What Was Your Deciding Factor in Going Natural?

[Naturelle]

Why did you decide to go natural:Missed my natural hair...I thought I had pretty hair lol (even tho she been misbehaving a bit)

Tired of paying money....and more money...and more money for texturizers, perms, relaxers, touch ups etc.

Tired of chemicals in my hair....afterwhile it just didnt seem right to me that this stuff was sitting in my hair and the next minute if I really wanted to I could clean my toilet with it...uh huh it just wasn't right

Can you share your experience with me: About 5 yrs I was trying to transition and was stretching (even tho I didn't know I was doing that a la Lhcf). One day tho I just said cut it off. I sported a twa and then it grew to between apl and bsl (didn't know those terms then). 2 yrs in listened to my then stupid hair stylist who told me to texturize again and colour....It took a few months to see my hair break off even tho I went to my hair stylist at the time for everything..tho it was a wash and dc (treatment) or touch up...just yuck. When I pointed out my problem to her she told me it's somethign I'm doing...I was done...I chopped again about 2 - 3 yrs ago and here I am..natural and still learning how to take care of my hair to maximize health and length but I enjoy my journey
Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you: I've worn my hair natural for most my life. After a super perm disaster in high school I was afraid to put chemicals in my hair again (til the above mentioned story). But my hair has always been that "good black hair" which I never thought cause to me it was nappy. But growing older I realized aint no such thing as "good hair" just good hair practices. When I learned how to work with my hair and love her for who she is, we got along just fine. I did do her some major heat damage that I'm recovering from even until today....but I'm trying to nurse her back to health with the help of lhcf, research and tlc

Good: Love my curls, the versatility, the texture, the thickness/density
Bad, Ugly:the knots, the tangles, heat damaged hair (my fault tho)

 

[Jaxhair]

Why did you decide to go natural? We were trying for a family and I was eliminating all chemicals from my lifestyle.

Can you share your experience with me? Mine's a long story but I'll keep it short.... regular hairdresser (male, straight and the best stylist I ever had to that point) moved to NY just as I decided I'd go natural as we tried for a baby. He was fab at weaving and thought I'd have him weave my hair till it was long enough to style naturally.... I was stranded when he went, so I thought I'd be natural and just straighten occassionally and add glued weaves for length. Got it so wrong, my already thin, fine hair got worse, so I had it cut.

Were you scared too? Not at all. I got loads of compliments with my TWA. I just wish I knew how to care for my hair then. I did enjoy the wash and gos though!

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you? Both. I loved the freedom. I wrongly expected my hair to grow out all easy to maintain etc... wasn't prepared for the knots, tangles and splits. The longer it got the harder it got. I made some bad decisions based on my ignorance, sigh.... I had such a rollercoaster ride with my hair I ended up BCing again with 'thermal scissors' to seal ends so they didn't split and knot again (don't ask!), texturizing and absolutely hating it and chopping again a week later, locing and deciding I'm not ready for that and BC again for the last time in Jan '08 just before finding fotkis, forums and hair blogs (thank God!). So, that makes 4 BCs in 2.5 years, sigh!

I want to hear.....

the good: I Love my natural hair to bits! It's so unique and even at my short length I get compliments left, right and centre when I wear it loose (which I rarely do now as I try to keep tangles to a minimum). I love it when friends and family are suprised at the length when I stretch it. And I love how intrigued people seem to be with it and they ask me if they can feel it (FIL did that Saturday, lol). And the biggest good.... I can DIY without fear of overprocessing, burning etc... I love this! And it doesn't break willy nilly just because it's grown. I can be lazy and not lose hair, so long as I keep it moisturised. And all I need is my fingers to keep it going for weeks on end - no 'tools'! Oh, and my scalp feels and looks the healthiest it has been in over a decade!

the bad: Time it takes to restyle. I feel I will be able to deal with this better as it gets longer so I can have chunky twists abd braids in 15-30minutes.

the ugly: When not handled correctly - the tangles, the knots and the splits. I've learnt and I'm still learning how to handle my hair gently thus eliminating these, and I believe that soon there will not be any uglies here!

Wish you luck with your decision girl!

 

[TemiLnd]

Well my hair was a lovely lenght in 2007. I stretched my relaxer for 6 good months and had tons of growth. Went to the salon for a blow out - NOT A RELAXER - but I was convinved that my new growth was too much for a blow out and I should relax. I asked for a trim.... [BIG MISTAKE]
Lets just say I walked out with chin lenght hair. See pic below

I was soooo mad!!! After that I said no more, all my growth gets chopped off everytime I go to the salon.

 

[LivingDoll]

I said this once upon a time ago myself. It'll be three years next month since I last had a relaxer.

Glam, thanks for sharing. I had no idea that you'd gone through so much.

hair growing down my back and the middle piece of my hair ain't long enough to roll with rice. And I love curly hair. I always wear my hair curly...so why not just wear my natural hair.

BB, Thanks! I didn't realize you are natural. I love your wigs and weaves.

my hair never took a relaxer, and it always came out underprocessed. It still took the same amount of heat to straighten it. So I decided to just chop it all off.

This describes me 100%.

Deciding factor(s)?

I was not one of those women who transitioned simply because the relaxer ate my hair up. Actually, my relaxed hair was very beautiful...thick and a nice length (toot, toot, LOL). I was known in high school as the girl with the nice hair, always got compliments, people questioning my ethnicity . I went to dominican salons faithfully every two weeks...my hair thrived when it was relaxed...It grew from a slightly-above- ear- length blunt cut bob to blunt armpit length in like 7-8 months.

