Long-term Naturals Who Are Over Their Hair

tocktick

Well-Known Member
I've been natural for about 9 years or so. After about the 3rd year or so, I began to go through bouts of being really bored with my hair.

Last year, I protective styled with box braids for the whole year, which I haven't done since my hair was quite short. I didn't expect to keep braiding my hair for that long but unlike other times, I never really missed my hair. I'm quite sure this was down to being frustrated with the styles I was limited to when I became a regular exerciser in late 2014. Since a braid-out (or hair prepped for one) wouldn't keep after a run, I was mostly stuck with french braids, buns and high puffs. So in Dec '14, I got some braids with extensions done and I had to admit they made me look better overall, were a time-saver and less stressful to deal with.

I plan to stay in braids all this year too. I learnt how to do them properly myself, so I can save money and don't have to wait until I'm back in the UK to see my own stylist since I have zero desire to look for one here.
 

cocosweet

Well-Known Member
If I don't cave in and get a BKT next month like I've been thinking about doing, this summer will mark my 20th year since I went natural. I'm way past over it.

Right now, I have a little less than half the hair I had not too long ago. I checked myself into hair rehab and got my split ends and then some cut off. The longest it got was about 2" from hip before all the shedding, breakage, coloring escapades started. Before I got it cut last month, I was MBL, now I'm SL and loving it. I am no longer about that all day detangling session life, and I'm done length chasing. I'm wearing my hair straightened for the foreseeable future.
 

ag00

Well-Known Member
How many times are you going to talk about good products and not name them. :poke"

Help a sista out lol

@ag00 @Ogoma

Omg I didn't even see this. Sorry. I clarify with dish soap, deep condition with Mane N Tail, use a dab of grease and coconut oil on soaking wet hair, blow dry and straighten. I was able to use heat almost every other day without any damage. I blow dried, straightened on 400, and used the hot comb on 450 interchangeably.
 

lovenharmony

ET / OT Bonafide Member
I considered locs before, but IDK, I'm worried I'd get bored. I like the option of versatility even if I don't take advantage. :lol:


Yup! :yep: And if you decide you don't want locs anymore, you have to cut them off and start all over again! At least with twists, I can take them out and wear my hair out if I want to, or even relax and retain some length.
 

oneastrocurlie

Well-Known Member
I'm most over detangling. I got a tapered about a year ago. Maybe longer. I'm getting it recut Thursday. Not as low but definitely a lot on the sides.

My philosophy is it'll grow back.
 

CarLiTa

Well-Known Member
Aw man this worries me... Deva Curl cut seems suited to looser textures. My hair has multiple textures, but we can say they all shrink a lot. I'm also not wanting to lose too much length.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/10-amazing-deva-cut-transformations/

^^ Look at the kinkier textures. I'm not liking what I see...

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2014/0...-hated-it-why-it-didnt-work-for-my-hair-type/

^she's saying it didn't work for her hair because with various degrees of shrinkage, the cut might look good in its afro state, but when straight, the hair might look uneven.

THESE are what I want. But notice how most are squarely 3c whereas I'm also 4a, so I should adjust my expectations.




 

Supervixen

Well-Known Member
I've been natural since november 2006 and have been over it for a while now. I even started a thread about it: https://www.longhaircareforum.com/t...ars-what-else-turned-your-hair-around.660891/.

In may 2015 I cut my hair from BSL to SL, my plan was to actually start locking my hair but unfortunately I'm still dealing with dandruff and I want to remedy that first before taking the plunge. I think I got bored because I thought I had learned it all, but now that I am rereading Audrey Sivasothy's book, I'm realizing that there is still so much I need to learn and so many hair challenges I need to conquer. What motivates me is that I never did reach my goal, my goal was MBL hair but I only got to BSL, so that motivates me to keep going. I also want to try out more styles that don't require blow drying or straightening my hair; there are a few youtube gurus who are also on this journey (Kimmaytube, NikkiMae2003 to name a few).

