What age did you get your first relaxer?

Time: 1980, place: Pensacola, Fla. I was 18 and recently out of bootcamp, so you know it was a horror story. A sista from Chicago asked me why I didnt have a perm and she hooked me up. Made my life so much easier. But over the next 24 yrs I abused my hair and finally went natural for several yrs until I decided it was too time consuming for my lifestyle and went back to relaxing after learning how to care for my relaxed hair on here.
Thank you Jesus cuz now I got purty hair!
 
I was 8 years old when I got a curl (not sure what kind, jherri or otherwise) and I got my first relaxer at 10 years old. My sis was 4 when she got her first relaxer. And from there she bounced (my mama bounced her, lol) back and forth between relaxers and curls severl times over the years. Her hair never did thrive. They'd probably attibute it to her not having good hair, but I think it was poor hair practices and my mama not understanding she couldn't treat both our hair the same and expect the same results when our hair was clearly not the same.

Based on old photos I see she was once natural, but she was had been relaxed all my life. She is transitioning (or at least attempting to, we'll see if it sticks) and I can see her hair is a looser curl pattern than mine and like mine is not very dense, so I guess when my sister was born, her hair did not curl and was uber dense, so she was clueelss how to handle it.
 
13. I begged my mom til she finally took me to the salon in JC Penny. This was waaaay back in 86. Straightened, my hair came out to APL. My shrinkage was bet NL and SL as a child. I was amazed.

Didn't last long. Within 6 months it was bone straight and NL...from breakage.

Every 2 or so years since then, I'd BC then put in braid extensions to fix damage. The cycle continued until a cpl years ago.
 
I was 6 or in the first grade. My mom took very good care of my hair and I always had long healthy 4a/b hair. To this day, I have a relaxer and love it! No bad experiences here!
 
I was 12, or 13 years old... transitioned to being natural at age 19...stayed natural up until last tuesday, I'm 28 now. ..back to relaxing my hair. It's sooo much easier for me.

during my natural days I had loose hair for 1 year, then had locs for 6 years, then loose hair again starting in January, but I recently relaxed my hair last tuesday.
 
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Around 3-4 I think. It was more of a texlax as my hair was stilk kinda crazy and she rollerset my hair to get it straight. I used to do pageants (mother wasn't a cray cray stage mom lol) and hair was part of the while deal along with just being easier for her to manage. I've never seen my natural hair aside from newgrowth lol.

My hair was always long and healthy until I was 13 and dad attempted to blow dry my hair after I went swimming... Had to chop it all off into a bob. I never saw my mother so mad before. XD
 
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8 years old at the salon, but over the years went back and forth between salon and home relaxer. The only time my hair suffered is with my last stylist I had been going to since I was 15. She was using Affirm:nono:, and never used a neutralizing shampoo, or deep conditioned, blowdried with comb, and used marcel irons.
 
I was 16, up and until then I was a natural head. If they had flat irons back in the 90's I would have never have relaxed my hair. I would love to see my hair's true potential by doing a big chop and going natural but I can't deal with the transition phase :)
 
Angelinhell said:
8 years old at the salon, but over the years went back and forth between salon and home relaxer. The only time my hair suffered is with my last stylist I had been going to since I was 15. She was using Affirm:nono:, and never used a neutralizing shampoo, or deep conditioned, blowdried with comb, and used marcel irons.
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:shocked: wow Angelinhell--its amazing your hair didnt fall out from the roots!
 
I was 13 when I got my first relaxer, I don't remember the initial experience but I do remember the older woman who burned my scalp to death and never wanted to wash it out when I complained :nono:. I was a meek kid and minded my elders, if I had made more of a fuss my mom probably would've said something to her..

I relaxed until I was 23, went natural for 7 years and here I am relaxing again, can hardly believe it :lol:

mochalocks said:
I was 12, or 13 years old... transitioned to being natural at age 19...stayed natural up until last tuesday, I'm 28 now. ..back to relaxing my hair. It's sooo much easier for me.

during my natural days I had loose hair for 1 year, then had locs for 6 years, then loose hair again starting in January, but I recently relaxed my hair last tuesday.
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mochalocks Welcome to the board :) I too took down locs and relaxed at the end of last year.
 
I was 18; I got it for my senior prom. I dyed it honey blonde about a month later and rocked that look (relaxed pixie cut in every shade of blonde, brown and red) for about 4 years. Then I tried being natural for about two years, then went back to relaxers for more than a decade, did another 4-year stint as a natural, and now I've been relaxed for the last 2 and a half years.
 
I think I was about 9 or 10. I begged my poor mama to put it in my hair. She did not have a clue about styling hair. So to my detriment when the relaxer was in my hair, it broke off even more because she did not know what she was doing :nono:. Then when we moved closer to my grandma, THANK GOODNESS (she was a beautician), my hair got back into shape. But the first 12 years of my life my hair looked a HOT mess! My grandma taught me almost everything I know about hair styling. I supplemented that information when I was in beauty school.
 
Raspberry said:
I was 13 when I got my first relaxer, I don't remember the initial experience but I do remember the older woman who burned my scalp to death and never wanted to wash it out when I complained :nono:. I was a meek kid and minded my elders, if I had made more of a fuss my mom probably would've said something to her..

I relaxed until I was 23, went natural for 7 years and here I am relaxing again, can hardly believe it :lol:

mochalocks Welcome to the board :) I too took down locs and relaxed at the end of last year.
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I'm sorry, i'm late in responding to this Thank you. It was a hard decision to make but I'm glad i made this choice.
 
I think I was 7 or 8....I'll never forget it, because the hairdresser left that relaxer on, and massaged it in like it was a deep conditioner. The pain was Amazing....head in Flames!! I am amazed I had hair as a child!! It was actually my Grandmother, also a beautician, who while giving me a touch up told me that the relaxer isn't actually supposed to burn you....which was news to me! Lol, too bad that we didn't get along, and she lived in FLA....I'm sure my hair woulda been a lot better off if she was the one doing it.
 
I was 11 and it was a weird experience the burn lol - Funny thing is I'm the one who asked my mum for a relaxer, she finaly gave in but looking aftr my own hair in my teens proved too much as I didn't have a clue how look aftr my hair :(
 
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