Also, i'd never had bad experiences with burns and whatnot, my stylist was very skilled, cared about health rather than style..

But...

-I truly felt that it wasn't me

-I wanted to stop putting the chemicals on my hair/scalp. Everytime i sat down in the stylists chair to get a touch-up, I always thought to myself 'why am i doing this?'

-Whenever i'd had a significant amount of new growth and was in "need" of a touch-up, my new growth always looked and felt sooooo much better than my processed hair.

-I was tired of looking/being like every other black woman I saw

I can definitely relate to the bolded. I've felt that way too.

I went natural for several reasons, but mainly two: my scalp and the thinning of my relaxed hair. My poor scalp has been abused throughout the years from stylists using super strength relaxers on it repeatedly, so it finally rebelled HARD in late 2006 / early 2007. It got to the point where I would get horrible scabs even when I used mild relaxers and was thoroughly based. I finally caved in and listened to my poor scalp and stopped with the chemicals. Also, my relaxed hair had gotten progressively thinner throughout the years. It didn't used to be, but it thinned as I got older. Since I love big curly hair, that just wasn't gonna fly with me, so off I went to transition.



Sure. I transitioned for 18 months by doing lots of co-washing and bunning. Once a month, I would get my hair straightened to check my length and just switch up my style. Yep ... I went through 18 months of basically looking like a librarian.



Nawww ... not even a little bit. It got to the point where I was literally counting down the days until I could big chop.



I was genuinely surprised at how coily it was. Seriously ... each clump of curls looks like a Slinky. I had no idea that was going to happen.



The Good: Everything! I've always loved big, curly hair and I honestly think my features support that look better than straight hair.

The Bad: Shrinkage is a mutha ... but I have learned to live with it and look at it in a positive way. I can go from short, neck length hair to APL hair fairly easily. Just put a positive spin on it.

The Ugly: Honestly, there is nothing ugly about my natural hair, no matter what anyone says! Hmph!

TD, you know I love your hair and you are one of my inspirations for transitioning. After we spoke a few weeks ago, the nail basically sealed the coffin.

Question: WHY in the devil were they using supers on your hair? You're natural hair is fine and coily... I've basically only used mild and I still get scalp burns every time I relax (AND I texlax! Still get burns and scabs)

Hey sweetie,

Congrats on going natural! I have big chopped/went natural 3 times as a result of horrible salon/relaxer experiences. The deciding factor for me each time was that my hair just could not be saved from the salon fiasco's and it had to be cut. Each time I got my hair shaved, I would say to myself stick with it b/c being relaxed is just not for you. I have never had good/great relaxing experiences for some reason. My hair is either under or over processed, sometimes even both, and is never ever the way I want it to be. I can never seem to find a stylist that is professional and cares about the health of the hair. Hopefully, I will be able to stretch my hair for 4 months and get braid extensions and transition for the rest of the year. I plan on following the crown & glory method for a year, if not longer. I wish you nothing but the best with your journey love!

Hey Tish! We can transition together!

I went natural simply because I no longer had an urge to relax my hair. It was not a difficult decision for me, I just made it and kept it moving. I transitioned for about 11 months and chopped. I wore my hair in rollersets and twistouts a lot to blend the two textures. My transition was pretty easy because I had a goal that I was excited and focused on. I actually inspired my mom, aunt, and a few friends to stop relaxing as well.

This is what I plan to do as well. I wish I had naturals in my family. There's none, not even in my extended family. Oh, besides my sis but she's natural due to hair and scalp issues. There's no healthy naturals around me.

I looked at the thickness, health and length of my 2 DDs and I thought,

"My hair use to look like that once...."

I had gone back and forth between relaxed and natural. But that day I decided that was it. May 20, 2003. Haven't always had the best regimens though--I'm just starting to get that skillset down pat.

I totally agree with this. Here is DD last spring:

Why did you decide to go natural?

I got tired of others determining my fate and didn't want to apply a relaxer myself. Plus I just was diagnosed with Grave's Disease and my thyroid was making my hair super weak anyways so I didn't want to risk it and did a big chop.

Can you share your experience with me?

See above. Basically I big chopped and haven't looked back...though sometimes the longer I get, the more I have to fight the urge to relax because of time constraints. My brain always wins though...so far and I stay natural.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?
My hair only dissapointed me because it was so brittle from Thyroid disease, after I got that under control with deep conditioning, and medicine, I felt like I climbed a mountain. I was just happy to have HAIR.

Good:
Peace of mind knowing I control my fate (do I sound like a control freak? ha!), Peace of mind...peace of mind. Also my hair is thick and healthy. I just looked at Curly Nikki's site and there are so many gorgeous things that can be done with my hair. I just feel so much inspiration knowing I can wear it curly or flat iron it straight.

Bad, Ugly:
TIME. The longer it gets...and it's so thick, it makes me want to BC or relax and be done with it. But then I remember why I did it in the first place.

I can imagine. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[TaraDyan]

TD, you know I love your hair and you are one of my inspirations for transitioning. After we spoke a few weeks ago, the nail basically sealed the coffin.

Thanks, sweetie.

Question: WHY in the devil were they using supers on your hair? You're natural hair is fine and coily... I've basically only used mild and I still get scalp burns every time I relax (AND I texlax! Still get burns and scabs)

(LOL) Giiiiiirrrrrlllll ... I have no idea. When I was younger, I had much more hair (way thicker), but I've always had fine strands. Relaxers would never get the curl pattern out all the way, so I guess the stylists assumed that I needed a super strength. Boy were they wrong!

