Calling all naturals who were once relaxed!

[IMFOCSD]

Hello ladies!

I feel that I am now ready to transition to natural..I haven't had a relaxer since July & even though that's not a long time I don't have the urge to relax. I have become a natural haired you tube feen lol..which has inspired me and I cant wait to become fully natural.

My questions are:

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

This thread can be used for encouragement for any other relaxed ladies who want to go natural as well. I still love the many ladies who chose to stay relaxed...I don't judge. :luv2:

 

[silenttullip]

when I was relaxed I didn't have to do anything but wash and condition.
natural I struggle for every inch and compiling a working Reggie took 1 yr
many naturals notice ssks, thicker hair or appearance of such, less need for protein, and a new found freedom. I notice more need for protein, thinner strands, less ssks as long as I search and destroy every 2 months, and a happier scalp. I think it's different for everyone.

 

[IMFOCSD]

when I was relaxed I didn't have to do anything but wash and condition.
natural I struggle for every inch and compiling a working Reggie took 1 yr
many naturals notice ssks, thicker hair or appearance of such, less need for protein, and a new found freedom. I notice more need for protein, thinner strands, less ssks as long as I search and destroy every 2 months, and a happier scalp. I think it's different for everyone.

Thanks for responding, so would you say you enjoyed your relaxed hair more and/or it was easier or did just have to get used to your natural hair?

eta...must be nice to have only had to wash and condition your relaxed hair for it to be healthy lol.

 

[BostonMaria]

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?
My natural hair is very thick. 26 years of a relaxer made my hair thin and brittle.
My regime was much simpler as relaxed, but then again I was not on the forums. I will say that frequent salon visits fried my hair. I think the biggest change is not just stopping the relaxers, but not going to the salon anymore. I go maybe 2x a year. I do my own hair and am very particular about what products go on my hair.
I brush and comb every day. I wear my hair out straight in the fall and winter. Curly in the spring and summer. I DC, do hot oil rinses, Amla treatments, stay away from shampoo, co-wash, and rollerset.

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair?
For ME it's more versatility. I can do more with my hair and go from curly to natural at the drop of a hat (or water LOL)
My relaxed hair, due to constant heat usage at the salon, never grew past SL and full of split ends. My natural hair is waist length.

I can only speak for myself. I know that if I had known about heat back in the day and how damaging it was I would've had nicer relaxed hair. I'm very happy with my curly hair. My last relaxer was Nov 2006.


Sent from my fancy iPhone using LHCF

 

[silenttullip]

nope, my relaxed hair was easier but I enjoy being natural more, I can play in the rain, wash it as often as I want without it kinking up, I can spot shedding vs breakage and I can wig it whenever I want it straight. As for styling I'm no good so relaxed was easier for that and maintenance . Lol it was nice I'd wash condition and bun 2 times a month what a simple easy time lol but my natural journey makes me appreciate each inch and that's good.
you have lovely hair btw

Thanks for responding, so would you say you enjoyed your relaxed hair more and/or it was easier or did just have to get used to your natural hair?

eta...must be nice to have only had to wash and condition your relaxed hair for it to be healthy lol.

 

[IMFOCSD]

My questions are:

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?
My natural hair is very thick. 26 years of a relaxer made my hair thin and brittle.
My regime was much simpler as relaxed, but then again I was not on the forums. I will say that frequent salon visits fried my hair. I think the biggest change is not just stopping the relaxers, but not going to the salon anymore. I go maybe 2x a year. I do my own hair and am very particular about what products go on my hair.
I brush and comb every day. I wear my hair out straight in the fall and winter. Curly in the spring and summer. I DC, do hot oil rinses, Amla treatments, stay away from shampoo, co-wash, and rollerset.

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair?
For ME it's more versatility. I can do more with my hair and go from curly to natural at the drop of a hat (or water LOL)
My relaxed hair, due to constant heat usage at the salon, never grew past SL and full of split ends. My natural hair is waist length.

