Hmmm I'm not sure. It was my choice at 19 to do it. All my teenage life I wore my hair pressed and it was shoulder length forever. I got it relaxed and started retaining length with every touch up. It wasn't until I had an overprocessing experience that I hesitated about relaxers. It's definitely a process, and I think that if I hadn't ever relaxed, I wouldn't have known my hair's potential (the good and the bad).
As for now...I'm at a point where I just don't want to risk putting the chemical in my hair. I like to wear it straight, I'm just worried because I finally have my thick head of hair back and I don't want to risk it. So, I'm
contemplating a transition, with pressing combs of course
. I'm at 6 months, and this is when I usually make a decision, but I'm going to try to get through the summer and see how I feel.
To each her own.
ETA: My best guide for how my hair will turn out is by looking at the ladies in my family. We all have fine hair, medium thickness, around APL. I'm the only one that relaxes, so I'm not trying to continue much longer. I think my mom had relaxed hair for about 10 yrs or so, I'm at 7...