 

[chosen07]

hmmm where do I start..
I got tired of:
-the burns on my sensitive scalp
-the process to try and avoid burns, me not being able to touch my hair for days before a relaxer, not eating anything citrus/acidic, staying away from chocolate, having to go through all this and then the relaxer barely covered all my roots before I would be burning out of control.
-....so my relaxer 'never took' and if I sweat, my hair looked like I hadn't a relaxer in over 4weeks.
-I was tired of going through all that and still not having straight hair. I was even more tired of people asking me when i was getting a perm...
-and then..underneath all of that, I loved natural hair on everyone. everytime I saw a natural woman, I would just stare (i was one of those). i was usually entranced and knew I wanted it.
so I made the decision after months (years) of talking about it...

Can you share your experience with me?
I stopped getting relaxers last June...tried various ways to hide my hair but my new growth was just unbelievably thick and I couldn't handle it. besides, I'm not good at waiting so I decided I would start the year fresh...and I BC'ed this Jan.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?
definitiely pleasantly surprised. all through my months transitioning, I heard but your hair isn't "good". so I really expected to have a rug that would cut fingers. but after cutting off those ends, my hair is unbelievable soft and manageable. it is still thick and unruly but I love it! I'm enjoying watching it grow..although some days I wish it would be SL overnight.

Good:

I'm me. best way to say it. I can ruffle my hair, I can work-out, I can get wet, i don't have to fight combs/brushes anymore and I am learning what my hair likes so we are in sync. being able to wash my hair and it not take more than 20 mins for the entire process

Bad, Ugly: waiting on length. the various textures not providing a balanced look for wash'n'go.
not being able to wear a 'style' after I lay down b/c my hair is so short it just gets matted and trying to 'pick' it out just ends up into frizz...no kind of definition. so styling (straws/rod sets; twist-outs; wash'n'go) only last but one day. thus I have to either wash every day/style every night or settle for a 'not perfect' look on the 2nd day

 

[GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I]

The new texture growth and headaches then the rush to touch up and of course, the overlapping damage. My natural texture is good, it feels good, it calls out to me. I got tired of the bonestraight mess with frizzy ends. I got tired of the damage, of the short pieces. Although I am 2 textures now, I won't cut. I haven't cut yet and I still get tempted...but I am holding fast.

Amla oil and henna do change my texture somewhat, esp. the amla oil. I sometimes hold off on that. My new growth is now coming in again with bumps and coils and I'm happy for that. Besides, when I texlax again, it will be with SE and very briefly applied for ease in styling...wash 'n wear without having to bind it down and dry for hours ...too much.

And if I want a straight look for awhile, I now steam press with keratin to keep the roots straight. I don't do that often anymore. And it's not permanent. I aim to grow my hair long and free to below my hips, long flowing coils bouncing in the wind...Bohemian freedom.

 

[BrownEyez22]

My hair was in a short cut already and I wanted to grow it out. I just decided to grow it out without relaxers this time. I never thought I would go in my bathroom and cut my little relaxed ends off one day to be a natural.

Initally I was looking at myself alot in the mirror, LOL, just trying to adjust to the new me. Thankfully I recieved nothing but support from friends/family when I wasn't sure how I felt about my decision, so that really helped me. Most of my friends are naturals and I saw different inspirations that made me wonder what my natural hair would be like.

I am in braids right now and I miss my little fluffy fro puff. Good Luck on your hair journey!

 

[BrockStar]

I looked at pics from when I was a little girl and I wanted my hair to look like that again!

I was super nervous to do it, but I'm really happy I did.

 

[LivingDoll]

I looked at pics from when I was a little girl and I wanted my hair to look like that again!

I was super nervous to do it, but I'm really happy I did.

You're one of my fav naturals. Thanks.

 

[BrockStar]

Oh ok I didn't see the rest

The Good: I like that when it's raining or if my hair gets wet or big, I don't have to worry. I love the way it looks and i feel like it's something different than most people have because everyone's natural hair is different so you know yours is unique

The Bad: The long, flowy, straight look is hard to maintain and you always have to be worried about how humid it will be if you want to wear it straight

The Ugly: I truly don't think there is one I can think of.....

 

[Kurlee]

Can you share your experience with me?

Basically, I had been relaxing since thirteen. I knew my hair "grew" fast, because my new growth at 8 weeks was absolutely insane. I think what turned me off was the lack of retention. When the stylist would rinse out my hair after a touch up, my hair would look sooooooo long and by the time I left and he trimmed, my hair was shorter than it was the perm before. It was very discouraging because even during my perm days, I took pretty good care of my hair.
Another thing too was that I was always doing curly styles. I discovered my curls by accident at a parade at 14. I got wet in the rain and when my hair dried there were spirals and I was so lost and confused because my hair was relaxed and as a child my mom always combed out my hair pattern so it just looked like "Rudy" from the Cosby show. From then on, I was always doing wash and go's to get a "curly" look, that plus rollersets and braidouts.I also figured out that if they left the relaxer on shorter my hair would have more body, so I started to lie and say it was burning so they would rinse out early. For some reason, stylists seem to think that 4a hair needs to be kept on forever and all they end up doing is frying ur hair and making it thin.
Anyhoo, in 2003 i went to a salon called Jazma, which seemed to buy into the whole "leaving the relaxer in for less time to keep the curl" idea, that I had discovered. 200 dollars later, I was sad, my hair was THIN and "wash and wear" it was NOT! They also combed my newgrowth (16 weeks) with a fine tooth comb. Raked through the two textures and then after they damaged the HELL out of my hair had the audacity to tell me i need a cut. They took me from in between shoulder and APL to Nape. My hair had never been that short in my life and it look like . I cried and said NO MOREEEEEEEEEEEEE stylists. And just like that I went natural. I stretched my relaxer for six months and then wet my hair and cut everything that wasn't curly

Were you scared too?

