What do u think is easier ? ...

[nekee]

I don't know if easier is the word .. but the question is what do you think is easier
Growing and maintaining relaxed hair ?
OR
Growing and maintaining natural hair ?

I think maintaining natural hair is easier (well at least my natural hair), because i dont have to go through relaxing it and putting all those chemicals in it , and when it is growing out it wont snap and break because of relaxed ends . yadd yadda.

After seeing steph's hair i want to go back natural (such an inspiration)

What do y'll think is easier ?

 

[skegeesmb]

I think it depends on the reasons you are going natural. If you are going natural because you don't want to put relaxers in your hair, then it's easier to go natural because you skip the step of touch ups.

On the other hand, if your hair is not 2abc or 3abc, then it's going to be a little bit more different. Let me explain. If you are a woman who is going natural and has the expectations of Cree Summer, Kelis, or Scary Spice hair, and get spongy hair that has super shrinkage, you might have to wrestle with the fact that you don't have that kind of hair, and for some women, it's hard.

While there are ladies who realized that their hair will never have curl definition, and accept it, it's all good. But its really sad to see when someone posts I hate my 4b hair, what can I do to get it liks Cree, Kelis, Scary...

The last thing to think about is if you are a strong person. If you go natural, there are people on the net, who sit and wait for people to "trip up". If you go natural, you will represent some natural heads. And if you ever decide to put a chemical in your hair, be ready to face some dissaproval from dissapointed on-line naturals. I say online, because while not everybody who is natural cares what you do to your hair, some do, and will be quick to tell you about yourself. I know this is not everyone, but it does happen.

With that I'll give you my personal opinion. In regards to my own natural hair, I believe the only difference between my natural hair and relaxed hair is that I no longer put sodium hydroxide in my hair. That's it. The maintenance styles are the same, it takes a little longer to do my hair when I want to wear it wet as a natural because I am dealing with curls, and not straight wet relaxed hair. But it's the same for me. My hair is 3c/4a without products, and 3b/c with leave in products. My hair is not as dry natural because it's not relaxed bone straight. I really think how easy caring for relaxed or natural hair is up to you.

 

[JazzAngel]

I completely agree with every single thing skegeesmb has said. I couldn't have said it better.


After reading your post my first response was that for me there is little difference except that one style requires a chemical and hours and hours of sitting in a salon. One you are armed with the right information about your hair then it's all a wonderful journey to longer healthier hair.

 

[joyous]

Even though I haven't put chemicals in my hair for 10 months I think growing and maintaining relaxed hair is easier. I think breakage is a key factor since natural hair tends to be curlier. I think both natural and relaxed hair can be healthy with proper care.

 

[EbonyEyes]

I totally agree with what skegeesmb said.

It really depends on your mindset. For me personally, I think it will be about the same. I am a 4A natural and it is growing very well. But I do think that if I ever decided to relax again, it would flourish as well. But I'm loving my natural hair right now.

-Ebony

 

[cutebajangirl]

I think it all depends on what you do to your hair. Ther ehave been some here that stated that they needed curling irons, blow dryers etc while relaxed. I haven't used a curling iron since I was 12, unless I felt like playing in my hair. For me I wash my hair 2x a week and airdry or rollerset (depending on the mood i'm in) and on a daily basis at night spray some sheen spray or glosser or put some oil on the hair and cover it. In the morning I uncover comb and go. That's it, and that has been it for the past 12 years, unless i am in braids. Not a lot of time to me. But if you want to add the daily curling iron etc, etc then you will spend a alot of time on your hair. My cousins (one 4b and another 4a)who are natural wash and air dry their hair every 2 weeks and just oil and comb in the morning and cover it up at night. Once again not a time consuming regimen either. They both have hair past their shoulders in its natural state.So bottom line it really depends on what YOU want to do to your hair and not the hair itself.

 

[MelloYello]

It truly depends on how you intend to style your hair. When I was "natural" (non-relaxed hair) I was getting my hair blowdried, pressed and curled about every other week. I am a 3C with a ton of hair and I never thought to wear my hair "naturally curly" I have a big head and all those curls add to the mass.

With all the heat of trying to keep my hair straight, my hair was dry as a bone, damaged, permanently straight in some places. So I got my hair relaxed a year ago. Less maintnance for me and it fits into my lifestyle. Growth was never the issue - HEALTHY HAIR (whether relaxed or natural) is the key to length

 

[Ipanema]

I totally agree with skegeesmb, and I've been natural(4a) since January. If think if you transition, you should do it at least until the natural hair is long enough to put into a ponytail.

