Relaxed Forever? Is it Possible?

[MizAvalon]

Definitely possible. I know lots of women in their 60's and 70's who are relaxing and all is well.

 

[Ayeshia]

My relaxed hair was very healthy and thick...but moving to YTville and not having access to the proper products to take care of realxed hair (in additon to me being broke) was not gonna cut it for me so opting to go natural was my best bet...Plus I just prefer my curly hair. I cant see myself getting a relaxer anytime soon.

 

[Ayeshia]

I forgot to add that genetics plays a huge role in hair thinnign as well..no matter how well you take care of it. If I had very fine thin hair in my adult years I would eventually stop relaxing as I got older...geriatric thinning and having fine hair doesnt look so good

 

[PaperClip]

geriatric thinning and having fine hair doesnt look so good

Ok I found this statement quite hilarious!

 

[so1913]

I forgot to add that genetics plays a huge role in hair thinnign as well..no matter how well you take care of it. If I had very fine thin hair in my adult years I would eventually stop relaxing as I got older...geriatric thinning and having fine hair doesnt look so good

hee hee....

 

[lala]

I personally will relax my hair until the end. However, there have been times...I won't give the year, that I went 1-2 yrs. w/o relaxing. The big hair thing doesn't work for me fashionably or physically b/c as my husband says -- I have a water head...

 

[sareca]

Yeah, black women can't grow long hair and black women can't wear relaxers forever. I've heard 'em all. If you decide that's your goal then you can. If you decide it's impossible then it's impossible.

 

[Candy_C]

I personally will relax my hair until the end. However, there have been times...I won't give the year, that I went 1-2 yrs. w/o relaxing. The big hair thing doesn't work for me fashionably or physically b/c as my husband says -- I have a water head...

Lala how many years have you been relaxed if you dont mind me asking?

if water heads means what i think, then i have that too, my hair LOVEEEEEEEESSSS water, and it my cure 4 everything

 

[lala]

Lala how many years have you been relaxed if you dont mind me asking?

if water heads means what i think, then i have that too, my hair LOVEEEEEEEESSSS water, and it my cure 4 everything

2 decades give or take a few years, and my hubby's definition of a "water head" is someone whose head is bigger than average in size LOL. My hair loves water too, but I was talking about a different "water head".

 

[firecracker]

My grandmother worn a perm for over 50 years til she passed away. My daughters God brother was a pre-med student he said that chemicals applied to the hair eats away at the brain. He said that looking inside part of the brain for hair chemical damage was an assignment at Howard. erplexed Oh well what about the deadly air we breathe amongst many other things not within our control.

 

[so1913]

My grandmother worn a perm for over 50 years til she passed away. My daughters God brother was a pre-med student he said that chemicals applied to the hair eats away at the brain. He said that looking inside part of the brain for hair chemical damage was an assignment at Howard. erplexed Oh well what about the deadly air we breathe amongst many other things not within our control.

Ok...so I've heard this, but you are saying you know someone personally that studied this???

The air we breathe? not in our control....Choosing to apply chemicals that possibly eat away at the brain???? That is in our control. But we all rate what is important to us personally. Like I haven't given up parabens yet...

 

[Much2much41]

I don't think I'll be relaxed forever. I think when I get around 45 I'll cut it all off to a bald fade and rock big pretty earrings and nice makeup. Knowing me, I'll probaby dye it some crazy color to keep from being bored with it

 

[Tee]

My Mom has long, gorgeous waist length relaxed hair. It IS possible to have healthy relaxed hair. She rollerset it most of the time and bunned it the rest. Before my first BC I had below shoulder length healthy relaxed hair. It all boils down to the way u care for it.

I voted yes also. DDtexlaxd said it perfectly. You just have to take care of your hair.

I have had my hair relaxed for about 13 years. It's still long and healthy. I think it's all about preference.

***My grandmother is 86 and still get chemicals in her hair. I dont think a relaxer is going to kill anyone.***

 

[breezy]

I don't know if it's possible, but I'll see I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. But if I notice that it starts to make my hair (or brain ) worse and worse, then I'll stop.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Well my maternal grandmother still relaxes, and she is in her late seventies. Her 4a hair is about armpit length (and only because she has it trimmed regularly at the salon) and it is naturally fine, like mine. It appears to be as thick as its always been, but I could be wrong. Either way, no significant thinning or balding spots, and it appears very healthy.

But personally, I dont expect to relax forever. THere's just something to be said about being completely "free" once I reach that point (senior citizenship) in my life. While I am enjoying my relaxed hair now, I do look forward to that time in the future when i stop relaxing.

Yeah, what Kini said! I'm going to sport a big ole henna red fro when I hit 60

 

[Jas123]

i'll look at this using my mom for example... she's been relaxed all of my life and for years before that, so that's at least 30 years, and as much as i tempt her, she has no plans to stop anytime soon...

her hair is healthy and beautiful... the only problems she has are scalp problems and skin problems in general run in my family so that's no big surprise... she cuts her hair every so often when she feels it's gotten too long (she likes to keep it right at shoulder length)...

to her credit though, she doesn't use much heat... she's faithfully at the hairdresser every 2 weeks and gets a roller set every time... touchups every 6 weeks (although she could definitely go longer)... she does not use heat between her visits (can't use a curling iron to save her life, and has no need for a blow dryer because she doesn't wash her own hair)... so my thought is yes, you can relax forever if you're low maintenance with your hair...