I can only speak for myself. I know that if I had known about heat back in the day and how damaging it was I would've had nicer relaxed hair. I'm very happy with my curly hair. My last relaxer was Nov 2006.


Sent from my fancy iPhone using LHCF

your hair is beautiful! thanks for responding...I am just tired of relaxers and I would rather work hard to maintain my natural hair than to work harder to maintain relaxed hair...and I say harder because once a relaxer is applied to your hair you have to take those extra steps to keep damage away.

well idk really know if you have to work harder w/relaxed hair lol...i just assume it is.

 

[IMFOCSD]

nope, my relaxed hair was easier but I enjoy being natural more, I can play in the rain, wash it as often as I want without it kinking up, I can spot shedding vs breakage and I can wig it whenever I want it straight. As for styling I'm no good so relaxed was easier for that and maintenance . Lol it was nice I'd wash condition and bun 2 times a month what a simple easy time lol but my natural journey makes me appreciate each inch and that's good.
you have lovely hair btw

aww thanks for the compliment!

 

[peachfuzzz]

subscribing to answer later! Off to work

 

[alive]

My relaxed hair
1. broke off if i looked at it
2. required protein treatments
3. didn't require too many DCs to stay relatively moisturized
4. looked long (emphasis on looked )
5. was easy to throw in a bun

My natural hair
1. rarely breaks off
2. doesn't require protein treatments
3. requires ridiculous amounts of DC-ing to stay relatively moisturized
4. looks short (thank you, shrinkage)
5. does not do buns

Overall, i think i prefer my natural hair. it just feels good to be able to rock a mass of kinks and waves on my head whenever i want to. can't wait to see your journey

 

[IMFOCSD]

My relaxed hair
1. broke off if i looked at it
2. required protein treatments
3. didn't require too many DCs to stay relatively moisturized
4. looked long (emphasis on looked )
5. was easy to throw in a bun

My natural hair
1. rarely breaks off
2. doesn't require protein treatments
3. requires ridiculous amounts of DC-ing to stay relatively moisturized
4. looks short (thank you, shrinkage)
5. does not do buns

Overall, i think i prefer my natural hair. it just feels good to be able to rock a mass of kinks and waves on my head whenever i want to. can't wait to see your journey

hi thanks for responding...your post made me laugh . I see there are more pros to being natural than relaxed....and me too @ the bold.

 

[LoveCraze]

My relaxed hair barely got past shoulder length. Right when I started to really gain some length, I had decided I was tired of the relaxers and breakage from the color, so I chose to go natural. Now it is past shoulder length and it looks and feels so much more healthy. I needed more protein with my relaxed hair but I also still add some protein to my hair now. Henna helps a lot in keeping my strands strong. My hair looked thin and limp IMO when relaxed. Natural hair has definitely made my hair appear thicker. I don't use a comb very often anymore, I mostly just finger comb. My scalp is the biggest difference. It's no longer dry and flaky like it was when relaxed. I rarely have flakes in my scalp now thank goodness.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

I don't really know much about my relaxed hair as I hated to even wash it myself. I was in the salon weekly, and I couldn't tell you if they were doing DCs, protein, or what.

To me, my natural hair is easier because I can take care of it myself on my own schedule versus being at the mercy of someone else. My wash day routine takes around 5 hours, but that's spread out over the day and I can do other things while I prepoo or DC. And that's still less than the 7-8 hours I used to spend in a salon. I would be too scared to self-relax.

I never did anything special to retain length, and I still don't. I PS regularly because I don't like doing my hair everyday. When I was relaxed, it was mostly in a ponytail or bun. Now it's twists and buns. I haven't had issues with breakage natural or relaxed. My natural hair doesn't need to be combed everyday, unless it's straightened. I only comb on wash day.

What I did notice is that what I thought was my hairline, was actually relaxer damage. When I went natural all those short hairs around my edges filled in to the same length as the rest of my hair. I though that was just how everyone's hair was. Also my hair is longer now than it ever was when I was relaxed.


