Ugh! What to do? What to DO??! Please help me decide. (Pics inside)

Ugh! What to do? What to DO??! Please help me decide. (Pics inside) ** POLL ADDED*

I've been texlaxing my hair since the beginning of the year. I'm ready to touch up and I can no longer tell the difference between my ng (which is coming in much softer these days) and my previously texlaxed hair. Ok, in the back, I can feel more of a contrast but, not enough throughout my hair to be sure that I won't be overlapping. I'm 13 wks post and planning my touch up on Nov 3rd. I'm really leaning towards transitioning to natural but mainly because I don't know what else to do and don't want to cause a setback by overlapping. I've gotten a few conflicting opinions and just as soon as I think I'm leaning one way, someone else will say something to make me lean the other way.

I'm ultimately going to want to wear my hair straight but curled (um, does that make sense?). Curled as in Caruso curls. And I must mention that my hair has been relaxed since I was about 13. And I know for sure that prior to that, my hair was thick and hard to handle ~hence my mom throwing in a perm (uh, don't get me started on that story). But, please look at what I'm working with and let me know what you think I should do? Can you tell what's what? I used to be able to when my ng came in tighter. Now it's blending. And I know it's definitely growing because I have some henna'd grays that show growth since the last time I henna'd and my length checks show growth.

I'm willing to go natural if I could get some of those gorgeous curls that many of you ladies get but, somehow I know I'll end up with the kinky, thirsty-looking hair. (don't judge me )

Anywho..sorry about the size. But you need a close look. And thanks for looking and commenting.








Maybe some of you more experienced ladies can notice a difference and help me out. I feel like a transition is calling me but, I SO don't know want to have to flat iron regularly to get my hair straight. Waaaaaah! Help a sista make a decision, please!

Oh, and this hair is moisturized, sealed and airdried from the previous night. I was just about to remoisturize each braid before I decided to take these pics. Where it may look like a shadow on the back of my head in some of the pics, it was because I peeled back a hairnet to fully expose the hair for the pics. The hairnet keeps my braids from having to be pinned up. fyi.

Thanks for any assistance!

I'm no help but I'm in the same position you are!!! I'm so interested in what advice you will be given!

OOOHH your hair kinda looks like mine! DO IT DO IT!!

ETA: You already know what I think. But if you are natural, you can flat iron once or twice a month or you may even be able to get nice results with rollersets and saran wraps or curl formers...never know until you try.

i think your hair will look great either way because in this year, i know how hard you've worked on it and gotten it into great condition!

i totally feel for the ng situation! as you well know, being a fellow texlaxer, these are the things we deal with.

i second La Femme's motion in that if you try to the natural with flat ironing, you will be in a better place to decide. you know quite well how the perms are and the differences with texlaxing, but maybe if you try going natural, you'll have more experience with all methods.

above all, my best wishes to you with this tremendous decision and know that i'll be here in full support of you no matter what you decide!

When the time comes for you to make the decision you will.

Do not relax unless your heart tells you to. If not, just let your hair be; it will grow out in its natural state if you do not apply any chemical to it.

Poll added. **Bump**

Your hair is really pretty. You could roller set and get great curls. If you prefer to wear it strait, just keep doing what you are doing. You don't need to be texlaxed to have strait hair.

13 weeks is about 1.5 inches of NG. If you go ahead and texlax you should be all right if you just apply it 1.5 inches. If you decide to just transition, you have a nice texture to learn with. It just depends. I think you are at a point where you have the best of both worlds. Just flat iron for another month then you'll know what to do.

Just transition to natural. I have a feeling that's what you want to do anyway, but you are afraid to get off the fence.

Well if you know you want to wear your hair straight all the time then continue to texlax...especially if you don't have/can't make the time for the flat ironing process frequently. I'm all for going natural...I just love having hair that's versatile (can be kinky one day, wavy/curly with bantu knot out the next, and straight with a flat iron another.) but again if you know straight is for you then texlax!! based on your progress pics you're doing very well : )

you should definitely do what feels right for your lifestyle and your preferred styles.
for the record, i'm all for going natural.

what is "thirty-looking hair??"

^^ thirsty

I vote continue to transition! BTW... I know it's offt he subject but what is your reggie???? You have AWESOME progress!!!

DDTexlaxed said:

Your hair is really pretty. You could roller set and get great curls. If you prefer to wear it strait, just keep doing what you are doing. You don't need to be texlaxed to have strait hair.

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DDTexlaxed, Girl!! I can't rollerset worth poop! I joined the challenge, went out and bought rollers and setting lotion, all ready to roll. Acting like Ice Cube getting that big ol' bowl of cereal in Friday~ YEE-AHH!! I'll be able to wear nice rollerset looks without worrying about heavy heat. Girl, I was a sad, sad case. First of all, I can NOT sit under a dryer too long. I start getting all restless and then come out like I need air to breathe. I just can't hack it. It just take too long for my hair to dry and after 'while, I start getting a baked in headache.

