straightened. Until I came across Nappturality, I thought it was best to keep my hair in its natural state. Plus, I had heat damage from when my mom pressed my hair TOO HARD with a hot comb on the stove with HIGH HEAT which led me to believe that heat was the "devil" so-to-speak.

Now, I'm really trying to rethink some things and revisit some initial goals that I had.... wanting long natural hair and actually having my hair appear long (not having to stretch it out to show people how long it really is). So that means adopting a safe and careful routine of using heat.

If you would like to share your thoughts on this matter, please be my guest. Thanks!

You and I are in the same boat. I believe that I lost 1 to 2 inches of growth this summer because of the knots, and tangles. I had to cut them off whenever I saw them. Yes I did have a bit of heat damage, which caused hair splits. But the tangles/ knots definitely did not help. Please allow us to follow your progress cause I am scared to apply heat every week or every two weeks but at the same time I cannot go on with these tangles. I thought of putting in twists but sometimes that damages your hair too if you are not on top of taking care of it. Just don't know which move to make.

 

[CurliDiva]

Don't be discouraged. The issue isn't so much about being natural versus being relaxed... it's more so of wearing my hair unstraight versus straight.

Let me explain... I see that you said you experienced a lot of tangles when relaxed...

1. When I wore my relaxed hair straightened or rollersetted smooth, I never experienced tangles, knots, or shedding and minimal breakage.

2. When I wore my relaxed hair in a braidout or bun or airdried style which makes my hair bend at different areas along the hairshaft, I experience tangles, knots, shedding, and breakage.

3. When I wear my natural hair straightened, no tangles, no knots, no shedding, no breakage.

4. When I wear my natural hair in shrunken styles or airdried natural hair styles, I experience tangles, knots, matting, shedding and some breakage.

I definitely feel like my hair is much stronger natural than it was relaxed. However, I am finding that keeping it in its unstraighten natural state is wreaking havoc on the ends of my hair strands. I initially came to this forum to achieve longer hair after I cut my hair to chin length back in 2003. Then I wanted to give up relaxers and go natural and wear my natural hair straight. Then after I had heat damage, I decided to wear my hair in natural hair styles like twists, puffs, fros, etc. These styles have caused my hair to get single strand knots and splits among other things. I never experienced this with straightened hair.

And as I grow out my natural hair, I sometimes ask myself "Why am I even trying to grow my hair long when it's not going to look long." My initial goal was to grow long healthy natural hair that appears long. In order for my natural hair to appear long, it has to be straightened with heat.

And then you have those people who say "Straight hair (regardless of whether it's natural or relaxed) is a European/White beauty standard." YEAH RIGHT! I NEVER thought this in my life until I discovered the hair boards. I can see where that statement comes from, but I never had those issues of wanting my hair to look like a white girl's hair. I'm tired of people getting hung up on certain hair issues and can't come to grips of enjoying their God-given hair.

Hey Poohbear!

As I inch my way to APL (which I consider LONG hair on me because I'm tall) I'm constantly thinking about "how" I'm going to style my hair for this next phase of my hair journey.

I want to throw away all fake hair and deal with my natural, long hair from then on!

I never thought about NOT straighten my natural hair ocassionally unitl I ran across the fotki of a beautiful waistlength natural gal who stated that she NEVER intends to straigthen her hair for social-political reasons.

Hmm.... something new to think about...

I love LHCF, but I've noticed that most long haired naturals posted photo of straigthen hair in their siggie - which they have every right to do but it makes me wonder how "easy" or "hard" natural hair is to deal with if your texture is 4 b,c,d,....z'ish. I started a thread aking if any other "naturals never straighten" - which got lots of responses.

I love that MSCOCOFACE (yes, I'm caling your beautiful hair out) has waistlength natural hair that is totally shruken in her siggie!

I don't have any advice to offer, but just know that you're not alone in your quest for a happy medium ground!

 

[lana]

Well I'm texlaxed now, but when I was a 4a/b natural, I always wore my hair straightened with the maxiglide or another ceramic heat straightening tool. My hair grew to shoulder length and pretty much stayed there. Then I texlaxed and my hair is now 4 or 5 inches past shoulder length, thick, healthy, with minimal breakage and shedding.

What do I make of this? Well I would lose soooo much hair detangling and styling while natural that it was breaking as fast as it was growing. Even though I was careful and used great conditioners and detangling techniques. With the texlax, I still have my natural texture, just looser curl pattern which allows for easier detangling and styling. I also use less heat on lower settings because it doesn't take a lot to get my hair straight.

I'm happy where I'm at and the decisions that I've made for my hair have nothing to do with anyone else. The way I wear my hair now makes me feel like the best and most beautiful Lana every single day. I see other girls with pretty hair and different styles and when I look in the mirror I think "but girl you got it going on too!"

When I was completely natural and fighting my texture I would look in the mirror and say, "Maybe next week."