Sent from my HTC Evo

 

[kellistarr]

I felt that having relaxed hair and then having to straighten it with tools was redundant. I thought if I need to straighten, I can just do this on my natural hair.
So to me, it was a lot of work. Since it was so much work, I found that I wasn't washing it as much as I wanted, that began to irritate me. Salon visits were unpleasant. I could be at the salon for so many hours that it seems preposterous to me that I was paying for such visits! I went to the salon when I began to tire of self-relaxing. I began wearing styles that didn't require me to use tools or the salon and then I thought: I can do this on my natural hair.
My relaxed hair was easier to detangle and quicker to dry.

My natural hair is no less work. When I wash, it does take longer because detangling takes longer and I feel the need to handle it with more care. It takes more time because I take more time to give thought to how I'm going to care for it. I nurture it more because I'm not afraid of getting it wet. It requires conditioning, but it always did. It is much easier to style, I feel I have more styling options. I can wash as much as I like, I can sleek it, afro it, ringlet it, let it do its natural thing. Length is not an issue, even when it shrinks. I think I was more creative when my hair was shorter because it was a breeze to style.

I was prepared for short hair when I did the BC. My hair was short, when I cut it the first time, I became obsessed with making sure that all the relaxed hair was gone, so I got it cut, maybe twice (at salon) before I was satisfied. Most people who BC aren't prepared. They think that they will look like they did when they were relaxed. You won't. You'll look like you. A You that you may be very unfamiliar with. I think that's the biggest hurdle. The best thing about my hair is that wherever I go, I know that I will look different. A lot of the time my hair makes the outfit. My hair is a conversation piece. People stop me and want advice, if not for themselves, then their children. My hair is a lot more fun.

 

[whiteoleander91]

When I was relaxed, I didn't really do much. My hair seemed to like pretty much anything I put on it. Now that I'm natual I find that my hair is more picky. My hair is soft relaxed or natural, so no difference there. My SCALP is soooooo much better though. No dandruff, and some spots where hair wouldn't grow, hair is growing there now. The biggest difference is no broken hairs! I would always have broken hairs (which I thought was just shed hair for the longest time) all over my shirts and countertops. I find that I am retaining length without any extra effort at all. My hair now is longer than it was relaxed (stayed the same length for forever!) in only over a year's time. But I was doing a lot of bad things to my hair before, so I won't give my natural hair total credit for that. In fact, right before I decided to go natural, my hair had been in great shape because I was starting to take better care of it.

Overall, I'd say my natural hair is a lot stronger, pickier, and healthier than it ever was relaxed

 

[Uniqzoe]

I didn't not properly learn to care for my hair until I started transitioning so my assessment my be a little off centered.

My relaxed hair:

1) never grew much past shoulder length (although I had asked several hair stylist to help me with growth I was never able to get the info that I have learned here)

2) I was lazy with my hair so I never d.c'd at home, rarely washed at home, protein (what's that?), as a result my hair shed like crazy

3) Plus: even as a relaxed head my hair was thick and full

4) relatively low maintenance (again I was lazy). Usually I would wrap and go

Natural hair:

1) I am able to retain length MUCH better. I chopped (it wasn't that big considering I transitioned for 18months) in Feb and I'm at APL length now.

2) I have learned to take responsibility for my own hair care

3) Some sytles require planning, I can't rock a twist out at the last minute if I didn't know about the event at least by the day before.

4) I never "comb" my hair, I only detangle on wash days.

5) I dc every week to help retain moisture and still don't use protein often

6) I have found ways to maintain my hair in a very low maintenance way (even out styles)

7) Oh and as someone else mentioned my scalp is much healthier! Hardly any flaking.

Good luck!

 

[natural2008]

I can play in the rain

silenttullip - playing in the rain is soo much fun .