Rocky91 said:

you should definitely do what feels right for your lifestyle and your preferred styles.
for the record, i'm all for going natural.

what is "thirty-looking hair??"

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Miss*Tress said:

^^ thirsty

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Rocky91 Thanks for catching that. I did mean "thirsty".

Miss*Tress Thanks for the save!

Lady Slim said:

I vote continue to transition! BTW... I know it's offt he subject but what is your reggie???? You have AWESOME progress!!!

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Lady Slim My reggie is in my profile. I'll have to check it right quick to see if it's still the same tho so, give me til later this afternoon to make sure it's right.

I appreciate all the feedback ladies!

If you can't tell the difference between your chemically altered hair and your natural hair, I just don't see any reason to risk overlapping a texlax at this point. I would say keep up your reggie, work on your styling skills if you want (like alternatives to rollersets, since those are hard for you) and see how your natural hair comes in. If your natural hair is too difficult for you to handle, you should have a clear demarcation point down the road. But honestly, for a lot of us, the 'difficulty' of natural hair is 90% perception. If you begin to think that you can handle your natural hair, you probably will.

jouissance said:

If you can't tell the difference between your chemically altered hair and your natural hair, I just don't see any reason to risk overlapping a texlax at this point. I would say keep up your reggie, work on your styling skills if you want (like alternatives to rollersets, since those are hard for you) and see how your natural hair comes in. If your natural hair is too difficult for you to handle, you should have a clear demarcation point down the road. But honestly, for a lot of us, the 'difficulty' of natural hair is 90% perception. If you begin to think that you can handle your natural hair, you probably will.

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jouissance I'm marveling at how much sense that makes. You are wise beyond your years, lady. Thanks for the feedback.

The only way you would probably know is if its wet and that wouldn't really help since you can't apply relaxer to wet hair. Your roots are predominantly wavy for about three inches. Do you think you have that much ng?? If so, there it is.

detroitdiva, I feel SO crazy right now. This would be my 3rd time texlaxing and I think I'm still thinking of processing my hair prior to learning how to take care of it. 3 inches in 13 weeks sounds right. It's ALL ng. Wow!!! I was just reviewing some old pics and commenting on how easy it was to distinguish between ng and the processed hair. It still is. I just never considered it could be that much.

Girl, thanks for being plain with it and not rubbing it in because I am feeling a little embarrassed and very excited at the same time. Thanks!

Hold it!! So then, if that's true, then theoretically, since my last pic was a month ago, I could be another inch longer now? And if I straighten it... I'm too scared to look. I'm too nervous to check. But I'm VERY hopeful. I think I could have wl at the end of this year in my crosshairs.

I am texlaxed and transitioning to natural. When I used to do my touch ups I had to wait at least six months to see the texture difference in my new growth and my texlaxed hair to do the touch up without overlapping. I say wait until you have some more new growth before you do the touch up or go natural. Your hair is very pretty too.

brucebettye said:

I am texlaxed and transitioning to natural. When I used to do my touch ups I had to wait at least six months to see the texture difference in my new growth and my texlaxed hair to do the touch up without overlapping. I say wait until you have some more new growth before you do the touch up or go natural. Your hair is very pretty too.

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IA since you're unsure where the new growth ends and textlaxed hair start. Also I haven't really been here in awhile but your growth is amazing!

Ooo...girl, your new growth is so pretty!!!

Honestly, if I were in your situation I would just transition to natural....but *ahem*, maybe I'm a little bit biased at the moment since I just did my own BC 2 weeks ago. lol

But honestly, whatever you do as long as you take care of the health of your hair and do what's best for your hair and YOUR lifestyle I think you should be fine.

BTW.... I know a lot of people thought that their hair was "difficult to manage" as a child, but honestly...I think all it was was that some of our mothers just didn't know how to take care of natural hair. I know my mom didn't lol. Hence, the reason why so many of us got relaxers at such a young age. But girl, things have changed. We have SOOO much more knowledge, advice, products, and tips about how to "handle" natural hair now! Our hair isn't really "difficult" to manage...it's just "different". Once you learn what your hair needs, and realize that you can't handle afro-textured/coily hair the same way you handle STRAIGHT hair, all of your aprehension about your natural hair will subside.

This was the FIRST thing I was shocked about when I first bc'd...just how "easy" my hair actually is! It's not that difficult to manage if I do it right, handle it with care, and brush up on my youtube videos. My mom just didn't know how to take care of my natural hair almost 20 years ago. Now days, we've come a loooong way....so your natural hair may not be as difficult as you remember it being as a child. Just a thought....

I say keep stretching and see how your abled to take care of your hair as more of your natural texture comes in. You made great progress

Crystalicequeen123 said:

Ooo...girl, your new growth is so pretty!!!

Honestly, if I were in your situation I would just transition to natural....but *ahem*, maybe I'm a little bit biased at the moment since I just did my own BC 2 weeks ago. lol

But honestly, whatever you do as long as you take care of the health of your hair and do what's best for your hair and YOUR lifestyle I think you should be fine.