I was scared because I didn't yet have an understanding of my hair and what to use and didn't know what to expect. Also, many people back then had this notion that only people with 3c and down hair should be natural and you know black folk sometimes can be discouraging when it comes to the whole hair thing. It shook me a little, since natural hair wasn't popular then, but I held firm, because I knew those damn stylists had no idea what the hell they were doing and I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?

I was surprised. My hair was very curly and wasn't as "dry" as I thought. It grew easily and quickly and was pretty resilient, which defies the thought that our hair doesn;t grow and that it will break if you just look at it. Overall, I love it, but sometimes want to texlax, because the shrinkage is annoying. I'm not a fanatical natural who feels like one is better than the other or that hair colour negates your naturalness and that you should comb ur hair with a fork. Ultimately, hair should be fun and something you can enjoy and play with, but you have to love it, in order to enjoy it.


THE GOOD:
resilience and strength
easier to grow out

THE BAD:
shrinkage
detangling sessions can be hell
most of the good products are only available online

THE UGLY:
SHRINKAGE

 

[LivingDoll]

Can you share your experience with me?

Basically, I had been relaxing since thirteen. I knew my hair "grew" fast, because my new growth at 8 weeks was absolutely insane. I think what turned me off was the lack of retention. When the stylist would rinse out my hair after a touch up, my hair would look sooooooo long and by the time I left and he trimmed, my hair was shorter than it was the perm before. It was very discouraging because even during my perm days, I took pretty good care of my hair.
Another thing too was that I was always doing curly styles. I discovered my curls by accident at a parade at 14. I got wet in the rain and when my hair dried there were spirals and I was so lost and confused because my hair was relaxed and as a child my mom always combed out my hair pattern so it just looked like "Rudy" from the Cosby show. From then on, I was always doing wash and go's to get a "curly" look, that plus rollersets and braidouts.I also figured out that if they left the relaxer on shorter my hair would have more body, so I started to lie and say it was burning so they would rinse out early. For some reason, stylists seem to think that 4a hair needs to be kept on forever and all they end up doing is frying ur hair and making it thin.
Anyhoo, in 2003 i went to a salon called Jazma, which seemed to buy into the whole "leaving the relaxer in for less time to keep the curl" idea, that I had discovered. 200 dollars later, I was sad, my hair was THIN and "wash and wear" it was NOT! They also combed my newgrowth (16 weeks) with a fine tooth comb. Raked through the two textures and then after they damaged the HELL out of my hair had the audacity to tell me i need a cut. They took me from in between shoulder and APL to Nape. My hair had never been that short in my life and it look like . I cried and said NO MOREEEEEEEEEEEEE stylists. And just like that I went natural. I stretched my relaxer for six months and then wet my hair and cut everything that wasn't curly

Were you scared too?

I was scared because I didn't yet have an understanding of my hair and what to use and didn't know what to expect. Also, many people back then had this notion that only people with 3c and down hair should be natural and you know black folk sometimes can be discouraging when it comes to the whole hair thing. It shook me a little, since natural hair wasn't popular then, but I held firm, because I knew those damn stylists had no idea what the hell they were doing and I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?

I was surprised. My hair was very curly and wasn't as "dry" as I thought. It grew easily and quickly and was pretty resilient, which defies the thought that our hair doesn;t grow and that it will break if you just look at it. Overall, I love it, but sometimes want to texlax, because the shrinkage is annoying. I'm not a fanatical natural who feels like one is better than the other or that hair colour negates your naturalness and that you should comb ur hair with a fork. Ultimately, hair should be fun and something you can enjoy and play with, but you have to love it, in order to enjoy it.


THE GOOD:
resilience and strength
easier to grow out

THE BAD:
shrinkage
detangling sessions can be hell
most of the good products are only available online

THE UGLY:
SHRINKAGE

@ the bolded...me too. I have no idea if I have coils or waves or what.

 

[Creatividual]

I started out just doing a stretch over the summer (last summer). 3 months into my stretch I realized that I had no desire to relax my hair anymore. And also I started becoming more green conscious and realized that I didn't want relaxing as a part of my lifestyle anymore. Once I started stalking naturals' fotkis, I had made up my mind 100% that I was going to go through with it.

I did loads of research, stalking fotkis, and watching hours of various youtube vids while I was transitioning so once, I BC'd I hit the ground running. It was just a matter of finding my holy grail products. I don't think natural hair is any more or less work than relaxed hair, it's just different, that's all.

My natural hair was everything I expected it to be. I love it! I initially wanted to do a long transition (18 months) b/c I was scared to have hair that short but by 7 months, my relaxed ends looked so ugly up against my pretty coils/spirals that I got tired of looking at it and said WTH, we're just goin for it. And it looked just fine. I don't regret BC'ing early at all. It was the best decision for me.

I wear braids most of the time though b/c I'm on the grow for EL coils by the end of this year so I will have more styling options. For me, really, my early BC was to be rid of the relaxed ends; I got impatient and was just so eager to see my hair (after 13 years of relaxing).

I haven't received any ugly incidents regarding my hair. Nothing but positive things. I live in Nyc though. You see a little of EVERYTHING here so "different" is normal. I get just as many hollas when I wear TWA out as I did when I was relaxed. Somebody will always have something to say and they can keep saying something. It's not their hair. And most of them are just talking b/c they don't have the balls to do it. LOL.

