so... why did you relax your hair in the first place?

[prophetesshope]

Well... i picked other because my Mom had me wearing a jerry curl erplexed at the time and i didn't want a jerry curl...So it was either the Jerry Curl or the Relaxer. I was tired of being greasey all the time so I got the Relaxer THANK GOD

 

[amwcah]

I was concerned about maintaining my hair while living the dorm life. At that time(late 80's), I had no knowledge about electric straightening combs. Did or do they even exist? I believe I have seen one before, but I'm not certain.

 

[Carrie A]

Relaxing was seen as a right of passage from childhood into adulthood (adolescence). I was still wearing two braids in early Jr. High. The popular styles back then were relaxed geometric styles. The "asymmetric bob", "crimps" and short cuts rules the day. So I caved to peer pressure and got a relaxer. Funny thing is I had trouble keeping the asymmetric styles so I was always in a rollerset or bun even back then. That's the only thing that saved my hair.

 

[BellaLunie]

Well honestly I was 5 but it technically wasn't a full on relaxer. My parents had just separated and my mom was living in the states. My dad's new girlfriend relaxed her hair and she put the leftovers on my roots(to make it more manageable). From then on whenever she got a relaxer she would do the same and press the rest of my hair. It wasn't until I was 13 that I got a full on relaxer.

 

[Hairsofab]

I don't remember why exactly but I was young probably 8 or 9. I do know I wanted my hair to look like Janet Jackson in Different Strokes. And I remember going to the salon and getting a relaxer but I really don't remember if my mom or dad or someone else pressured me.

 

[DayStar]

after having locs i wanted a new look.....i was going through a phase

 

[prospurr4]

I got my first relaxer at age 20, because I was gonna be in a friend's wedding and wanted straight hair for the event. I was tired of pressing my hair (took way too much time and effort), so I went to a salon and got it done.

 

[Aggie]

I got my first relaxer at age 20, because I was gonna be in a friend's wedding and wanted straight hair for the event. I was tired of pressing my hair (took way too much time and effort), so I went to a salon and got it done.

Hi prospurr. You are indeed my texlax inspiration and just thought I'd come out of lurk mode to tell you that.

I am only in love with "the idea" of becoming natural but I know I won't. I am deep into a very long relaxer stretch and "toyed" with the idea for a minute but again I know I won't transition to natural - not long-term anyway.

My first relaxer was at the age of 11 I think just before going to middle school. My mom decided that that it was time I start doing my own hair at that point and I was so excited that she gave me the freedom to do it myself so soon. I had really healthy dense hair. I got experimental and lost it all when I put some hydrogen peroxide in it at the age of 16.

Anyhoo I couldn't keep any hair on my head for a long time because I liked to experiment doing different things to it. I got proactive about 10 years ago and wore a wig for 2 years until my hair recovered somewhat.

Now thanks to lhcf, I have so much knowledge about healthy hair care, I can finally keep my hair on my head for good. Additionally, I can't wait to complete my texlax transition.

 

[prospurr4]

Hi prospurr. You are indeed my texlax inspiration and just thought I'd come out of lurk mode to tell you that.

Aggie...thanks so much for saying so...it has been my goal to be an inspiration to others.

I am looking forward to seeing your progress after such a long stretch.

 

[frizzy]

I don't know. I was in the 10th grade and my mom asked me if I wanted a perm, I said okay.

She hadn't done my hair on a daily basis in years and years, so it's not like it was helping her out for me to have a relaxer, it was totally out of the blue.

Mommy put in my first Dark n' Lovely.

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

100% Peer pressure.

My mom always encouraged me to be natural and love myself, but she's a professor/engineer so she put the most emphasis on making sure my education was top notch.........she kind of underestimated the way I would get taunted for being the girl that was natural the longest and having type 4 "bad" hair so she just made sure I was excelling academically and didn't really talk to me in depth about my hair it would just be a by the way kinda thing.

So after being teased about my hair incessantly and always getting the question "when you gettin a perm?" I cared what the other kids said to me when I was that young I internalized the good hair bad hair myth and I had this ridiculous tendency to chill with the ghetto kids I caved in and relaxed in the 10th grade.

