Need Advice for my Cousin!

[fifi134]

So, my cousin has been wearing sew ins for about 2 years now. Her hair has gone from ear length to a couple inches past her shoulders. This is tremendous for her because she's had short hair all her life. The problem is that she has unintentionally transitioned from relaxed to natural as a result of wearing weaves consistently.

She's unsure about whether or not she should relax or keep her hair natural. She works out at the gym several days a week, hardcore, so weaves are not working out for her, as she constantly has to re-style. But she doesn't want to relax because of the growth she's gotten from being natural. She's afraid all her hair will be damaged and the length would be gone if she relaxes.

I am natural myself, so I know manageability and natural hair are not mutually exclusive. My cousin is just not used to styling her own natural hair, and doesn't think she'll be able to take care of her natural hair when it's out. I'm trying to show her she can still style her natural hair, or straighten every week if she wants to. She's more concerned with time.

What would you ladies do? Would you relax for manageability/style or would you remain natural for length? I do realize one can have long, healthy hair with both, but my cousin has naturally fine hair, so she's wary of going back to relaxers...

 

[LuvlyRain3]

It sounds like being relaxed wasn't working out too well for her anyway. If I was her I would just give natural hair a shot. If she doesn't like it she can always relax.

 

[Freespirit02]

I say she stays natural. Since she works out a lot..i feel she will be able to wash her hair more. Versus if she relaxes her hair..every time she washes she will have to wrap and flat iron her hair. If I worked out all the time..i would definitely stick with natural..besides she can always flat iron when she wants the straight look.