Going back to relaxing after years of natural hair?

[havilland]

first of all, i don't know whether to hug you or fuss at you! your hair is so freakin gorgeous curly! i wish you could find a way to embrace your texture and wear it curly with the proper products that allow you to control it and maintain a style you like. bun it up when you are tired of it or when you are working out to keep it under control..... instead of fighting with straight hair that is obviously contrary to your exercise lifestyle...... whew....now that i got that rant out.....

i think you should do what you feel is best, but please don't thin your hair! cut it. cut a few inches. but do not thin it out....that never works out well and it just makes styling worse.

OR relax it. i would texlax to loosen the curl some before i would go to bone straight. texlaxing won't help with reversion, but it will cut down on your detangling time.

whatever you decide, good luck pretty woman!

 

[mrs.reese]

Has anyone had success self relaxing after years of being natural? Would you recommend going to a salon for the initial relaxer after being natural for 4.5 years, 17 inches of hair?

 

[coolsista-paris]

ive als been thinking of relaxing again because my hair is fine, it does better when its straight...but then its easier to get dameged when relaxes so...im just gonna stick to what i do (blow dry every 15 days and always wear my hair stretched). For washing have you tried detangling on damp hair with conditionner, then braiding those sections and washing hair in them sections? It does wonders for me. But as i said, if i dont blow dryer (tension method) ill get knots and all that.

In any case : your hair is beautiful on both pics! Do whats best for you.

I bet i might end up texlaxing when i reach my final goal (wl ) im at bsl for now, its layered though so...i might even go further that wl (if that can ever happen to me lol)

 

[Kinky4Agirl]

I was natural for 3 years and then self relaxed my hair. I couldn't be happier. I hated tusseling with my hair everyday as well. I relaxed my hair myself when I first went back because all the salons were trying to charge me more just because I had a full head of hair to relax. (brought back memories of why I went natural in the first place.) But anywho, I did it myself the same way I used to and it turned out just fine. Now I go to the salon only for touchups because I am lazy. You have probably learned alot about hair on this site, so don't be afraid to have faith in yourself. Just because a person works in a salon doesn't mean they know what they are doing. I was scared to death of going to the salon again after 3 years. And I didn't want anyone to undo all the hard work I put into my hair. Make your own decision but when all else fails, rely on yourself. You would never hurt you...

 

[sunnieb]

Your hair is beautiful!

 

[naturallygoldie]

I thought about going back to relaxers but then I did a moisturing dc that included roux porosity control (after a gym session my hair refused to detangle after washing). That first wash was ok, my hair felt nicer. I did it again a week later and I'm back in love with being natural. On gym days I co-wash and pull it back in banana clip.

I recently washed and braided it letting it air dry. I flat ironed the next day and my hair turned out very nice!

Try working on techniques/products before making ur decision

 

[emh772]

Just thought I would post an update! I ended up going the texturizing route and I could not be more thrilled! It's my hair, with it's same bigness, just calmed down enough so that I have zero stress when it is time to style! I have flat ironed once since and it took me under two hours (including washing and drying), where before I was in the 4 hour range.

These are wash-and-go looks now. The pic on the left is from a fresh wash/go, the one one the right is from a different week and it is on the second day of a wash/go. All I have to do is air dry and apply product and go!

Thank you so much for all of your advice and support! You are all the best!

 

[meecee]

Your hair is still lovely! Thanks for the update.

 

[hillytmj]

I'm glad you found a happy medium for your hair. I was told that the decision to relax or go natural was more of a lifestyle than a moral decision, and I couldn't agree more. Sometimes our lifestyles change, and I think it's okay to modify our hair routines accordingly.

 

[yaya24]

Looks good both ways!
Good luck on your new journey.

 

[havilland]

Just thought I would post an update! I ended up going the texturizing route and I could not be more thrilled! It's my hair, with it's same bigness, just calmed down enough so that I have zero stress when it is time to style! I have flat ironed once since and it took me under two hours (including washing and drying), where before I was in the 4 hour range.

These are wash-and-go looks now. The pic on the left is from a fresh wash/go, the one one the right is from a different week and it is on the second day of a wash/go. All I have to do is air dry and apply product and go!

Thank you so much for all of your advice and support! You are all the best!

i am so glad you posted an update! glad you found an option that works for you. congrats! it's pretty.