It was cool for the first three years then it started to thin out and break off.....but more importantly I got into college and really began to be disturbed by the process of relaxing in general......so after being relaxed four years I began my long term transition freshman year of college and I knew it would be for good. I've been natural ever since

 

[1QTPie]

Because at 12, I chopped all of my hair off and to even it out the stylist had to really cut it. My mother didn't know what to do with it after that, so she allowed the stylist to relax it. We never talked about it before that day. She just didn't want me to have an afro I guess, so a relaxer is what I got. I was fly too. LOL.

 

[chebaby]

my mom relaxed my hair at maybe 9-10. i dont really know because when i was natural my hair was always pressed so i dont know.
i never really cared about have staright hair so it didnt make me any difference. and when i was younger the adults never said "ok we are going to get you a relaxxer so your hair will be so straight". they just said "ok its time to get your hair done". so i never knew anything except i was getting my hair done.

 

[Patricia]

Just because, no particular reason just wanted a relaxer.

 

[prettybyrd]

I was relaxed at 12 or 13...I had no choice it was my mother's decision. I never wanted a relaxer because even with it, I still wasn't allowed to comb my own hair.

I stopped relaxing regularly at 19 because the chemicals were causing me migraines (they started at 15), by 26 I completely stopped using relaxers, and guess what - no more migraines!

 

[Aggie]

Aggie...thanks so much for saying so...it has been my goal to be an inspiration to others.

I am looking forward to seeing your progress after such a long stretch.

You're welcomed hun. I may need to hang out in your fotki for a while after I complete my stretch. I am already thinking about not using heat either but not quite mentally there yet. We'll see how it goes. I would really need some hair styles that would help me keep the hot tools out of my hair.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

It is all I know. I've tried going natural 9 times and relaxed due to frustration. I am attempting a long transition to see if I can handle being natural. If not, I will texlax at the end of my long "stretch" with the JFM softner.

 

[smitmarv]

I had no choice and I wont be doing this to my daughter!

 

[ChocalateDiva]

No choice, my mom relaxed my hair when I was 12.

 

[aquajoyice]

I begged my mom at age 8 when I saw the first PCJ kiddie relaxer commercial. I wanted to wear my hair straight and make it easier to manage.

 

[Cheleigh]

I hated getting press and curls, and couldn't wait to have straight hair withouth the pressing experience.

 

[NYAmicas]

Because I wanted to and I dont regret it. I've been relaxed since I was 13 I think and after learning how to properly care for my relaxed hair Im fine with it.

 

[wheezy807]

I was relaxed at a young age so there then on i just stuck with it.

 

[chosen1]

I relax because my hair has always been relaxed since I was 5. I have no idea what my natural texture looks like. I am going to attempt to grow my hair midback length or maybe waistlength. Just to see if I can do it. THen I plan to cut it and grow it out naturally. We'll see. But its my plan so far.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

I was thirteen when I received mine. It seemed like all of my classmates had one and I wanted one as well.

 

[Sugar]

I had a similar convo with my Mom a few weeks ago. She can't remember how old I was when my hair was 1st relaxed, but we estimate somewhere between 5 and 8. We'd have to go back and look at school pics to confirm it though. My mom's reason was most likely manageability.

 

[Ms_Twana]

I was originally relaxed at a young age, and until LHCF, not relaxing never even crossed my mind. So that was my 1st vote. My other vote was manageabilty because I went natural for 2.5 years, and it became too much maintanence. My other vote was because I wanted to. LOL!!

 

[Meli-Melo]

I was forced by my mother. I don't remember at what age exactly but I know I was already relaxed before I even started to go to school...

 

[sula510]

Have been relaxed several different times in my life. Always because I wanted to do it.
This last time, 10/09 after six years natural, I wanted more mangeablity and hopefully less work. I will be starting classes in January, do not want to devote so much time to detangling and styling.

 

[lovenharmony]

The simple reason was because I wanted to. The complex reason was because I wanted to have long silky hair like most of the girls in my class. I went to school with mostly european, spanish and asian people. The few Blacks girls that were there had 3b/c texture and/or had long hair (SL and longer). I wanted my hair to look like theirs so we could talk and comb each other's hair like they did with each other. Some of them even asked me why I didn't grow my hair long so they could comb it and play dress up with them. By the time I was around 12 years old, I was pleading with my mom to relax my hair...just to see a little more length. When I would get my hair pressed, the girls at school would be so astonished that my hair was growing "so long" and said I look so pretty with the long hair.

I'm so glad that I've broken out of that mentality about smooth, shiny and straight hair being the end all be all to having pretty hair. That's why I'm transitioning now...although I'm still hung up on the long hair part!