What I Miss About Being Relaxed...

[ms-gg]

Nathan! I hated my relaxed hair! It was thin, forever breaking and damaged. Not a good look at all

 

[aquajoyice]

I miss being able to detangle by running a comb through it really quick. And my braidouts consisted of washing the putting hair in a single braided ponytail. When I took my hair down the next morning it was on an popping. But even still I don't miss the smell of relaxers and always praying I still have hair after each application.

 

[lilyofthenile]

Being able to get a comb through it when my hair was dry.

 

[Missjetta]

I miss:
Being able to finger comb my hair into a ponytail or clippie with ease
Loose ponytails/buns
Barely having to detangle and no knots
Wearing hair wet with nothing in it
Tons of hairstyles
Not having to do much to it to look cute

Now, keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has pretty much zero hair skills. Well, maybe just ONE skill, miraculously I can flat iron well. I can't rollerset, do any kind of twists or cornrows, get curl definition, control frizz...none of it. Just a HAM, lol.

 

[ebsalita]

Couldn't agree more, and the more I learn about my hair, the more practice I get the easier it is to maintain.

I tried to think of something I miss about relaxers.... But I'm stumped. I used to hate getting relaxers because I burned so badly.


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Southernbella.]

At this point, nothing. Had you asked me this two years ago, I would have said the fresh-from-the-salon swang, but now that I've perfected my flat iron technique, I can have that when I want it

 

[qchelle]

Not a damn thing My relaxed hair looked.like.****! Sure there were no SSKs, no detangling, etc......but my hair looked to' up from the flo' up!

I'm jealous of yall ladies who had nice relaxed hair to the point where you actually miss it! Must've been nice

ETA: and swang? My hair has never swanged from anything in its 21 years on Earth

 

[carameldelight87]

carameldelight87 wait... did you say unstretched MBL?

lawwd may the force be with you!

Ok, more like a "lightly stretched" MBL. I mean like I'm able to do twist outs and my hair hits MBL. Not a wash-n-go MBL, that'd be just ridiculous.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Nice thread topic!

I would be interested in hearing from more current naturals who loved their relaxed hair and never had issues with it.....like me.

I mean really, if you hated getting a relaxer, burned each time, had no edges, got oozing sores, etc., who would blame you for not missing that process?



Sent from my Comet

I did like my relaxed hair. I didn't have any issues except the occasional scab. My relaxed hair was thick, long, and healthy. But I still love my natural hair so much more

 

[sunnieb]

Nonie and FoxxyLocs - Thanks ladies! This is what I was looking for. It just seems like I see naturals who had major problems with their relaxed hair so the were almost "forced" to go natural.

 

[TopShelf]

I miss my buns, my rollersets, how shiny my hair looked after a rollerset, simple wash days, going to the salon because I love my stylist and because there was always someone sellling something in there......I only went natural bacause I had eczema and its too much work trying to find the right products for my scalp.....otherwise I would've stayed relaxed

 

[AHeadOfCoils]

I miss sexy bed head.....

after a roll in the hay, my hair looked tousled, floppy and cute, not poofy, sweaty and frizzy

THIS is what I miss the most.

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

I miss THAT SWANG but not much else....

The scalp burns: OUCH!
Breakage after enjoying that SWANG just a little too much...Oh hell NAW!
The SMELL: ICK!
That "Johnny come lately" burn you get when you realize a big GOOP of perm got dropped on your ear, and your stylist wipes it AND your EAR SKIN off....AGGGGHHH!

....nope.....just THAT SWANG...but my Natural Swang is better anyways

 

[Sianna]

I miss the blissful ignorance, the lack of SSK's, not having to look at product ingredients and, (don't judge me for this) but I miss the Luster's Pink Oil Lotion! My best memory of that stuff was when I was a teenager and old enough to do my own relaxer for the first time. I slicked some of that pink lotion in my hair and BLING!! It was so soft and shiny!!

Didn't stay like that too long though!

In the end, the Cons of having relaxed hair far outweigh the Pros! At least that's the case for me.
I don't miss the burned, weeping scalp after 50% or more of my relaxers.
The miss-fires, when the relaxer didn't even "take" and my hair was just as frizzy and bushy as it was before.
The HUNDREDS of broken off pieces of hair on my back and the floor after a detangling session!
And I especially don't miss having hair that just wouldn't/couldn't grow!

I like my hair soooo much better now!

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

I was thinking for a long time about this and maybe I miss the decreased detangling time. However, my hair would still tangle pretty badly when relaxed because my hair was so resistant to the relaxer. It would still take me 2-3 hours to do my hair and I'd still get charged extra at the salons.

And even if I miss the amount of time I detangle, that's outweighed by the fact that my styles last so long now.

I thought I loved my hair when I was relaxed because I thought it was "long" (shoulder length most of the time, APL or close to it rarely), it was thick, and I thought chewed up nape and edges were the norm lol (I mean, everyone I knew had 'em!) .

 

[1richesquire]

I miss wet wrapping my hair at night and waking up to an instant hair style. No heat ever needed.