 

[jtsupanova]

The shrinkage ,tangles and knots that come along with natural hair is the main reason I am texlaxed! being natural was not the healtheist thing for my hair although I thouhgt it was.when i was natural i had to live with split ends and knots and there was no getting rid of it it was just the nature of the hair.With a relaxer I never get splits or knot and I retain lenght. i nver knew what a spilt end was on my hair until i went natural. My hair seems healthier texlax...backwards but true!

 

[meaganita]

The shrinkage ,tangles and knots that come along with natural hair is the main reason I am texlaxed! being natural was not the healtheist thing for my hair although I thouhgt it was.when i was natural i had to live with split ends and knots and there was no getting rid of it it was just the nature of the hair.With a relaxer I never get splits or knot and I retain lenght. i nver knew what a spilt end was on my hair until i went natural. My hair seems healthier texlax...backwards but true!

The bolded is true for me too....I never had split ends when I was relaxed...But I did have some other problems...shedding was a big one.

There's definitely draw-backs to both sides.....in addition to the benefits.

 

[Guapa1]

Poohbear.

If you want to use heat on your hair, it's alright. Use it, and I hope it will help you along your hair journey.

You don't have to justify it to anyone. Not here, not on the other board.

You don't need to make excuses for using it.

 

[Cichelle]

I have a different hair type than you, but I hope you don't mind me responding.

It has crossed my mind on more than one occasion that it might be easier on my hair if I just had it blown out or somehow straightened every other week or so and wore it in a bun/protective style in between. This thought never occurred to me when my hair was still short, but it occurred to me regularly at different points of frustration as my hair got longer. The major issue with my hair is TANGLES and KNOTS and combing them out. I truly believe that detangling, for some people, can cause enough damage that they don't retain their length.

I am not ready to start using heat because I can't get over the idea that it will ultimately damage my hair and the trade off will not be worth it. So, in order to avoid excessive damage from tangles and knots, I MUST detangle carefully every day. The absolute longest I can go is every other day. After that, it's just asking for damage. Some people can go weeks without combing, but my hair would be a rat's nest and combing it out would create major damage. I think that is one of the reasons I was not able to grow my hair past bsl back in the day. I wouldn't detangle for a long while and then practically have to rip my hair out. Thank goodness I know better now.

So, the detangling daily (and protective styles and oils/butters) works for me. But the essential point I'm trying to make here is that if my hair were such that it tangled right after I detangled it, I think I would start using heat. I really do. I think that might be the better option. I'm not sure of it. But I certainly would give it a try for a while.

That's my two cents, for what it's worth.

 

[Poohbear]

Hey Poohbear!

As I inch my way to APL (which I consider LONG hair on me because I'm tall) I'm constantly thinking about "how" I'm going to style my hair for this next phase of my hair journey.

I want to throw away all fake hair and deal with my natural, long hair from then on!

I never thought about NOT straighten my natural hair ocassionally unitl I ran across the fotki of a beautiful waistlength natural gal who stated that she NEVER intends to straigthen her hair for social-political reasons.

Hmm.... something new to think about...

I love LHCF, but I've noticed that most long haired naturals posted photo of straigthen hair in their siggie - which they have every right to do but it makes me wonder how "easy" or "hard" natural hair is to deal with if your texture is 4 b,c,d,....z'ish. I started a thread aking if any other "naturals never straighten" - which got lots of responses.

I love that MSCOCOFACE (yes, I'm caling your beautiful hair out) has waistlength natural hair that is totally shruken in her siggie!

I don't have any advice to offer, but just know that you're not alone in your quest for a happy medium ground!

Yeah, but I don't think mscocoface is quite waistlength yet. I think she's currently trying to reach brastrap length if I'm not mistaken.

But about shrinkage...with my type hair texture, if my natural hair were to reach brastrap length or waist length when stretched, my hair would probably still shrink to a 2-3 inch teenie weenie afro with no hang time if I did a wash n go. My hair is currently armpit length when stretched but still shrinks to a teenie weenie fro.

I don't mind wearing twists, I just don't like how they are all different lengths and shrink above my shoulders. I also don't like how the twists in the front appear shorter than the twists in the back. It shows off some sort of mullet hair shape which I do not like.

 

[Cheleigh]

I haven't straightened my hair yet, but while I do notice single strand knots, tangles and some splits, I don't know if it's really inhibiting hair retention. I seem to be the same length I'd expect to be, and generally it seems healthy.

I think "some" natural hair is super knotty and tangly, and mine is one of them. I only see breakage generally when I'm manipulating my ends a lot (pulling out tangles or tugging on them).

I don't have a problem with straightening hair at all, but I'm not yet sure that going back and forth will be best for my hair--I might have the hair type that needs to be straightened most of the time or left in it's natural texture most of the time. I do know that my hair's ends don't like to be stretched-I loose a lot of moisture that way. My hair tangles less when I coat my hair with heavy butter/light wax combos (soy, rice bran wax) and do oil rinses (I use apricot kernel or olive).

I'm going to straighten in the next few weeks, so we'll see.

Rollersetting might be a good compromise for my hair.