 

[fluffyforever]

My relaxed hair was low maintenance (or I didn't care much about styling). I wore a bun or ponytail everyday from 1st grade to my BC in 12th grade. I transitioned to natural because I didn't understand why I needed to pay for a relaxer to wear a bun (at the time, I had my first job and my mom was telling me to start paying for them). I was like, "not from my paycheck. It is not that serious" lol.

My relaxed hair was long at below APL and thick. My bangs were the only part that was short. I cut them once and they never grew back for some reason. I didn't wash my hair myself unless I went swimming. I would go to the shop for a DC and press every two weeks. My scalp was dry. My hair was normal in terms of moisture levels.

My natural hair grows whether I take care of my hair or not. I grew to BSL in about 3 years without moisturizing or constant protective styling. But I had constant breakage and very dry hair and lots of knots. I did another BC last November to an even shorter twa (1-2inches), and today in September (almost a year later) I am back at below APL, probably will claim BSL on my birthday in April. The difference in my routine was more protective styling and more DCs. I wore a wig for the first half of the year, and from then, twists/twistouts in a bun. I wear out styles on weekends.

Major differences? My natural hair is dryer than my relaxed hair and it breaks more. My natural hair seems to retain length more or grow faster than my relaxed hair (although I can't tell because my stylist would give me a trim every 2 weeks after a wash). My bangs finally grew back.

Similarities? I still have a dry scalp.

 

[Nonie]

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?

Unfortunately, I didn't know as much as I know about haircare back when I was relaxed so I wasn't doing all the the things I do now, and usually had to count on the stylist to do treatments for me to keep my hair on my head. I can say though that I do find natural hair takes me less work because I can twist it or braid it and forget about it, and I don't have to waste time at the salon either. Relaxed hair needed to be styled daily, which for a lazy person like me is work; then every now and then I had to go for treatments, touch ups, trims...because I couldn't do them myself. Also relaxed hair had to be put to bed in some orderly manner (wrap, rollers) while I just put on a plastic cap when it's time for bed w/o any ritual.

I don't moisturize my natural hair...and don't remember how often I moisturized my relaxed hair because as stated I didn't really know what was necessary and just went through the motions w/o really having reason or a plan for things I did.

I never use brushes (and don't remember using them when relaxed either). And no, I cannot comb my hair frequently or all willy nilly as I did relaxed hair. My hair is made of coils that are so close together and so easily tangle, that combing has to be done on wet/damp hair with a lot of slip. I cannot comb dry hair like I could relaxed hair. The only time this is possible is if my hair is straightened so it resembles my relaxed hair.

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

I think quoting an old post of mine on pros and cons of being relaxed/natural may answer this question for you:

♥.What are the pros/cons

Pros of being natural:

• Versatility--I can pull off just about any hairstyle I want and have long hair one day and short the next. LOVE IT!!!!!
• Independence--I do not need to depend on outside eyes for the caring and maintenance of my hair.
• I believe my hair is a lot healthier in its natural state.

Cons of being natural:

• I personally don't have any but I'd say for a newbie who's never had natural hair, 4B hair can be quite a handful, especially if one isn't listening to her hair but is trying to copy styles from others who don't have the same type of hair. I'm sorta spoiled in that I have had and lived among 4B natural hair for about 30 years. So I know how to avoid tangles and knots by keeping my hair stretched and detangled at all times.
• If you hate shrinkage (which I LOVE) then that's another burden you have to deal with.
• If you like WNGs (I don't care for them) then you may find tangles and knots are commonplace.

Pros of being relaxed:

• I guess styling hair can be done in a jiffy.
• If you are one of those who NEEDS to know how long your hair is often, then straight hair affords you that.

Cons of being relaxed:

• Dependence on a stylist to be your eyes and ensure minimum overlap during touch ups--a risk I'm not willing to take.
• The constant headache of having two textures to deal with and needing to make sure you match the old hair when you touch up.
• Risk of over-processing and under-processing and getting burned.
• Maybe I would feel differently now but back when I was relaxed, it seemed I was always "treating" my hair to keep it from breaking--as if I'd caught some incurable disease. The slight weakening from chemical processing seemed to require more work from me to keep the hair on my head.