 

[BostonMaria]

My relaxed hair was ugly, chewed up and thin.... BUT the only thing I miss is being able to walk outside in the summer and not have to worry about my hair reverting.

 

[LadyRaider]

I don't see much difference. If I wanted it straight, I'd have to use heat... just like now. I like how now I can just wash/wet my hair and end up with an instant curly puff that's cute rather than having to do something with it like when it was straight.

Hmmmm. I can't really think of something I miss.

 

[Truth]

only thing I miss is the fact that my hair didn't tangle..

 

[Arcadian]

I miss the fact that I never had single strand knots. Otherwise my hair is quite manageable. I did find if I braid my hair (or make the effort to) the knots are kept to a minimum. basically if my hair is straighter, I won't have knots. figures.

At any rate I enjoy my hair in all its seasons. The one thing I don't miss about relaxing is well...the cycle of relaxing. I like that for now I'm not bothered by all that.


-A

 

[LilMissSunshine5]

Hmmm...I have only been fully natural a little over 3 months At 15 months post, I can say the only thing I truly miss is the predictability of my relaxed hair! I never know what kinda hair I am going to get nowadays...some days it is YAY yay, some days it is MEH ohwell!!!! But I have learned to do twistouts/flat twists for special occasions where I know I need my hair to "act right" or at least try to look somewhat uniform

My relaxed hair was long-ish (APL-BSL most times) and was full looking with nice ends. Sometimes, I had burns, but nothing awful or oozing So I didn't go natural out of necessity or bad relaxer experiences, but bc I really curly hair and wanted to get reacquainted with mine I did think it would help me regain some lost thickness (from relaxing for 18 yrs!) and decrease my dermatitis flare ups

ETA: I thought of something else! I miss not having to take care of my hair & it still thriving...sometimes I wore a ponytail/bun for weeks & didn't comb it, just readjusted the ponytail holder to gather stray hairs Don't judge me But going natural has upped my hair skills ability & ignited a creativity with hair I never knew I had Who knew?!?! So I miss those things, but I'm good

 

[ChristmasCarol]

@Allandra, I'm glad I'm not alone. I was beginning to feel like a freak. LOL

You are not alone, Nonie!

My natural hair is MUCH better-looking than my relaxed hair and easier, too. Co-washing 2/3 times a week takes up less time than going to the salon every few weeks and sitting there half the day.

 

[LoveTheSkinImIn]

I miss my bangin rollersets (and I do mean BANGIN). And I miss the ease of doing my hair...being able to throw it into a ponytail, slap on some mango butter and move it. I miss that fresh relaxer feel, even though I only relaxed every 3-4 months...I miss my relaxed twistouts too.

 

[Ashawn Arraine]

I miss wrapping my hair at night, combing out in the morning and 5 minutes later, having an awesome style.

My honeymoon period would be the first two weeks after the relaxer. After that, new growth would start taking over, my rollersets wouldn't be as smooth, and I would be breaking out the tub of black gel...

OT but I love your hair I am currently transitioning and hope that it comes out like your avatar one day.

 

[Curlykale]

I missed my texturized hair A LOT when my natural hair was shorter.

But today that I have a routine and it has grown and we finally know each other... I am so glad I waited. It's never been so spectacular, so long and so predictable

 

[Avaya]

My bun
Being able to wash my hair loose
Being able to style my hair in 15 minutes or less instead of the 9 hours it takes me to twist my hair
Being able to comb my dry hair
My enviable length
No single strand knots, no shrinkage

 

[Kirei]

I miss just being about to slap my hair in a ponytail with some water and a bit if grease.

I do miss being able to wash my hair all at once...

I liove my natural hair but, it's not easier than my relaxed hair.

 

[Shananyganz]

Uhmmmm the ease of throwing my hair into a ponytail and detangling didn't take years...but MOST of all...I miss the hair that I cut I could have used that length now and SURPASSED my goal of MBL.

~S~

 

[LadyRaider]

Nice thread topic!

I would be interested in hearing from more current naturals who loved their relaxed hair and never had issues with it.....like me.

I mean really, if you hated getting a relaxer, burned each time, had no edges, got oozing sores, etc., who would blame you for not missing that process?

sunnieb

I didn't have any problems with burning, edges, etc. I think my hair was thinning out the more I started getting "regular" relaxers, but at the time I didn't know it. I didn't hate my relaxed hair. The only problem I had with relaxed hair is paying someone to do it for me because I "needed it."

It just honestly doesn't make that much difference in my hair. If I wanted straight hair when I was relaxed, I still had to use heat... blow dry, flat iron etc. Or even now that I know about rollersetting, etc... I'd still have to do that.

And I was always doing something (back then curling iron) to curl my hair. Now I have curls that I can just run with. I have become the queen of the wash and go banana clip (shout out to Kimmay and the gals in the random hair thread) pony puff. I can do other wash and gos, but I'm trying to do a better job of keeping my ends off my neck/shoulders/clothes.

So for me, my natural hair is easier.

 

[doll-baby]

I miss being able to wear a flat ironed hair style until my next wash day instead of until phantom humidity zaps it back into a puff.