 

[Kurlee]

@ the bolded...me too. I have no idea if I have coils or waves or what.

most people do have some type of coil, curl, wave pattern. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. BUT you will HATE the awkward stage, which for me was shoulder length straight. The hair would "hang" weird and some would still be gorwing left to right while other parts were growing "down"

 

[Magus484]

I was texlaxed at the time ( I went from relaxed to texlax because I thought relaxed hair was boring, and I wasn't doing anything with it anyway), and I saw Leela James' big hair on tv one day. She looked beautiful, confident and carefree. From that day on, I decided that I was going to go natural. Plus, when texlaxed hair grows out, it gets knotty on the ends... Plus flat hair makes my head look even bigger than it is. I like voluminous hair.

Anyway,

The Good: I don't have to worry about getting touch ups anymore. I can wash and go, wash my hair as often as I want, I can use natural products on my hair - rather than those expensive commercial products, my hair is lower maintenance.

The Bad: Sometimes products that worked on my natural hair, in the past, stop working later. Finding someone who can trim your hair for you is a challenge if you don't want to do it yourself- when the hair gets really long. Mine is at BSL, and I am considering trimming it myself- though I don't want to screw it up....

The Ugly: I have a lot of thick hair, and it takes some time to detangle it. The knots and tangling are annoying- but to combat this you need a good conditioner and comb. I have so much thick hair, that I have to mentally allow myself the time to actually take the time to style it. Plus shrinkage is a pain at times.

Either way, I am not going back to chemicals, unless it is hairdye.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

I remembered what my hair was like from when I was a little girl. I have a very vivid memory of freshly washed hair and I just loved my texture that I asked my mom if I could wear it like that. That idea was, of course, quickly shot down

I'd thought about going natural for years, but really never went beyond "Gee, I sure would like to go natural" My best friend talked about it too and one day she annoucned that she was just not going to relax anymore. So that gave me the courage to do it.

The good: The good things I discovered after I stopped relaxing and got into my groove. No more dandruff, edges and nape started growing like never before.

The bad:

Transitioning was hell for me and I never want to do it again.

Detangling is a big process for me the longer my hair gets and I can't wear wash n go's as much with a lot of knots

It took awhile to find the right combo/routine because I was dealing with a totally different head of hair than when I was relaxed

I took a long time mentally for me to accept that I would not have the hair that I'd thought I'd have when going natural and that no "magic product" would give it to me

The good:

I love my hair now and couldn't see it any other way

I don't look like everyone else, my hair makes me stand out

My hair is healthier now that it's ever been

I love the versatility

The ugly:

I've not had a lot of these, but there are a few mean and hateful people out there that make ugly statements

DH and I had it out a few times over my hair. He has come around since then, but the compliments increase as my hair gets longer, so I think it was really the length he was so against rather than the texture.

 

[C.Nicole]

I'm a new natural! October 31st to be exact.. I was over with, just done! So sick of trying to nurse those sad tresses back to thick beautiful hair that I had as a child.

*The deciding factor was after a roller set, seeing the entire bathroom sink covered in 1inch snaps of hair. I cried. I just thought, after all I've learned about hair care and seeing all the ladies on the forum with flowing locks, I should have this hair stuff down pact right?? NOPE.... just more and more breaking. So I went to the natural shop in my area (Black Butterflies) and let them chop it all off. Besides, I really don't have to perm my hair, the natural texture is very managable.

* Good: I am obsessive over my texture & curl pattern. They just spring perfectly back into place. I get compliments all the time, random folks just asking to touch my hair...???
*The Bad: Not having my desired length yet. But when I do, yall aint gonna be able to tell me nothing!!
*The Ugly: I flat-ironed my hair (its cut in a mohawk style) and a small patch on the side will no longer curl..... Not sure what to do about that.. I just slick it down for now..... HTH

 

[Mook's hair]

Why did you decide to go natural?
Here's the whole bad relaxer story.

I am very good with hair, mine and everyone else's too so...I typically don't go to salons. However, My hair had grown past my shoulders and it was becoming harder to manage doing my own touchup fast enough.

In March 06 I did my touchup and wound up with a chemical burn in
my scalp. I accidentally scratched the scab off a few days later and the bleeding was out of control (very odd, like nothing I've experienced before).
The following week I broke my leg in a severe car accident and was hospitalized. Post surgery I was on blood thinners and the burn in my scalp did not heal properly causing an explosion of blood vessels in my scalp about the size of a kidney bean, which a dermatologist later removed without a problem.

So as a result, I decided that from then on I would have professionals do my relaxer instead. I had my first post accident relaxer in September 2006 and it came out great. (Straight Request brand)

Feb08 I went to the same salon for my touchup and they did a horrible job (it was a different stylist than the first time. I even had 2 small chemical burns.

I got home and found that My roots are only partially relaxed and there are spots where he did not bring the relaxer down far enough from my scalp so there are mid-strand areas that are unrelaxed. yikes!

I went back the following Tuesday and got a refund.
Also the owner offers to fix the mess that they made [for free of course] she's the one who did my hair back in September. So a I made an appointment for 8 1/2 weeks

I braided my hair in cornrows for 2 weeks saturated it with infusium every day. And Before I put the cornrows in, I deep conditioned it 2wice. and then took very good care of it up to the appointment day.

It's just really messed up, I am very protective about my hair and I give it a lot of TLC. I'd only go to salons for the chemical treatments but I could have done that junk myself. And I was trying to get to where I only get a relaxer every 6 months.