 

[Missigirl]

I am transitioning. I grew my relaxed hair to WL and wrote a book. Just before I got to my goal length I decided I wanted to grow my natural hair to waist length. Also my relaxed hair got thinner the longer it got. I love the feel of my natural hair. I just finished the mud detox and my hair has never felt better. My hair is growing at the same rate it did when I was relaxed. The only time I wore my relaxed hair out was on Sundays to church after I did my weekly wash and roller set. I decided If I can learn how to set my natural hair why put my hair and scalp through all of that process when I can do the same thing with natural hair.

 

[Ronnieaj]

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

This thread can be used for encouragement for any other relaxed ladies who want to go natural as well. I still love the many ladies who chose to stay relaxed...I don't judge. :luv2:

1. I grew up in Cali, and my hair was APL until I decided to chop it to ear length. Didn't have anything to do with damage; I just wanted a change. When I moved to Ohio and then DC for college and law school, the change in climate and additional stress was VERY hard on my hair. I couldn't get past SL, my hair fell out at the edges, and when I BC'd there were two bald spots on my scalp. Now I didn't know anything about DCing and whatnot because I hadn't had to do it in California, and I started stretching my relaxers in law school, but I still was losing hair.

Now, I know a lot of naturals don't need as much protein, but my hair is a protein junkie. Like it has some issues that I fail to understand, but I do what she wants, so that means Aphogee two step every 3 months, mega-tek or Kpak at the six week mark, and GPB every 2-3 weeks in between. My daily spritz also has protein in it. Who knew? I bun and twist almost exclusively, but I will rock a puff or fro in a heartbeat. I always wrapped my hair, now I use a scarf, so that's no biggie. I always washed once a week and still do. It's really the protective styling that's changed for me.


2. My hair has always been thick, but I never varied in style. Now I can do what I want, when I want. I can straighten, curl, rollerset, fro, puff, twist, braid, bun, whatever. I'm definitely more gentle with my hair because of the curl pattern, but as long as I keep the moisture/protein balance in check (me and my steamer are close!) my hair will pretty much let me do whatever I want with it. I realize that I'm very fortunate that way.

My last relaxer was 5/5/2007, and I was fully natural by 4/15/2008. My hair was around 3 inches long once it was all evened out. My hair still shrinks to around 3-4 inches, but is pushing on BSB. It's longer now than it ever was when I was relaxed.

 

[nerdography]

My relaxed hair
1. grew without me doing anything to it
2. never needed deep conditioning or protein treatments
3. more options with hair styles
4. retained length
5. products lasted longer

My natural hair
1. breaks like crazy
2. constant need to DC
3. needs moisture two to three times a day
5. struggle to detangle even with really slippery conditioners
6. can't do anything but put in a puff
7. resistant to flat iron
8. constantly re-buying products

I've been natural for three years now and being natural isn't worth it. I'm relaxing this weekend. My hair was healthier and easier to manage. When I was relaxed it took 1 to 1 1/2 to do my hair. Being relaxed I start my hair at 8am and I'm not done until 1pm (and that's with the updated routine.)

 

[prettybyrd]

I was prepared for short hair when I did the BC. My hair was short, when I cut it the first time, I became obsessed with making sure that all the relaxed hair was gone, so I got it cut, maybe twice (at salon) before I was satisfied. Most people who BC aren't prepared. They think that they will look like they did when they were relaxed. You won't. You'll look like you. A You that you may be very unfamiliar with. I think that's the biggest hurdle. The best thing about my hair is that wherever I go, I know that I will look different. A lot of the time my hair makes the outfit. My hair is a conversation piece. People stop me and want advice, if not for themselves, then their children. My hair is a lot more fun.

This is a very important point!

I happen to think that once women start wearing their hair natural they are a different kind of pretty. It can be hard to appreciate that beauty, because so many of use weren't taught to appreciate our natural beauty - but if I've seen it once, I've seen it a million times.

