Question for Naturals Who Have Previously Been Relaxed...

[neks4u2c]

Was your relaxed hair dry and brittle or was it sleek and moisturized? Is your natural hair's ability to get or stay moisturized better, the same or worse? I guess I am asking bcos I am transitioning and my relaxed strands are and have always been terribly dry. I am going out of my mind with worry that my hair will be even worse off in its natural state.
Any input will be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[LongHairDreams]

MY hair is actually the same. Im not having a problem with moisture. My relaxed hair was sleek and moisturized. On my relaxed hair, I used what some will call a no no: pink oil or motions moisturizing lotion. I was shocked because I thought my natural hair wouldn't be able to hold any kind of moisture. Right now im using Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme, Care free curl gold (put in a spray bottle with water) and glycerin. I apply this at night and my hair stays soft and moisturized all through the next day.

 

[Southernbella.]

Was your relaxed hair dry and brittle or was it sleek and moisturized? Is your natural hair's ability to get or stay moisturized better, the same or worse? I guess I am asking bcos I am transitioning and my relaxed strands are and have always been terribly dry. I am going out of my mind with worry that my hair will be even worse off in its natural state.
Any input will be greatly appreciated!!!!!

My relaxed hair was sometimes dry, but never brittle. I just chalked that up to the coarseness of my hair.

My natural hair is a lot softer, smoother, and more moisturized. I'm attributing that partly to daily cowashing, and partly to my natural texture being better than my relaxed texture.

I don't think you have anything to worry about!

 

[bLackButtaFly]

My relaxed was sleek when my mom took care of it, but as soon as I left her watchful eye my hair suffered. It was not soft or touchable, but now it's fantabulous, especially when straight. Nwo I partly equate this to the stress of my hair being relaxed, and to the extra care I take w/ my natural hair. Know that the first couple inches of new growth are not a good testiment to your natural texture; it's scab hair, so it might be different.

 

[cutenappygrl]

My relaxed hair was never dry - but I did suffer from dryness as a natural - but it was because I could not figure out a good routine at first. I big chopped and every morning I had bed head so I would wash w/ shampoo to reset my hair style and then apply too many products and oils to make up for the dryness. It was a bad habit. I also didn't know about protective styling back then. So my hair was always a dry frizzy hot mess. Now that I know how to take care of my natural hair - I don't suffer from dryness anymore or hard dry and matted hair.

 

[JustKiya]

My relaxed hair was dry, and my natural hair was dry for a while, too - a lot of babying and a LOT of consistent moisture, and it's almost a different creature......... erplexed

Actually, honestly, I'm not sure I can totally blame the relaxer - as the whole time I was relaxed, I was also colored, and when I first went natural out of dreads, I bleached & colored. So it might NOT have been my hair/the relaxer that made it dry, it might have just been the color.

 

[neks4u2c]

My relaxed hair was sometimes dry, but never brittle. I just chalked that up to the coarseness of my hair.

My natural hair is a lot softer, smoother, and more moisturized. I'm attributing that partly to daily cowashing, and partly to my natural texture being better than my relaxed texture.

I don't think you have anything to worry about!

Thanks!!! I guess I can't help it erplexed. Transitioning is proving to be such a bully! Your hair looks great by the way!!!

 

[neks4u2c]

My relaxed was sleek when my mom took care of it, but as soon as I left her watchful eye my hair suffered. It was not soft or touchable, but now it's fantabulous, especially when straight. Nwo I partly equate this to the stress of my hair being relaxed, and to the extra care I take w/ my natural hair. Know that the first couple inches of new growth are not a good testiment to your natural texture; it's scab hair, so it might be different.

I appreciate your input!!!

 

[Paris Belle]

My hair was definitely dry when I was relaxed but I took extra care to moisturize and condition it. Now, that I'm natural, I find that my scalp and hair are more moisturized without the additional help; though I still moisturize my hair.

Honestly, I don't think you can go by what your hair feels like when in transition. When I was transitioning, I had a hard time determining what part of my hair was relaxed or texlaxed or even scab hair. IMHO, the first few inches of natural hair may or may not be reflective of your hair once you are totally relaxed. Mainly because the remnants of the relaxer may still be in those first few inches.

Also, I found that my ends were very dry and weak compared to my natural hair; even drier than they were when I was relaxed. I think it's because the natural hair is so much stronger than the relaxed hair. JMO.

 

[hopeful]

My hair's condition has improved greatly, particularly in the nape area. Most of my hair was in pretty good condition otherwise, but the nape area was always breaking, was always dry and brittle. Since going natural AND taking really good care of it, tons of moisture and extra gentle handling, it has flourished. The good thing about going natural or trying to go natural is that you can always relax it, if things don't work out. But if you relax, it takes so long to be natural again, I guess you can always Big Chop but it's like starting all over. I always see transitioning/going natural as a win/win proposition, you've got nothing to lose. And don't worry--your hair will not be in worse condition in it's natural state if you are gentle with it and keep it conditioned and moisturized--trust me.

 

[glamazon386]

Was your relaxed hair dry and brittle or was it sleek and moisturized? Is your natural hair's ability to get or stay moisturized better, the same or worse? I guess I am asking bcos I am transitioning and my relaxed strands are and have always been terribly dry. I am going out of my mind with worry that my hair will be even worse off in its natural state.
Any input will be greatly appreciated!!!!!

My relaxed hair wasn't dry or brittle.

 

[neks4u2c]

thanks for all the responses!!

 

[audacity.]

MY hair is actually the same. Im not having a problem with moisture. My relaxed hair was sleek and moisturized. On my relaxed hair, I used what some will call a no no: pink oil or motions moisturizing lotion. I was shocked because I thought my natural hair wouldn't be able to hold any kind of moisture. Right now im using Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme, Care free curl gold (put in a spray bottle with water) and glycerin. I apply this at night and my hair stays soft and moisturized all through the next day.

OT: I LOVE this stuff!!!

ON Topic: I've been in transition for a little more than 12 mos and I can say that is seems like my NG is MUCH more moisturized than my relaxed ends. I don't know what to attribute this to, though.

I agree with OP, transitioning is a bully!

 

[LunadeMiel]

My relaxed hair was always dry but not brittle. My natural hair is really soft and moisturized.

 

[Str8~Curly]

My relaxed hair stayed moist more easily since moisture didn't have this curl pattern to travel down. I overcome that by taking time to distribute my moisturizer from root to tip, and sometimes used the paddle brush.

My relaxed hair was less picky with product. Any ol' crap would do. Not the case now.