I’m 52 and went natural before a lot of you were born. In my generation you got a relaxer and I caught hell for going natural. This was before a lot of products for natural hair were developed.
Back then women had long relaxed hair because this was before women started using flat irons (and the heat damage that happens now) and and women kept it simple, simply because there weren’t so many products.
I went back to relaxers and have had them ever since. For 30 years. When I first joined this board I was BSL but became a product junkie, and my stylist kept telling me to stop it and stop listening to people online who don’t have a cosmetology license.
He was right, because when I stopped using all those products and steps and learned more about my hair and listened to what he suggested, I was MBL. I’m MBL now with thick healthy ends and all I do is weekly washes, condition, leave in, and oil on my ends. I never put direct heat on my hair, only air dry and roller set. Trims every 8 weeks. But I’m lucky, my stylist is awesome and knows how to take care of relaxed hair. I’ve been going to him for 18 years and I’ve never seen a client of his shorter than BSL.
All those natural protective styles aren’t necessarily protecting hair if it’s not taken care of. It’s been my experience that women I know who swear their hair is natural WL, go get a silk press after years of no trims and protective styles, their ends are so damaged and see through you can see straight to their soul, and they have to cut it off.
I say all this to say healthy hair has nothing to do with being natural or relaxed, it’s all about how well you take care of it, and what you’re willing to do to make and keep it healthy.