 

[steph]

I agree with all of the above post. My take on it is natural hair is difficult to deal with at times. I was that person who was natural, but i pressed and used so much heat in my hair that it was damaged. Now that i wear my hair curly most of the time. I am still getting some breakage lately because of the tight curl. So i do not think one way is easier than another. It just depends on your lifestyle and how you take care of it. I have never been relaxed, so i do not know what that is like. My hair is very fine, and i do not think my hair could take the chemicals

 

[Victorian]

One day I'll grow out my relaxer and find out for sure, but for now I'm going to echo what has already been said and say that I really think it depends on how you wear your hair. My hair is relaxed but I don't spend much time actually "doing" it. I spend far more time THINKING about what I'm going to do to it or put in it or just chatting about it on LHCF!

I don't relax that often, maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and I don't go to a salon to get it done (my mommy does it--Hi mom, if you read this

). So it really only takes as long as it takes her to put it in. I take more time deep conditioning

I'll admit, I have pretty boring taste when it comes to hairstyles so that's probably why having relaxed hair is easy for me. I put it in a little bun or tucked under ponytail and go on about my business. If I wanted to wear it out or do something fancy to it I would have to spend a lot more time and effort on it

 

[soulchild]

I think natural because you don't have to deal with the damage from the relaxer.

But, at the same time relaxed hair probably requires less manipulation.

 

[missykeyana]

I think that generally they are about the same. For me, right now it's easier. I spend more time day-to-day on my hair doing conditioner washes, but I've gained time from not using the curling iron,blow dryer, and flat iron every week. Maybe as my hair gets longer it will be more evenly matched for me.

 

[inthepink]

[ QUOTE ]
missykeyana said:
I spend more time day-to-day on my hair doing conditioner washes, but I've gained time from not using the curling iron,blow dryer, and flat iron every week.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a really good point. I spend more time washing b/c I have to wash in two sections to keep the tangles down. Additionally, I am a lot more careful with conditioner combing and detangling so that takes a little more time. Then, I also take special care to moisturize and do my ponytail drying method. However, I really spend LESS time on my hair b/c I don't have to blowdry AND curl it anymore.

 

[pebbles]

[ QUOTE ]
skegeesmb said:
I think it depends on the reasons you are going natural. If you are going natural because you don't want to put relaxers in your hair, then it's easier to go natural because you skip the step of touch ups.

On the other hand, if your hair is not 2abc or 3abc, then it's going to be a little bit more different. Let me explain. If you are a woman who is going natural and has the expectations of Cree Summer, Kelis, or Scary Spice hair, and get spongy hair that has super shrinkage, you might have to wrestle with the fact that you don't have that kind of hair, and for some women, it's hard.

While there are ladies who realized that their hair will never have curl definition, and accept it, it's all good. But its really sad to see when someone posts I hate my 4b hair, what can I do to get it liks Cree, Kelis, Scary...

The last thing to think about is if you are a strong person. If you go natural, there are people on the net, who sit and wait for people to "trip up". If you go natural, you will represent some natural heads. And if you ever decide to put a chemical in your hair, be ready to face some dissaproval from dissapointed on-line naturals. I say online, because while not everybody who is natural cares what you do to your hair, some do, and will be quick to tell you about yourself. I know this is not everyone, but it does happen.

With that I'll give you my personal opinion. In regards to my own natural hair, I believe the only difference between my natural hair and relaxed hair is that I no longer put sodium hydroxide in my hair. That's it. The maintenance styles are the same, it takes a little longer to do my hair when I want to wear it wet as a natural because I am dealing with curls, and not straight wet relaxed hair. But it's the same for me. My hair is 3c/4a without products, and 3b/c with leave in products. My hair is not as dry natural because it's not relaxed bone straight. I really think how easy caring for relaxed or natural hair is up to you.


[/ QUOTE ]

Co-signing!!

 

[aikaa71]

for me natural hair will be easier. Im currently transitioning and looking foward to wear my natural hair in twists or cornrows(low maintenace)

 

[loverofnaps71]

Steph:

I'd like to see pics of your hair. Do you have any available. Still working on putting mine up on the board.

Thanks and well wishes,

LON

 

[Zoe]

I think natural hair requires patience otherwise u can break ur hair off

You'll end up having healthy hair with both just as long as you take care of it..