Relaxed Ladies: Why do you choose to be relaxed?

[peppers01]

I personally choose to relax, because my hair is easier to manage, the styles that I want are more fit for relaxed hair, and I just love how it makes my hair feel.

 

[Dove56]

I was naturally curly (3b/3c) for like 9 years and I just got fed up with having to handle all of my hair. I let it get WL in Jan 2007 but it became so much of a hassle!!!!!!!!! My hair is very thick per square inch, plus it's curly/wavy, AND it's medium textured, I don't think I can do natural anymore. Right now I love being relaxed. Last year I relaxed in May 08 and Oct 08. I will do no more than 3 relaxers a year AND I can still wear it curly/wavy (3a) with minimal product! I lurve my ORS!

 

[C@ssandr@]

I was natural for 4 years....2004-2008...and then I relaxed for my college graduation. At the time it was time for change. I LOVE my natural 4b hair but I was always fighting with it (before this website came along). Now I'm relaxed just because.
I would chop my relaxer off at the drop of a dime. Not a binding contract.

 

[JJamiah]

Convenience.

I like to wear my hair straight without the worry of reversion and if I want it curly I can do that too.

I relax bone straight btw...

I totally agree; I didn'nt start relaxing until 13; I have BC'd a few times about 4 staying natural for about 6 years total afterwards. Personally I love my hair relaxed, I love the straight look and I hate worrying that my style will revert due to prespiring or to much activity. LOL

 

[audacity.]

after more than 18 months of transitioning, i can give you 2 solid reasons:

it's what works for me and my hair and my lifestyle at this point in my life.

and secondarily, i'm on a length quest right now. i have plenty of time to chop it all off later after i get a chance to enjoy my length. i ended my transition mostly b/c i am more commited to my length than to being natural right now...

 

[NYAmicas]

I choose to relax because I started off my hair care journey being relaxed, and seeing as my hair is healthy and feels great I see no reason to go natural at the moment. I will in the future, probably after I've achieved all I want to achieve with relaxed hair, then I figure I'll go natural. Plus I can't braid well at all and I'm not very good at styling my hair, so I want to make sure I learn how to do those things before I go natural so I can enjoy all the versatility it has to offer.

Same for me, I've never had problems with relaxers it was some practices that led me here but now my hair is doing pretty well. As for being natural, I have enough of a hard time dealing with my hair thick as relaxed I'm seriously not trying to see it natural.

 

[theprototype]

I got my first relaxer when I was 14, partly due to manageability issues -- my mom thought it was time I start doing my hair myself, and I decided the easiest thing to do would be to relax it. But I also must admit that part of it was to fit in with my friends -- we were only three black girls in my grade and we all had relaxed hair.

I'm 25 now. At this time in my life, I probably remain relaxed due to the fact that I can't be bothered to transition, and because I can't even imagine what I would look like fully natural, therefore I end up sticking to what I'm used to.

I love both natural and relaxed hair though.

 

[1Aleeesha]

I choose to texlax because I have been natural, relaxed and texlaxed in my lifetime and I made the decision based on the experieinces with each. I don't want my hair relaxed bone straight because I do like my natural hair. The only thing is I like wearing straight styles more than I do anything else and to achieve straight it takes more time for me to do while natural. Texlaxing seems to be the compromising medium while I'm going for the flat bone straight look. Plus I wet my hair often to purify so it's easier to maintain for that purpose.