I got the re-do on April 18 2008 and because of the nature of the problem, they had to pull the relaxer down over previously relaxed areas (but not the whole strand). But it did turn out great. That was my last relaxer. I have been transitioning since then. Next month will be 2 years and I still have not cut off the remainder of the relaxed ends. But I am thinking of doing it soon.

Were you scared too? No, not at all. Just curious about what my hair texture would be.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?
Neither. I admit, I was hoping that my texture would have more curl definition. Mine does not I am a type 4. UBER-thick, super-shrinky. But I understand that the longer it grows, the more likely it will be to hang dosn some instead of growing up & out.

So the good:
1.My natural hair is fun. I like to play with it and it feels really nice.
2. I feel more unique than I used to.
3. I like big hair. And if I want to, I can make this stuf gy-normous!



The bad:
1. SHRINKAGE.....Evil Shrinkage.
2. I don't airdry unless its briaded because it makes my hair feel gross and unmanageable.
3. trying to discover a routine, regimen that will work and not consume a ton of time.
4. My hair sucks up everything I put on it so I end up using a lot more product than I used to when I was relaxed.
5. Reversion of straightened hair. yikes. Leave the house looking cute one way. Return looking like a coked out Diana Ross.

 

[LivingDoll]

I started out just doing a stretch over the summer (last summer). 3 months into my stretch I realized that I had no desire to relax my hair anymore. And also I started becoming more green conscious and realized that I didn't want relaxing as a part of my lifestyle anymore. Once I started stalking naturals' fotkis, I had made up my mind 100% that I was going to go through with it.

I did loads of research, stalking fotkis, and watching hours of various youtube vids while I was transitioning so once, I BC'd I hit the ground running. It was just a matter of finding my holy grail products. I don't think natural hair is any more or less work than relaxed hair, it's just different, that's all.

My natural hair was everything I expected it to be. I love it! I initially wanted to do a long transition (18 months) b/c I was scared to have hair that short but by 7 months, my relaxed ends looked so ugly up against my pretty coils/spirals that I got tired of looking at it and said WTH, we're just goin for it. And it looked just fine. I don't regret BC'ing early at all. It was the best decision for me.

I wear braids most of the time though b/c I'm on the grow for EL coils by the end of this year so I will have more styling options. For me, really, my early BC was to be rid of the relaxed ends; I got impatient and was just so eager to see my hair (after 13 years of relaxing).

I haven't received any ugly incidents regarding my hair. Nothing but positive things. I live in Nyc though. You see a little of EVERYTHING here so "different" is normal. I get just as many hollas when I wear TWA out as I did when I was relaxed. Somebody will always have something to say and they can keep saying something. It's not their hair. And most of them are just talking b/c they don't have the balls to do it. LOL.

You're so pretty with a TWA!

most people do have some type of coil, curl, wave pattern. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. BUT you will HATE the awkward stage, which for me was shoulder length straight. The hair would "hang" weird and some would still be gorwing left to right while other parts were growing "down"

Thanks for the heads up.

I was texlaxed at the time ( I went from relaxed to texlax because I thought relaxed hair was boring, and I wasn't doing anything with it anyway), and I saw Leela James' big hair on tv one day. She looked beautiful, confident and carefree. From that day on, I decided that I was going to go natural. Plus, when texlaxed hair grows out, it gets knotty on the ends... Plus flat hair makes my head look even bigger than it is. I like voluminous hair.

Anyway,

The Good: I don't have to worry about getting touch ups anymore. I can wash and go, wash my hair as often as I want, I can use natural products on my hair - rather than those expensive commercial products, my hair is lower maintenance.

The Bad: Sometimes products that worked on my natural hair, in the past, stop working later. Finding someone who can trim your hair for you is a challenge if you don't want to do it yourself- when the hair gets really long. Mine is at BSL, and I am considering trimming it myself- though I don't want to screw it up....

The Ugly: I have a lot of thick hair, and it takes some time to detangle it. The knots and tangling are annoying- but to combat this you need a good conditioner and comb. I have so much thick hair, that I have to mentally allow myself the time to actually take the time to style it. Plus shrinkage is a pain at times.

Either way, I am not going back to chemicals, unless it is hairdye.

I love big hair too...I would love to have a head of big hair.

Why did you decide to go natural?
Here's the whole bad relaxer story.

I am very good with hair, mine and everyone else's too so...I typically don't go to salons. However, My hair had grown past my shoulders and it was becoming harder to manage doing my own touchup fast enough.

In March 06 I did my touchup and wound up with a chemical burn in
my scalp. I accidentally scratched the scab off a few days later and the bleeding was out of control (very odd, like nothing I've experienced before).
The following week I broke my leg in a severe car accident and was hospitalized. Post surgery I was on blood thinners and the burn in my scalp did not heal properly causing an explosion of blood vessels in my scalp about the size of a kidney bean, which a dermatologist later removed without a problem.

So as a result, I decided that from then on I would have professionals do my relaxer instead. I had my first post accident relaxer in September 2006 and it came out great. (Straight Request brand)

Feb08 I went to the same salon for my touchup and they did a horrible job (it was a different stylist than the first time. I even had 2 small chemical burns.

I got home and found that My roots are only partially relaxed and there are spots where he did not bring the relaxer down far enough from my scalp so there are mid-strand areas that are unrelaxed. yikes!

I went back the following Tuesday and got a refund.
Also the owner offers to fix the mess that they made [for free of course] she's the one who did my hair back in September. So a I made an appointment for 8 1/2 weeks

I braided my hair in cornrows for 2 weeks saturated it with infusium every day. And Before I put the cornrows in, I deep conditioned it 2wice. and then took very good care of it up to the appointment day.