ITA! and this is exactly what I will do...4Life

 

[preciousjewel76]

My grandmother worn a perm for over 50 years til she passed away. My daughters God brother was a pre-med student he said that chemicals applied to the hair eats away at the brain. He said that looking inside part of the brain for hair chemical damage was an assignment at Howard. erplexed Oh well what about the deadly air we breathe amongst many other things not within our control.

Not to jump on you or anything, but can anybody provide documentation on this? I've "heard" this so many times before, but it's always through the grapevine, so to speak. If this is really true, it had to be published in JAMA or something!!

Anyway, back OT: I think it's possible to have healthy relaxed hair for as long as one chooses. However, I agree that chemically straightening your hair over the course of a lifetime can't be exactly "healthy", strictly speaking. I've been relaxed since I was about 7. I'm fine with it for now, but I can definitely see going natural as I get older. I love seeing gray-haired ladies with TWAs!

 

[nycutiepie]

I voted yes. I'm almost ashamed to say it but I've had a relaxer non-stop since I was a little girl.........over 25 years . I'm in my mid thirties and the only problem I've had other than my edges (edges gone due to repetitive tight weaves but that's another story) was due to going to the hairdresser all my life. Now that I'm on this forum and taking care of my hair myself it's all good. I'm uncertain as to whether or not I'll relax for another 25 years but I'm sure I could if I wanted to.

 

[cmw45]

thinks about this topic was one of the reasons i stoped relaxing. i was talking to my mom about it. and it just came to me i didnt want to relax forever. i enjoyed my relaxed hair- it was an experience. im happy iv gone back natural now.

i thing i know is relaxing for soo long has changed the texture of my hair- it was Never like this before. as a child my hair was lonnggg and as thick and a bush. not is Much softer! it like over the 10 years the relaxer loosened the the curl pattern.

i think giving the hair a break is a very good idea. you can always relax when you feel your hairs ready again or still, stay natural if you feel to do that.

Actually, I think that she could be onto something. I was thinking about it...and chemo patients often report that the hair that grows back after they stop chemo is vastly different than the hair that they had before they underwent treatment. However, I don't know how I resolve this with the scab hair theory...b/c the first time I BC'd, my hair was much much different than it is now. Maybe you have scab hair (the hair that has been partially treated) and there is an effect to the years of relaxing (somewhat looser curl pattern)erplexed or...maybe my mama didn't know what she was doing and was burnin' my hair straight.

NEWAY, even as a natural, I voted yes. I think that with good matinence (and good genes--note that I did not say "good hair"--because genes affect the rate and degree to which one balds sooner than others.)

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I love seeing gray-haired ladies with TWAs!

Me too!! I saw as sista the other day in a local county office and I was like dang!! Her chocolate brown skin was flawless and her salt and pepper fro with the bossest cut on it was screaming confidence, she was regal and classic beauty. I should have stopped her and told her so.... (I wanna be like you when I grow up, finnally!)

 

[StrawberryQueen]

My grandmother worn a perm for over 50 years til she passed away. My daughters God brother was a pre-med student he said that chemicals applied to the hair eats away at the brain. He said that looking inside part of the brain for hair chemical damage was an assignment at Howard. erplexed Oh well what about the deadly air we breathe amongst many other things not within our control.

This is very scary. Can you post/PM more about this?

 

[B_Phlyy]

Yes, I think that one can relax their hair as long as the want ans still have hair on their head. But considering how many times I've stretched, transitioned, and BC'd, I'm will not be relaxed forever.

 

[RosesBlack]

I think if you take good care of yourself and your hair you can do whatever to it for as long as you please. My great grandmother used lye relaxers from the ages of about 15-83 when she passed away. Her hair was thick and gorgeous about APL then she cut it to shoulder length when she was about 75 because of arthritis.

 

[InnerSoul]

I'd say it's possible to relax forever.

 

[morehairplease]

This is very scary. Can you post/PM more about this?

can you pm me too. I would like to hear more about this, as well.

thanks in advance

 

[Cbgo]

For myself there will be no more relaxers. But I am now experiencing hereditary thinning and a relaxer on top of thinning hair just doesn't look good. If you have thick hair then I see no reason why a person can't relax forever.

 

[tatje]

I personally think it is possible to relax forever. Why not? I don't think the excuse of chemicals is a good or valid one. If you been relaxing for 40 or something years and then chose to stop, that doesn't make the damage go away. At any rate, there are chemicals in everything from the foods we eat to the drugs we take to stop headaches.

For me, I believe it wouldn't make sense for someone to say I am going to stop getting relaxers because of the chemicals but yet this is one who smokes or eats KFC everyday. Feel me? But like someone said, everyone's priorities are different.

I personally will stop relaxing simply because I always wanted to have locs. I love nice neat long locs and so I want that as a look for myself as I get older. I always believe natural hair is beautiful. Anything natural to me is beautiful.

 

[Miss*Tress]

My last relaxer was in 2005. I counted once that I've had just over 70 relaxer touch-ups during my lifetime. I then tried to imagine the numbers for women who had their first relaxer as children (say 5-6 years old), then getting touch-ups every 4-6 weeks, but started to get a headache so I left it at that...

 

[tiffers]

I think it's absolutely possible!

 

[GoldenBreeze]

I'm natural, and will probably always be, but I think it is possible to be relaxed for a lifetime.