Wasn't she on old school hair forums, BHM & BBBH like in 2005? Sistersslick or something?

That's super cool she has a book!
 

Crackers Phinn

Either A Blessing Or A Lesson.
I think I'm 5 years into my second stint of being natural and I been bored. My hair has stayed flat twisted and under some wigs for the last 2 years.

Manipulating my natural hair has made me tender headed.

AND no matter how long my hair gets it shrinks to a twa. Twistouts may hang to my neck.
 

BGT

Well-Known Member
I remember years ago, someone posted a thread saying she was frustrated with her natural hair and needed tips/advice. Someone replied, "a lye relaxer". I laughed so hard. :lol:

I'm transitioning now. 10 months post. It's been an interesting process.
 

prettyinpurple

Well-Known Member
DevaCut is fine on tighter textures. Just find a stylist with experience cutting our hair. I've seen more Deva trained black stylists lately so that's good. My stylist was a black woman.

It is amusing watching them cut little pieces here and there.

Now I never went to the salon with fresh un-manipulated hair. I would look a hot mess and not sure how well the cut would go. I always detangle., moisturize and stretch my hair with twists. I'm not about that wash 'n go life. I think that it's more important that you go to the salon wearing your typical everyday hairstyle.

But like I said earlier, embrace the basic idea of it and ask your stylist to give you a cut on dry hair. Much cheaper than getting a DevaCut too.


Aw man this worries me... Deva Curl cut seems suited to looser textures. My hair has multiple textures, but we can say they all shrink a lot. I'm also not wanting to lose too much length.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/10-amazing-deva-cut-transformations/

^^ Look at the kinkier textures. I'm not liking what I see...

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2014/0...-hated-it-why-it-didnt-work-for-my-hair-type/

^she's saying it didn't work for her hair because with various degrees of shrinkage, the cut might look good in its afro state, but when straight, the hair might look uneven.

THESE are what I want. But notice how most are squarely 3c whereas I'm also 4a, so I should adjust my expectations.




 

JerriBlank

Well-Known Member
Can you pass here information on. I am really considering this as well.
Absolutely! Please shoot her an email at [email protected]. Her name is Krystal. She has pics of her work, and she can pretty much do anything. My wig has tons of layers, that's why it looks so natural. I didn't like the style tight out of the box, but I moved it around in the front, and it falls anywhere I want it to. Just like a real haircut. I'm so pleased with her! Please note that she gives the option to have them hand sewn, or made with hot glue. I didn't know how this would work out and if I would like wearing a wig, so I went with the hot glue. I'll get the hand sewn next time. :yep:
 

CarLiTa

Well-Known Member
Now I never went to the salon with fresh un-manipulated hair. I would look a hot mess and not sure how well the cut would go. I always detangle., moisturize and stretch my hair with twists. I'm not about that wash 'n go life. I think that it's more important that you go to the salon wearing your typical everyday hairstyle.

Great to hear that this is an option!
 

LaBelleLL

Well-Known Member
i've been natural my whole life. no i'm not over my hair. i'm not sure what that would look like. i do get bored with it or there are times when i don't nourish it though.

i get all of my cuts at devachan. i love them. i strongly suggest them, esp if you want a change. there is nothing like a beautiful cut.
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
I hated my hair when I was still dying it regularly, but ever since I went grey I'm in love with my hair again. The softness and bounciness have come back. It's so lush again. When I dyed it, it was lifeless and hard. I only use a light gel and deep conditioner and a co-wash conditioner now. Freedom!
 

Ogoma

Well-Known Member
I really hated the relaxing process. What I know for sure is I would never be relaxing my hair again, no matter how bored I am with my natural hair so I better work hard to make sure I am not bored with it. When I was bored with my relaxed hair, I just got a cut. Cuts are a bit more complicated with natural hair.
 