BTW.... I know a lot of people thought that their hair was "difficult to manage" as a child, but honestly...I think all it was was that some of our mothers just didn't know how to take care of natural hair. I know my mom didn't lol. Hence, the reason why so many of us got relaxers at such a young age. But girl, things have changed. We have SOOO much more knowledge, advice, products, and tips about how to "handle" natural hair now! Our hair isn't really "difficult" to manage...it's just "different". Once you learn what your hair needs, and realize that you can't handle afro-textured/coily hair the same way you handle STRAIGHT hair, all of your aprehension about your natural hair will subside.

This was the FIRST thing I was shocked about when I first bc'd...just how "easy" my hair actually is! It's not that difficult to manage if I do it right, handle it with care, and brush up on my youtube videos. My mom just didn't know how to take care of my natural hair almost 20 years ago. Now days, we've come a loooong way....so your natural hair may not be as difficult as you remember it being as a child. Just a thought....

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Crystalicequeen123, Girl, you are so right (you unbiased woman!)! My mom didn't know WHAT to do with my hair. Looking back on my school pics is SO embarrasing. I might have the same three plaits. Two in the back and one on the side OR two in the front and one in the back. And they were not twists or fishtailed or anything fancy like that. They were straight Ms. Ceily Plats. AND I was tenderheaded too?! Girl!

And I'm saying my ng is coming in softer. I think maybe I'm just learning how to handle it better. So, good post and I appreciate it. Running around scared of what I can barely remember. I know I've been relaxed for as long as I can remember. I won't even go into my mom putting the relaxer in without coming it thru, just waiting for it to fall straight. Yep. Straight out. rolleyes

Thanks again.

Just wanted to say that your hair is gorgeous and you got amazing growth in 9 months!!!

Re: Ugh! What to do? What to DO??! Please help me decide. (Pics inside) ** POLL AD

NJoy said:

I've been texlaxing my hair since the beginning of the year. I'm ready to touch up and I can no longer tell the difference between my ng (which is coming in much softer these days) and my previously texlaxed hair. Ok, in the back, I can feel more of a contrast but, not enough throughout my hair to be sure that I won't be overlapping. I'm 13 wks post and planning my touch up on Nov 3rd. I'm really leaning towards transitioning to natural but mainly because I don't know what else to do and don't want to cause a setback by overlapping. I've gotten a few conflicting opinions and just as soon as I think I'm leaning one way, someone else will say something to make me lean the other way.

I'm ultimately going to want to wear my hair straight but curled (um, does that make sense?). Curled as in Caruso curls. And I must mention that my hair has been relaxed since I was about 13. And I know for sure that prior to that, my hair was thick and hard to handle ~hence my mom throwing in a perm (uh, don't get me started on that story). But, please look at what I'm working with and let me know what you think I should do? Can you tell what's what? I used to be able to when my ng came in tighter. Now it's blending. And I know it's definitely growing because I have some henna'd grays that show growth since the last time I henna'd and my length checks show growth.

I'm willing to go natural if I could get some of those gorgeous curls that many of you ladies get but, somehow I know I'll end up with the kinky, thirsty-looking hair. (don't judge me )

...

Click to expand...

^^ You won't. If you had kinky, thirsty hair you'd know the difference between your chemically treated hair and your new growth coz you'd be able to feel it without question. And although I don't what your hair is like - judging from your pictures you are probably somewhere in the type 3 range. Whether or not you go natural is your choice but don't let fear hold you back - you'll be fine.

LaFemmeNaturelle said:

OOOHH your hair kinda looks like mine! DO IT DO IT!!

ETA: You already know what I think. But if you are natural, you can flat iron once or twice a month or you may even be able to get nice results with rollersets and saran wraps or curl formers...never know until you try.

Click to expand...

That's what I say also. Try flat ironing the ng to see how it works out. To see if it will get as straight as you would like, how long it would take before it reverts, can you handle the extra thickness, etc. Then decide from that point on if you will texlax or not.

Re: Ugh! What to do? What to DO??! Please help me decide. (Pics inside) ** POLL AD

Tiye said:

^^ You won't. If you had kinky, thirsty hair you'd know the difference between your chemically treated hair and your new growth coz you'd be able to feel it without question. And although I don't what your hair is like - judging from your pictures you are probably somewhere in the type 3 range. Whether or not you go natural is your choice but don't let fear hold you back - you'll be fine.

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I sorta wish I were a 3-something. Seems like they get awesome curlies. Thanks for the feedback and encouragement, girl. I just hate to be at the final stretch and mess things up with a setback. KWIM?

Just wanted to add..if u do transition please do it Allandra style..mini chops/trims..please dont BC all that pretty haiir. U've had phenomenal growth this year.Off to check ur reggie!

keelioness said:

Just wanted to add..if u do transition please do it Allandra style..mini chops/trims..please dont BC all that pretty haiir. U've had phenomenal growth this year.Off to check ur reggie!

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keelioness, thanks, girl. And don't worry. I panic at other people's BC's. I just know it would be too much for me. I feel faint just thinking about it. Seriously tho.