It's just really messed up, I am very protective about my hair and I give it a lot of TLC. I'd only go to salons for the chemical treatments but I could have done that junk myself. And I was trying to get to where I only get a relaxer every 6 months.

I got the re-do on April 18 2008 and because of the nature of the problem, they had to pull the relaxer down over previously relaxed areas (but not the whole strand). But it did turn out great. That was my last relaxer. I have been transitioning since then. Next month will be 2 years and I still have not cut off the remainder of the relaxed ends. But I am thinking of doing it soon.

Were you scared too? No, not at all. Just curious about what my hair texture would be.

Were you pleasantly surprised or did your hair disappoint you?
Neither. I admit, I was hoping that my texture would have more curl definition. Mine does not I am a type 4. UBER-thick, super-shrinky. But I understand that the longer it grows, the more likely it will be to hang dosn some instead of growing up & out.

So the good:
1.My natural hair is fun. I like to play with it and it feels really nice.
2. I feel more unique than I used to.
3. I like big hair. And if I want to, I can make this stuf gy-normous!



The bad:
1. SHRINKAGE.....Evil Shrinkage.
2. I don't airdry unless its briaded because it makes my hair feel gross and unmanageable.
3. trying to discover a routine, regimen that will work and not consume a ton of time.
4. My hair sucks up everything I put on it so I end up using a lot more product than I used to when I was relaxed.
5. Reversion of straightened hair. yikes. Leave the house looking cute one way. Return looking like a coked out Diana Ross.

Mook, that's a helluva ordeal. Thanks for sharing that with me.

 

[ToyToy]

Like you, I first relaxed when I was about 12 or 13 years old, because my mother couldn't handle my hair and would rake through my dry hair with an afro pic, causing a lot of tears. I relaxed for about 15 years, then in 2005, at the British Afro Hair and Beauty Show, I saw so many young women with natural styles, and I began to ask myself why I had to keep going to the hairdresser, shelling out £60 every 6 weeks for thin, see-through hair that i didn't enjoy. Early 2006, I decided to stop relaxing and start transitioning by wearing braids. When I went to a salon for a consultation, the stylist told me that wearing braids would be detrimental to my edges, which were thinning fast. She told me that I could either cut my hair altogether or press it weekly. Since I still had nightmares from pressing my hair at the stove as a child (and therefore was scared of all curling and flat irons), I decided to do the BC. I made my appointment and went on the internet to do some research in taking care of natural hair, since this was a whole new territory. I found motowngirl and np.com, soaked up all the information I could in that one week before my BC, and then took the plunge.
To be honest with you, I was really scared! I don't wear wigs or weaves, so if my BC sucked, I would have had to stick it out until my hair grew long enough to hold braids - and that would have taken about two three months. But it turned out, I looked really cute with my hair short, and everybody liked it . I could wash my hair every single day - I felt so free for the first time in my life.
Growing it out was a whole different story, though. Those inbetween stages are horrible, and my love for my hair was seriously put to the test. What helped me there was braiding for a year, which I did for all of last year. I was going to carry on, but it was costing me too much money, and I actually missed my hair.

The Good: Now that my hair is long enough to pull back, I am finding it a lot easier again to style my hair. I love being unique and looking different, rather than being one of many, which I felt when I was in braids last year. Even though there are more and more naturals, we are still in the minority. It feels good to stand out, be bold and love yourself the way God made you.

The Bad: Ugh, the shrinkage. My hair shrinks something fierce, but it got a little better when I did the Henna on Monday.

The Ugly: Knots and tangles are a b***. I keep them at bay by keeping my ends moisturised and sealing with avocado butter.

I'm definitely a natural for life .

 

[crazydaze911]

The first time was out of frustration and basically - 'giving up'. i just stopped doing ANYTHING to my hair. i just washed once a week and bunned everyday. salon every once in a while when i finally decided to do SOMETHING. I intended to stay natural but tried a relaxer that was supposed to be NATURAL and not effect previously relaxed hair or ruin natural texture -lets just say FALSE ADVERTISING. chunks of hair fell out in the shower. seeing that it was already too late to go back, i just continued to relax with motions.
Fast forward some years of not retaining growth and being sick of overprocessing - i just kept stretching and stretching - was going to relax once a year. But by then i had waited so long, i was like 'why even relax'. Went back and forth for a while thinking about it. Started having nightmares about relaxing so i decided its not meant to be. I also realized my hair is fine and my moms and sisters hair got thin with age, so its best to keep all the thickness i've got by being natural.
Im now having TRIM nightmares, i thought i would do that once a year, but so far, its been a year and 2 months. just not ready yet - but thats a different story - lol

 

[mdj7215]

I got sick. My hair started falling out. After a lot of tests it was discovered that a lot of different chemicals were making me sick. My body wasn't able to filter properly. My immune system was all out of sorts. Since my hair was coming out really bad I just decided to shave it and start fresh. I really miss my relaxer...the texture was like silk. It's gets straight now when heat is used but it always makes my ends split really bad. Since my natural texture is pretty (IMO) I just wear it natural. Because it's so curly it looks a lot shorter than it is. But quite frankly, I'm just glad to have hair lol. I've heard a lot of good things about Dominican salons so I'm going to try them out and see what happens.

 

[LivingDoll]

I got sick. My hair started falling out. After a lot of tests it was discovered that a lot of different chemicals were making me sick. My body wasn't able to filter properly. My immune system was all out of sorts. Since my hair was coming out really bad I just decided to shave it and start fresh. I really miss my relaxer...the texture was like silk. It's gets straight now when heat is used but it always makes my ends split really bad. Since my natural texture is pretty (IMO) I just wear it natural. Because it's so curly it looks a lot shorter than it is. But quite frankly, I'm just glad to have hair lol. I've heard a lot of good things about Dominican salons so I'm going to try them out and see what happens.

