Which do you think is more versatile? Natural or Relaxed Hair?

Which is more versatile Natural or Relaxed Hair?

  • Relaxed Hair

    Votes: 46 14.0%

  • Natural Hair

    Votes: 207 62.9%

  • Both

    Votes: 56 17.0%

  • Neither :)

    Votes: 5 1.5%

  • ?Undecided?

    Votes: 15 4.6%
  • Total voters
    329
longhairlover

longhairlover

New Member
I am asking this because i'm currently looking at hair vids on youtube, i see that women that are natural can go straight, curly, twists etc. But then I see the relaxed vids and those women are doing the same thing.

So i'm just wondering what you ladies think. Is Natural hair more versatile? Or is Relaxed hair more versatile?

I am relaxed (currently in my 6th mth of stretching) but when i'm freshly relaxed I can do a lot of things with my hair (i don't do other styles only because i like the sleek look). But I'm thinking the natural hair and relaxer can have the same amount of things/styles done to them.

**Also, for Naturals what hair styles do you wear?
Relaxed ladies what hair styles do you wear?

I know one plus i see for naturals is that you don't have to be afraid of water lol!!!!!
 
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longhairlover said:
I am asking this because i'm currently looking at hair vids on youtube, i see that women that are natural can go straight, curly, twists etc. But then I see the relaxed vids and those women are doing the same thing.

So i'm just wondering what you ladies think. Is Natural hair more versatile? Or is Relaxed hair more versatile?

I am relaxed (currently in my 6th mth of stretching) but when i'm freshly relaxed I can do a lot of things with my hair (i don't do other styles only because i like the sleek look). But I'm thinking the natural hair and relaxer can have the same amount of things/styles done to them.
Click to expand...

Probably Natural. I say that because depending on your hair texture you can achieve curly and wavy styles with minimal effort and the also straight styles. With relaxed hair a naturally curly or wavy look is difficult to achieve.
I think what makes me shy away from goning natural is the time element. It take considerably more time working with my natural hair. HTH
 
I think that natural or very curly hair is the most versatile for the same reasons that type 4 hair is more versatile than type 1 hair. A type 4 or natural/curly head can make their hair look like a type 1 and everything in between. I have certainly seen relaxed heads/type 1's make their hair look curly, but I have never seen straight hair mimic a kinky curl.

Maybe some of them can make their hair look like a natural's wash -n- go but I've never seen it.
 
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yeah Joytimes10 I agree with you on the time, with my relaxer stretch it is really taking more and more time to style all this thick new hair, I like my relaxed hair because it's just faster to style and it seems to stay cleaner longer, but i'm gonna try that sabino moisture block and if it works good i may try natural for a year or more i'll just have to set more time aside.

with this stretch i'm washing more.

How often do you Natural ladies out there wash your hair?
 
Actually there is no comparison, reason said is because with natural you can go bone straight, straighten, semi, or just natural. With a relaxer although it may be easier to manager by leaps and bounds there are limitations on what you can actually do with it. Relaxers are easier to roller set, and perm rod you still don't have the same affect as you do with natural hair. Both in my opinion needs to be taken care of but with the relaxer you can't braide your hair and it will stay like you can with natural hair. Relaxed hair also does'nt give the fullness as natural hair does. Also with relaxed hair it seems to thin the hair out to a large degree. This is just from my personal opinion and observation when I was relaxed.
 
Wasn't sure where to vote as my answer is that it depends on the person styling the hair in my opinion. If you have a clod like myself, then neither texture is very versatile. if a person works with relaxed hair every day, then it might be that relaxed hair is more versatile ...to that person. the same could be said for a natural. so i guess my answer is it depends on the stylist.
 
your right about the wash and go's not looking right when relaxed, i know some can achieve the look with twists or braidouts, the only time i've had success was when i had more natural hair on top from stretching long.
 
ycj, your right some have had thinning from perms, my hair is just thick no matter what relaxer or natural. i'm confused on which i'd like to pursue. i like the relaxers in the summer because my hair doesn't like humidity or hot weather, but then in the fall and through winter i like to stretch hmmmmmmmmmmm which to stick with lol!!!

i like both types of hair and the styles, i do love curly hair though, but friends that i've had with curly hair was always complaining about it and the tangles.
 
I'm on the fence with you. I am sitting under the dryer for a rollerset now. I know that my natural hair can stretch on the roller and get straight with a flat iron. But I wonder, how would my whole head look like this?

And how time consuming would it be to detangle 4a hair and rollerset it and flat iron it every week? My relaxed hair is super thick and it takes me four hours start to finish (without breaks) to rollerset it. It took me that long to just wash, detangle and braid my transitioning hair.

So I said all that to say IDK.
 