Personally, I never thought that I was pretty until I went natural. My hair is the perfect frame for the masterpiece that is my face!

PS - This is NOT to say that I think women who relax aren't beautiful too. I think that we are all beauties!

 

[indarican]

My relaxed hair was low maintenance (or I didn't care much about styling). I wore a bun or ponytail everyday from 1st grade to my BC in 12th grade. I transitioned to natural because I didn't understand why I needed to pay for a relaxer to wear a bun (at the time, I had my first job and my mom was telling me to start paying for them). I was like, "not from my paycheck. It is not that serious" lol.

My relaxed hair was long at below APL and thick. My bangs were the only part that was short. I cut them once and they never grew back for some reason. I didn't wash my hair myself unless I went swimming. I would go to the shop for a DC and press every two weeks. My scalp was dry. My hair was normal in terms of moisture levels.

My natural hair grows whether I take care of my hair or not. I grew to BSL in about 3 years without moisturizing or constant protective styling. But I had constant breakage and very dry hair and lots of knots. I did another BC last November to an even shorter twa (1-2inches), and today in September (almost a year later) I am back at below APL, probably will claim BSL on my birthday in April. The difference in my routine was more protective styling and more DCs. I wore a wig for the first half of the year, and from then, twists/twistouts in a bun. I wear out styles on weekends.

Major differences? My natural hair is dryer than my relaxed hair and it breaks more. My natural hair seems to retain length more or grow faster than my relaxed hair (although I can't tell because my stylist would give me a trim every 2 weeks after a wash). My bangs finally grew back.

Similarities? I still have a dry scalp.

TWA to APL in less then a year... your a hair genie!!! Great growth!

 

[fluffyforever]

TWA to APL in less then a year... your a hair genie!!! Great growth!

Yep I am now a true believer in using wigs, buns and DCs 1 or 2x a week on dry hair.

 

[kandiekj100]

I really didn't do much to my hair when it was relaxed. I never really deep conditioned my hair nor did protein treatments (never heard of them until LHCF to learn about taking better care of my natural hair). I'd wash my hair 1-2 times per week, rollerset flat-ironing and wrapping my hair on wash day. Then I would wrap the subsequent days, eventually just throwing it into some sort of bun or ponytail. I would get to APL, but I would decide to cut or go natural again.


As a natural, although I condition it ALL the time, I still do not dc on the regular . I will dc when I henna, which is about every 6 weeks or so (sometimes less often than that).

I found that to even reach APL - I was stuck at just past SL -I needed to keep my hair stretched. I don't know if my hair has an adverse reaction to heat, but since I live in a very humid Florida, it just isn't something that I do on the regular.

Also, I moisturize my hair a lot more often than I did when I was relaxed. Water touches my hair almost daily, even if it is just a light misting from a spray bottle.

Detangling was definitely much easier when I was relaxed. Keeping my hair stretched helps and also finger detangling in the shower helps also.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Oh Boy - I see this going - well.... I will speak for my self.....

I wore a relaxer from age 12 to 31.



It was - in short - an awful experience.

I have been natural since November 10, 1998. I made up my mind BEFORE I went to that last appointment - and I never looked back. Of course there was no LHCF.... ( the internet just came on the scene...lol)

Nevertheless.... It is one of the Best life decisions I ever made.
Transitioned in Braids..... Chopped of about six inches .... And kept on rollin....
My hair has never been better. I will never use chemicals again.
I love how versitle my hair is now.



Bottom line - you Gotta do YOU. Whatever.... that is.
Good Luck!!!

 

[brucebettye]

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage?