 

[Evolving78]

I really don't have much advice. You will decide what is best for your hair and it seems like your mind is already made up. I have really coily hair too and I really don't try to detangle because it is so coily. I really don't agree with the heat thing, not just because of the natural thing, but I really wasn't into heat when I was relaxed too. I believe over time that your hair will change using heat. I don't think you will neccessarly have stringy, broken off ends, but the more you do it, the more your hair will be "trained" to straighten better or easier. That is somewhat of heat damage. But if you feel that this is better for you and the image that you want to represent (Looking your age) than do what you gotta do. I'm knockin on 30 with two babies and I still look like I could be 17-19 years old.

 

[nappity]

I have been natural since 1999 and I gotta agree its not been easy- but when I made the choice to stop relaxing my hair it was truly cause I was tired of it - and I wanted to see if I could work with what I had. Yes there were days and months of frustration and alot of trial and error- but I had to treat it as if it couldnt change in texture and learn how to work with it. I have no opinion as to whether or not people should straighten their hair- Its THEIR hair. I just choose not to cause i prefer squeezable hair as opposed to blow in the wind hair. I love my knots-shrinkage, tangles and I learn new ways every day.Would you believe that after 7 years of being natural I have finally learned and can apply the concepts of low-manipulation. And guess what??? It works!!!
Onward and upward

 

[Incredible1ne]

Right after my big chop I searched the net and came across Nappturality. That was my first time ever hearing that heat was bad for natural hair. In a way it kind of scared me from using heat. Now I don't believe heat is inherently evil for natural hair, it's all in the technique.
As my hair grows I am getting a lot of knots, tangles and splits. If this continues I'm going to a) use heat or b) texturize. I prefer not to use chemicals but if I do want to have long healthy hair something has to give. Locking is not an option and who wants to be in protective styles like box braids and twists forever and a day? There's no point in growing hair long if you can't even enjoy it IMO.

 

[Guapa1]

I have been natural since 1999 and I gotta agree its not been easy- but when I made the choice to stop relaxing my hair it was truly cause I was tired of it - and I wanted to see if I could work with what I had. Yes there were days and months of frustration and alot of trial and error- but I had to treat it as if it couldnt change in texture and learn how to work with it. I have no opinion as to whether or not people should straighten their hair- Its THEIR hair. I just choose not to cause i prefer squeezable hair as opposed to blow in the wind hair. I love my knots-shrinkage, tangles and I learn new ways every day.Would you believe that after 7 years of being natural I have finally learned and can apply the concepts of low-manipulation. And guess what??? It works!!!
Onward and upward

If you know what could happen and do it anyway, that's your business.

 

[Poohbear]

I really don't have much advice. You will decide what is best for your hair and it seems like your mind is already made up. I have really coily hair too and I really don't try to detangle because it is so coily. I really don't agree with the heat thing, not just because of the natural thing, but I really wasn't into heat when I was relaxed too. I believe over time that your hair will change using heat. I don't think you will neccessarly have stringy, broken off ends, but the more you do it, the more your hair will be "trained" to straighten better or easier. That is somewhat of heat damage. But if you feel that this is better for you and the image that you want to represent (Looking your age) than do what you gotta do. I'm knockin on 30 with two babies and I still look like I could be 17-19 years old.

I feel like hair damage, rahter heat related or not, is excessive breakage, knots, and splits. Damage can happen without heat, and I believe that's what has been happening to my hair ends.

It looks like we feel differently about heat. I was into heat when I had relaxed hair. I guess that's why I'm seeing that it can work for my natural hair too.

As far as the image I want to represent... I want to represet myself and feel good about my hair too regardless of what people think. No matter what hair style, natural state or straightened, I still look younger than my age of 23, but with straightened hair, I feel like I look more mature and womanly... its hard to explain. It's really about me and what I think rather than what other people think about my appearance.

 

[ShaniKeys]

I have been natural since 1999 and I gotta agree its not been easy- but when I made the choice to stop relaxing my hair it was truly cause I was tired of it - and I wanted to see if I could work with what I had. Yes there were days and months of frustration and alot of trial and error- but I had to treat it as if it couldnt change in texture and learn how to work with it. I have no opinion as to whether or not people should straighten their hair- Its THEIR hair. I just choose not to cause i prefer squeezable hair as opposed to blow in the wind hair. I love my knots-shrinkage, tangles and I learn new ways every day.Would you believe that after 7 years of being natural I have finally learned and can apply the concepts of low-manipulation. And guess what??? It works!!!
Onward and upward

Any tips about how to deal with single strand knots, pixie knots and tangling are more than welcome I've been moisturizing my hair daily and baggying my ends, and things have improved but more tips are always welcome, esp. from a veteran

 

[cutiebe2]

I stretch my hair (not straigten) and that seems to do the job.
I either do bantu knots or just 10 or 12 braids so that the hair is not shrunken up. This summer I wore it in its natural state and it took me 2 DAYS to untangle it.
I also use cool heat once in a while

I agree with you....I think heat once in a while is better that knotted, broken hair.