Wow, this is your first post! :welcome3:I'm glad you're better now.

 

[LivingDoll]

The first time was out of frustration and basically - 'giving up'. i just stopped doing ANYTHING to my hair. i just washed once a week and bunned everyday. salon every once in a while when i finally decided to do SOMETHING. I intended to stay natural but tried a relaxer that was supposed to be NATURAL and not effect previously relaxed hair or ruin natural texture -lets just say FALSE ADVERTISING. chunks of hair fell out in the shower. seeing that it was already too late to go back, i just continued to relax with motions.
Fast forward some years of not retaining growth and being sick of overprocessing - i just kept stretching and stretching - was going to relax once a year. But by then i had waited so long, i was like 'why even relax'. Went back and forth for a while thinking about it. Started having nightmares about relaxing so i decided its not meant to be. I also realized my hair is fine and my moms and sisters hair got thin with age, so its best to keep all the thickness i've got by being natural.

Im now having TRIM nightmares, i thought i would do that once a year, but so far, its been a year and 2 months. just not ready yet - but thats a different story - lol

i was thinking about texlaxing once a year but my rationale was the same as yours...if i can make it that long what would be the point? I can't wait to see what my natural texture is like. I think I'm going to try to transition a long time...like 2 years or more. We shall see.

 

[manter26]

I've recently been on the fence about going natural. Currently a few weeks post relaxer. There are several things that made me want to try the switch again...

1. i have the tools to deal with natural hair and have discovered ways to make my NG super soft and manageable.
2. I had a lot of breakage recently from a bad salon experience.
3. I wondered why my hair broke like crazy when my friends were able to keep most of their hair on their head after being subjected to the same horrible hairdresser (granted they're not black, but still)
4. my hair will never be as thick relaxed as it is when natural
and last but not least...
5. Dominican blowouts do an amazing job of straightening my NG, so if needed, i can straighten a few times a year

 

[Skiggle]

One day I was on the bus
going home ... and I was
touching my hair..and a strand or two fell out &
I was like I can't continue on with this.
Since I am over 450 miles away from home *im enrolled
at a University* my hair started to suffer. My mother 85% of the time
permed/rollerset my hair. It was always healthy.
But the salons in this college town charge an arm and a leg...
for washes/relaxers..*I am a broke college kid* Plus I wanted a change.
I think as a black female I always hid behind my hair... If my hair
wasn't straight then I didn't feel like the apart of the majority.
I am my OWN person and to feel complete I need to BE NATURAL.
Embrace what I was born with, be an authentic confident young woman.
That's why I am embarking on this journey AGAIN.. *the 1st time
I gave in quickly..I didn't have the support* . NOW I DO!!!
Thanks LCHF....

I am not all the way natural,
so I can't give the good, bad, ugly..
just yet lol...

 

[godsflowerrr]

I went natural again because I just missed feeling my natural hair texture! I have been natural, relaxed, texturized, colored, texlaxed .........all of that and I always find myself going back to natural again and again so I think that I'm here to stay. I can't speak for anyone else but I feel so much more confident and happy with myself when I wear my hair natural...I just love it!

 

[Hysi]

Living Doll your hair is so lovely. I love the first pic of your pinkstrip wish I could see the front. I might have to cut my hair due to some major hair breakage(no bulb). But to comment on the topic of going natural which has been on my mind lately as well- i went natural about 7 yrs ago. i just wanted to see what i would look like and got tired of relaxers. I have an EXTREMELY sensitive scalp and i was just plain old tired. I was never frequent with my perms, so when it hit me I got like nikey and just did it. My husband is a barber and he has a large clientele of women that wear naturals and i have always admired their hair and thought it made them look so stylish. It had been on my mind a while and one day without even thinking twice I told him to cut it off! I was nervous and excited at the same time. He asked was I sure and I said just do it b4 I changed my mind. i was amazed at how chic I looked. I got eye turns from all corners. It made me look more sophisticated and confident. BUT I did not know how to properly moisturize it. i used all sorts of lotions and potions and just when I was finally getting my hair used to being in it's natural state, i decided to use a texturizer just to loosen it (and plus I saw a lady with a beautiful short "natural" and asked her and she used a texturizer) so I texturized. i had barely combed it in my hair and took it off immediately and I couldn;t believe it. In all of 2 minutes my hair was absolutely BONE STRAIGHT. I mean it wouldn't even hold a curl or anything. I didn;t know what to do. All of my natural was straight as a pin! I still was able to wash and go, comb it with my fingers and it looked fine except I did not have my natural curl and I did not like that. My hair grows fast so in a month i was able to wear a pony and wore ponies until it grew more and voila- i was a slave to the relaxer again. I am seriously thinking of going back natural again, but hopefully I'll be better armed with the knowledge to take care of it without the use of a texturizer. All of this said, believe me this will liberate you and you will love it!

*****Godsflowerr *** I watched you BC on you tube and girl you really got me to thinking as well. I love you updated pic. How is it?? What do you use for moisture?? Tell me more. I glad for this thread!

 

[LeNghtyDreAms]

My pregnancy was my deciding factor. At the time I became pregnant I read on LHCF that it was bad to relax your hair bc the relaxer would some how get in my blood which was bad for my baby. I found out after my baby was born that thats not true but i had already transitioned for 10 months so i jus stuck with it bc my hair was healthier.