Would You be Natural if not for...

[anon123]

Yes, I was natural for around a decade before I found a hair board. But my hair didn't look its best until I found them.

 

[Tene]

No cause I didn't know how to take care of my relaxed hair before this board let alone natural hair. But I might've tried eventually since my mother wanted to me to go natural after she went natural.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Yes. I always knew I would stop relaxing at some point in my life so I figured I'd do it sooner rather than later. In searching for products that might work for my natural hair (I had just done a mini chop), I stumbled across NP and then just joined everything lol.

But the inkling to be natural was already in me.

 

[Nonie]

Yes I would be natural. A few months before finding hair boards, my whole plan of transitioning to relax afresh went out the window after I saw my natural hair grow longer than I had ever known my hair to be in any state. Having long hair is all I ever wanted. Not a texture change. And my reason for relaxing was because I thought having straight hair was the only way to prevent breakage during combing so the only way to get long hair. Once I saw that was a lie, I was as happy as a lark. Having natural hair was never an issue/problem for me. Getting it to grow long was. Once I figured how to do that, I was all set. And all this happened before I knew hair boards existed.

 

[Sweet_Ambrosia]

Yes. Though the road to natural wouldn't have been as smoothly for me w/o all the info that various hair boards/sites like (LHCF, MoTownGirl, NP) provides.

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Yes, I was inspired to go natural by a Lady that worked at my daughters school, she told me how she shaved her hair bald and within a Year she had shoulder length hair, thick and curly she was a 4a, so I found Motowngirl & Np and then LHCF, but coming to LHCF was hard because everybody had long relaxed hair and it wasn't that many Naturals on here at that time.

 

[Vashti]

I was natural for years before finding these boards but it took coming here to find out how to properly care for my natural hair so that I could start retaining length.

 

[loshed]

Yes. I was natural for around 9 or 10 years before I found hair boards. I HATED getting relaxers. Spending good money on something I hated seemed stupid as hell to me so I stopped getting them. But without hair boards I wouldn't know anything about taking care of it. I kept it cut short the whole 10 years. Moisturizing might as well have been quantum physics for all I knew about it.

 

[motherpopcorn562]

I would still be transitioning, but looking very raggedy lol like I was before I found this board!

 

[laurend085]

Nope I knew nothing about being natural or transitioning. I thought you had to be born with the kind of hair you see on here, either you got it or you don't. I had all the "good hair" stereotypes in my head. I thought perms were the only option to having nice-looking hair. Until...I discovered this board and see that I DON'T have to rely on a relaxer and there are many things I can do to my hair and that I am not limited. Right now I am transitioning and excited everyday to see my natural texture. This board is one of the best things I could have found.

 

[Nayna]

Yea. I was already natural when I found the board. I just needed help with styles and healthy hair techniques.

 

[Enyo]

I wore my hair naturally for 2 years before finding haircare boards. I toughed through things like transitioning and finding products on my own. Of course, my hair is a lot better due to the boards. But I was determined to never relax my hair again so I didn't need any support or encouragement in that regard. I just needed product tips and general care advice, which I happily got.

 

[Aggie]

For the first time because of the hair boards, I am transitioning to texlaxed hair. The thought would not have even entered into my mind if not for the hair boards. So my answer is "No". I am about 60% natural and 40% relaxed right now but not for long. I am definitely going to texlax my hair next year.....I think...

 

[chebaby]

no i wouldnt. ive always wanted to be natural but didnt know how to go about it.

 

[Truth]

I voted yes.... the board is not what inspired me to go natural ..infact I was on an lhcf break when I decided to go natural.. so I sure would be

 

[MissJ]

Nope, I use to think women who went natural with a twa just didn't care any more or had some mishap with a relaxer and had to cut their hair off.

I feel so liberated being natural.

 

[my-my]

I still would have been natural if there were no hair boards. I just would not have learned a lot of things to make caring for my hair easier and my hair probably wouldn't have been as healthy.

 

[halee_J]

Yes. I BC'ed and was natural for 3 years before I joined this board.

 

[CrissieD]

Well, being that I had a relaxer for about 1 year in the late 90s it's safe to say that the boards have nothing to do with me not relaxing my hair.