When I was relaxed I could not grow my hair past my shoulders and it would just be thin because I never learned how to take care of my hair. So when I went natural for the second time I learned that my hair hates alot of protein but loves dc and moisture. Also I learned not to comb and brush my hair on a daily basis because my hair looks better when I just finger comb my hair. Also I have so much less breakage natural than relaxed because I know how to take care of my natural hair

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

The difference for me is that my natural hair is thick and healthy and I can retain length better than when my hair was relaxed. Also for me natural hair is so easy to take care of. I love that once I put my hair into a style I can wear that style for a week or longer and it only takes me 5 minutes in the morning to refresh the style. Also I love my hair texture and have not straightened my hair in over 3 years.

 

[FearfullyMade]

I'm not completely natural, I still have 1-2 inches of permed ends, but I think my scalp is not as tight feeling as when I was relaxed (maybe it was dry), my hair is so much thicker and I don't have short, broken off hairs in my crown area, like when it was permed. Lately I've had thoughts of perming, but I've been wearing it in a braidout these last couple of days, and I've been LOVING it!

 

[PinkGirlFluff]

My relaxed hair was pretty. I liked it. But I preferred putting in big curly weaves that looked like natural hair so much that I thought it was silly to keep relaxing. I would also scrunch my wet hair with gel to give it texture as well as doing braid outs in the 90s. My natural hair takes as much time to do as my relaxed hair. My natural hair just suits my personality more. My relaxed hair never quite looked like "me". It's like carrot top without the bright red hair.

I buy different products but I won't say that I spend more. My hair is retaining length. I can style it in different ways like I could style my relaxed hair. When it blows in the wind it doesn't lose it's flyness. When it rains it turns into this huge magical thing that aches for a hand to touch it. lol. I have not mastered getting my hair silky straight while natural but I'm sure that if I give it time I'll learn. I love to learn about my hair so it's not a big deal for me.

The best part about being natural for me is that my hair is very low maintanence. It doesn't need protein treatments or dc's. It likes co washes and shampoos. I don't henna. I keep real simple. Right now I have a sew in that people say looks like my hair which is great. I get to protective style without missing having some kind of hair out. I can leave my hair out and still retain length.

As long as I keep stress at bay, take my vitamins, and watch what I eat I'm good.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

I hate this thread & I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just that when I start thinking about it, then I become unsure of my current decision. I BCed on September 10th & currently have about 2 inches of hair all over. This is my 2nd time natural. The 1st time I kept having setbacks & never got any longer than BSB/BSL. With a jheri curl, I had hairs scraping WL. With a relaxer, I got to MBL.

1.) Comparing your natural to relaxed hair, what differences do you see as far as things you had to do to retain length? With relaxed hair I followed Wanakee's routine (PSing 90% of the time) for retention. I rollerset my hair once a week & never used flat irons or curling irons.It was pretty easy. Without length, as a natural, it's harder to PS. You basically have to cover your entire head. For example do you still need to dc, use protein and moisturize the same as when you were relaxed? Relaxed, I washed once a week. I only used protein when touching up. With the curl & natural, I wet my hair more often (co-wash) because my hair craves the moisture. I used protein monthly with the curl & I still don't know how much protein I should be using with my natural hair. can you comb and brush more frequently now without damage and?or breakage? Relaxed, I combed my hair once a day and the most manipulation was done on wash day when I would rollerset. Still, my shedding & breakage was way less than with my natural or jheri curl hair. I attribute this to dryness and the fact that my hair would knot up because of the curls. My hair really doesn't like to be curly, I think.

2.) What really is the difference between your relaxed hair and your natural hair? (minus the fact that natural=no chemicals/relaxer)

Because I don't have much experience in the natural hair arena, my relaxed hair was way easier to take care of. My hair is pretty thick so it was thick when relaxed. Of course not quite as thick as being natural but it was enough for me. The reason I'm taking one last go at being natural is because I'm getting older & know that often times, thinning hair is a symptom of aging. So my thought process was that it would be better to age with natural hair.

I'm trying to form a relationship with my natural hair & I'm giving it 3 years. If in 3 years, I'm not pleased with our relationship then I will become exclusively a straight haired natural. Relaxing again will be my absolute last resort.