Which ends up being more healthy...

[Jade]

completely natural hair that is heat styled (blow-dry & flat/curling iron) once a week, or relaxed hair that is always styled without heat?

 

[Ayeshia]

relaxed hair w/o heat...my natural hair was thin from constant pressing, so when i relaxed and never used heat my hair became twice as thick as i eventually cut the thin ends away.

 

[Devi]

I would say the natural hair as long as it's not excessive heat and also use of a good heat protectant.

My reasoning is that the natural hair will have all of it's strength (no relaxer to break down the cortex). Heat styling doesn't have to be overly damaging if it's done properly either.

 

[Irresistible]

good question , but im thinking it probably depends on that person's hair...for me, both would result in major damage and end up the with the same results

 

[chicamorena]

I agree with Irresistible. Some people hair does not mind high heat, but cannot deal with relaxers. My hair does better being relaxed and only rollersetting, but it was damaged when I was pressing it all the time. The opposite is true for my sister.

 

[bellydancer]

depends on the person but i think the relaxed hair would be healthier

 

[Adrian3bc]

i think pressed hair b/c its temporary and if ur careful wont cause much damage but with relaxing its permanant and most ppl wont use no heat. thats why i decided to transition b/c what is the point of chemicals and heat. maybe imma heat junkie. maybe they are about equal if done properly *shrug*

 

[aregee]

i think natural hair is healthier in general than relaxed hair. however, both types are subject to damage as we all can attest.

 

[gabrielle2]

i would say the natural hair. mainly because the heat can be controlled on the appliances being used (cool setting for blow drying and low to med. heat on the curlers) as opposed to the bonds being broken down from the relaxer to make the hair straight.

then again..every head is different..so it really is hard to say.

 

[Dolce_Dawn]

I don't think there's a real way to answer this question b/c there are too many variables to consider

(are either of them trimming?). I would vote that BOTH would be healthy if the hair belonged to a knowledgeable, hair conscious person.

 

[Poohbear]

i think natural pressed hair would be healthier only because u dont have the harsh chemicals of relaxers. I also think it depends on how much heat u use for natural hair. You probably shouldnt press your hair everyday. Maybe once a month or less than that.

 

[DelightfulFlame]

I don't think either one is better than the other as far as the hair goes. It just depends on the person.

As far as "health" goes (for the body)...I would think the natural hair is more healthy because of the lack of chemicals used.

 

[Karonica]

If the relaxed hair is already healthy, then I would vote for the relaxed hair without heat styling.

 

[patience]

Over all, I'd say natural hair. Reason being is that if you completely remove the heat styling, AND the person continues to take good care of their hair, including trims, then more than likely, any damage will rectify itself. Where as with a relaxer, even if the person took good care of their hair, you can NEVER repair bonds that have been permanently altered by the relaxer.

 

[Tracy]

I guess it depends on how one defines "healthy"..

My definition of healthy is that the hair is easy to manage, looks and feels soft, has good tensile strength and shine.

Excessive heat styling on any kind of hair leads to its inevitable ruin. It depends on the person's hair of course, but I think natural hair that is routinely styled with direct heat is usually far more unhealthy than hair that is handled more gently, but has been altered chemically.

 

[sunny]

if ure gonna press ur natural hair every week it is going to stretch out ur curl pattern.. it'll be frizzy , undefined curls...i think relaxing (not often) and then minimal heat styling is healthier

 

[Dolce_Dawn]

Hey, sunny and Patience

-

Sunny- when I was younger, I was natural and got my hair pressed every wk at the salon and my hair was healthy. I never had frizz unless I got it wet. My hair was not damaged. I am relaxed now and feel that either w/or w/o heat my hair will be fine b/c I am hair conscious. My opinion is based on what I know.

Patience- I don't equate permanently altering your hair via perms as damaged so I'm not lookin to REPAIR the bonds of my hair b/c them being "broken" to me means altered, but not damaged. I think we are just personalizing relaxers and what they mean to us, which is cool. You see them as caustic and damaging. I see them as a cool alternative and convenient.

So.... I stand by my answer

 

[NAY007]

This really depends on the person's hair. For me I didn't have problems with neither.

 

[Ayeshia]

[ QUOTE ]
Tracy said:
I guess it depends on how one defines "healthy"..

My definition of healthy is that the hair is easy to manage, looks and feels soft, has good tensile strength and shine.

Excessive heat styling on any kind of hair leads to its inevitable ruin. It depends on the person's hair of course, but I think natural hair that is routinely styled with direct heat is usually far more unhealthy than hair that is handled more gently, but has been altered chemically.

[/ QUOTE ]

yup