To shorten my hair time i just blow dry with the pic attachment in sections then flat iron, it's waaaay faster, i rollerset sometimes but it takes tooo darn long :wallbash:

I have a lot of new growth and i'm actually shocked that the blow dryer without a brush gets it straight.

Your hair would look nice temporarily straight with the flat iron but yeah time consuming. if your natural i wouldn't do that every week though and i'm sure that you don't.



ajoyfuljoy said:
I'm on the fence with you. I am sitting under the dryer for a rollerset now. I know that my natural hair can stretch on the roller and get straight with a flat iron. But I wonder, how would my whole head look like this?

And how time consuming would it be to detangle 4a hair and rollerset it and flat iron it every week? My relaxed hair is super thick and it takes me four hours start to finish (without breaks) to rollerset it. It took me that long to just wash, detangle and braid my transitioning hair.

So I said all that to say IDK.
Click to expand...
 
I've been both as an adult; and I have more versatility with my natural hair. I can make my 4a natural hair look like everything from type 1 silky straight hair to type 5z supper nappy hair.
I have mastered styling my hair with various products and various forms of heat and I can do:
silky straight, semi-straight, kinky straight, silky press braidout, blow-dry braidout, kinky-nappy braidout, afro puffs, or a a full blown afro, etc...
I look at those 3 ladies at the top my screen for the mixed chick ad, and I can manipulate my 4a natural hair to look like all of those different textures in one day.
 
Relaxed, all the way. I can do so very much with my hair now that I'm relaxed again.

My hair was so curly when I was natural, it really limited my styling options, which I hated it. It was impossible to keep straight, no matter how much I paid (or how much time it took) to straighten it.
 
I think it's texture rather than whether hair is relaxed or natural that determines if either hair can be a lot more versatile than the other. Natural type 1 hair for instance looks like any relaxed hair so I think it can only do what straight relaxed hair can do. Braid-outs, twist-outs, smooth buns etc. While type 4 hair can not only be pressed to resemble relaxed hair and thus do those styles and look the way relaxed hair looked with them, it can also be styled for a different look by the same method (twist-out or braid-out) while in its unpressed state, or it can be worn as an afro, which straight hair can't exactly pull off as well as type 4 can. Of course texlaxed hair might be more versatile than relaxed straight hair but again, that depends on texture since everyone's hair processes to a different level.
 
I can go straight, curly, nappy and exotic...

When I was relaxed I was always concerned about hiding thinning hair or a bald spot so it wasn't so "versatile" for me. That's why I voted natural.
 
i think you are able to do alot more "stuff" with your natural hair

because once your relaxed you cant really go back
 
I'm undecided since all I really know how to do is style relaxed hair. Once I get more experience with natural hair, I hope I can have a better answer.:rolleyes::lachen:
 
i say relaxed because for one, natural hair is time consuming. then when you call yourself straightening it, 2 hrs later, it don't look anything like what you did to it initially. but relaxed hair, you can acheive the "natural look" with small rods or straw sets, and it will stay. you can acheive any kind of curl with relaxed hair as long as there's a roller that size. now back to natural hair, it is so time consuming only for it to look like you didn't do anything to it a few hours later.
..But, that doesn't mean i don't like my natural hair, cuz i love it a lot actually, but i just think being relaxed allows me to do more with it. but i still plan on going natural when i'm a little older. so, this is where i stand right now.
 
I voted natural.
When my hair was relaxed, I got bored easily with the styles. I used to do braidouts now and again but straight most of the time. The process of styling after washing my hair was tedious; blow drying then flat ironing to get the desired results. If I want to straighten my hair now, I use a wet to straight flat iron. My hair looks much better now than when it was relaxed. As a natural, my staple style is a wash and go, which suits my busy lifestyle.
 
Oh and I think it is all about mastering styling techniques as well, in order to make your hair stay/look that bit better!
 
I voted natural. Although I am not quite all the way there (100% natural) just yet, I have still had more versatility in my journey along the way.

When I was relaxed, I was never able to do a wash and go, even though there is a relaxed member here that does a MEEEEEAAAANNNN wash n' go and you can't tell that she is relaxed bone straight. (can't think of her name, but she and I shared pm's back and forth a million times as she was trying to explain her technique).

As a natural, I can do a wash and go with no effort (well, with SOME effort because I still have to find my staples), and I can also achieve a relaxed look with the proper technique (which I still haven't mastered yet). But again, that's just how versatile it is for me.

One of the reasons I transitioned is because although I was very familiar with what my natural hair looked like (dealt with it for the first 18 years of my life), I still liked having the versatility that natural hair could give you. When I stretched for 6 months once and went to get my hair flat ironed, I saw how straight it got and started to question myself why I was still getting relaxers.

But I have to add the versatility I speak of is all about using the proper techniques combined with the right products.

BB
 
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