Sridevi

Well-Known Member
I've been natural nearly a decade and I'm no more bored than when I was relaxed. My natural hair is more versatile so I actually get more mileage out of it. I've gotten my regimen down to basically two hours weekly of wash/detangle/plait. Then finger style daily after un-plaiting. My braid-outs have lasted more than 2 weeks but I've learned not to go more than a week without a shampoo or conditioner wash. My scalp thanks me for it.

I can't believe how ignorant I was when I started my natural journey back in the day. I actually thought I couldn't have long hair because I wasn't "mixed". Now I'm actually jaded about hair past bra-strap length and cut it when it gets too long.
 

SelahOco

Well-Known Member
I'm not over it but the novelty has worn off. Now it's just normal/mundane. I don't do a whole lot with it anymore. It's either in a twistout, braid out, bun, or straight.

I'm WL. I'm thinking of locing but I have to work on dh a bit first. I'll definitely be loced by the time I'm 40.
What size will you get?
 

fasika

Well-Known Member
Not over it, but the novelty has worn off. In the hair section this past summer I posted about possibly getting a texturizing. Thankfully @Honey Bee and other ps convinced me not too. I've slacked with the MHM but will kick it back in gear as I'm experiencing knots again.

That's where I'm at too. I was googling texturizers just last week. I'm so over my hair, but I also know that 90% of the reason is that I'm not being consistent in taking care of it.

It was being completely frizzy, tangly and just horrible for weeks (to be perfectly honest, since summer!). Then this weekend I did step 1 of MHM (baking soda/condish), along with a light (and super overdue) trim, and it totally reset my hair. We'll see if I keep it up. I literally can't recall the last deep conditioning session - maybe July? at best, it was in early August.

I don't even know how long my hair is now. I haven't straightened it since Sept 2014. Urgh. From just stretching it in-shower, it seems like the longest strands are MBL, but who knows. I don't plan on straightening at home anytime soon. It's entirely too time-consuming, and I never get salon-results, so IDGAF anymore.
 

CarLiTa

Well-Known Member
i've been natural my whole life. no i'm not over my hair. i'm not sure what that would look like. i do get bored with it or there are times when i don't nourish it though.

i get all of my cuts at devachan. i love them. i strongly suggest them, esp if you want a change. there is nothing like a beautiful cut.

What it looks like for me is this feeling: gahd why does it look so dry no matter what I do?! And just being annoyed with it.

It just dawned on me that I haven't had a good hair day in 2 years. I literally remember my last good hair days. It has also just dawned on me that it could be a water quality issue... Hm. Maybe this extreme feeling of annoyance will come to pass, because it might actually be fixable, because I'm going to be living in a new country starting next week.

@LaBelleLL, do you get a particular cut? What shape do you get? Round? Angled?
 

JerriBlank

Well-Known Member
This damn hair. I used to do so many fun styles. Now I can't even seem to remember what they were. I've been natural for 20 + years, but I doubt relaxed hair would leave me less bored. I could be interested in braids or something, but they hurt like hell to get on my sensitive scalp. I have never done any other type of fake hair and don't have the life bandwidth to figure out how to do it properly. I am stretched thin and don't have time for that. If I learn anything new and time- intensive it's going to be makeup:lol: or Java. Plus I workout and sweat and I can't do anything that would prevent me from washing my hair weekly. I like locks ... on other people. Maybe I'll investigate them for myself when I'm much older.

I might invest the time on the weekend to try some of those fat Marley braids or whatever myself. Can you was your hair in those a lot without matting? They look like they leave your hair too loose and tangle prone. Uh, assume I have hair on the nappiest end of the scale.

I remember when your hair broke the hair forum. :lol:. Its so beautiful and perfect, in any state. It looks like it just does what you want it to.
Have you ever been back to Reniece?
 

julzinha

Well-Known Member
I worry about reaching my goal length and thickness because it's always been the plan for me to eventually leave my hair out long term, but dealing with it for 2 weeks between protective styles is too much. My life is just easier in braids or weave
 
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