 

[asubeauty]

I would not be transitioning if it were not for LHCF because I wouldn't know how to. And nobody around me is natural or transitioning and I retained a lot of length relaxed. I wouldn't have had an easy and fun time transitioning if it weren't for the ladies on this board (and YouTube! ) who were full of knowledge and inspiration.

 

[Lylddlebit]

Yes, I would...being natural happened without purpose or plan for me. I wasn't influenced to stop perming my hair by anything other than my personal lifestyle. I didn't know anything about "transitioning" or "going natural" at the time. I just decided not to spend my own money on perms once I had control over my own hair as a teenager. Once I found out it was a trend with terms and steps I had missed the train.

 

[LunadeMiel]

Yes. I've always known that I would eventually stop relaxing. LHCF gave me the resources that I needed to do it sooner.

 

[jazii]

I probably wouldn't have...I was addicted to my creamy crack!!!

 

[lilsparkle825]

I voted yes, but who knows if I would still be natural now. I was transitioning when I found LHCF because I had found the Dominican salon after I lost all this hair after a weave detangling session gone wrong, but I knew nothing about how to care for my hair or grow it. The stylist who let me know that a transition was possible instead of just cutting all my relaxed hair off left the salon halfway through my transition, so without her all my hair would have been burned off and I would have been still spraying oil sheen on it like that was gonna save my hair.

 

[loulou82]

A resounding no. If it weren't for the hair boards I'd still be relaxed and dependent on a stylist since I was never a self-relaxer. I didn't understand the concept of being natural... cutting your hair off?!? Why? It was only after finding the boards that I learned how many different types of naturals there were (heat-styled, virgin, blow out, twisted) and how versatile it could be.

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

I chose no because I had been natural for about a month...realizing how clueless I was, I found the hair boards...afterwards.....I think that if I'd found the hairboards FIRST..I would actually still be relaxed, or I would have transitioned longer....

 

[Diva_Esq]

I started my transition BEFORE I found the boards. But I will say that regimen development, styling and inspiration have been much greater than anything I could have predicted with the boards! Thanks ladies!

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

My answer is a big no.

I started "going natural" with my friend and she seemed to have an easier time transitioning without online help. However, I was often at a lost.

After my BC, I know that I would've relaxed again if not for all of the wonderful fotkis with beautiful pictures of natural hair to inspire me.

 

[Stormy]

No! I was natural before for a very short time in high school because I didn't know how to take care of my hair in its natural state. All I remembered from when I was a little girl was hair grease and the pressing comb. Back then there were very few, if any hair stylists still specializing in natural hair so before long I slapped the relaxer back in. I actually did my research on other boards before LHCF because at the time most here were still relaxing, so there wasn't as much support. I slowly started seeing the support here and eventually stayed here more. If it werent for the hairboards and You Tube I would NOT be natural because I still didn't know what to do with natural hair or how to care for it.

 

[Jewell]

I'll tell you what...I definitely wouldn't have mustered the courage to transition when I did if it hadn't been for the hair boards. I always thought about abandoning a relaxer, ever since I was old enough to do my hair (12), but thought I couldn't "manage" my hair without one, and had been falsely led to believe that was true by my mother, who was the one to apply a relaxer to my head anyway!

She made it seem like I was gonna have a freakin bird's nest that was un-combable and unmanageable, and "not pretty" on my head without regular TU's. I stopped believing the hype, but since I didn't have anyone to teach me about transitioning and natural hair, I stayed relaxed for like 10 more years! But, I did start stretching relaxers about 2002 to improve the strength and thickness of my hair.

When I attempted my first transition, I didn't have the time to devote to learning about techniques to keep it going, so I broke down and had a TU after 5 mos. That happened about 3 times! (Each time I'd go for like 4-5 mos, then break down and TU due to tangles/matting). Then, on the 4th try, I BC'd after 9mos of transitioning. I BC'd in my L&D bathroom before I had my daughter! I had new hair, and a new baby, lol. Stayed natural for 5 mos, then texlaxed cuz once again, it was due to time and convenience (newborn @ home). I now look back and wish I hadn't texlaxed, cuz my hair is very soft naturally (think JC soft), and is not "hard" to manage at all, nor time consuming. Thank God for change, progress, and the ability to learn and retain!