Which do you think is more versatile? Natural or Relaxed Hair?

Which is more versatile Natural or Relaxed Hair?

  • Relaxed Hair

    Votes: 46 14.0%
  • Natural Hair

    Votes: 207 62.9%
  • Both

    Votes: 56 17.0%
  • Neither :)

    Votes: 5 1.5%
  • ?Undecided?

    Votes: 15 4.6%

  • Total voters
    329

BostonMaria

Well-Known Member
I can only speak for myself and I believe I can achieve more styles with natural hair.
I change my hairstyle so much now that my co-workers make fun of me and call me "chameleon" LOL
 

discodumpling

Well-Known Member
Being a member of LHCF i've learned that versatility is all in the beholder LOL! It's really about what YOU choose to do to & with your hair natural, relaxed, texlaxed or whatever state or process we come up with around here it's all good as long as it's HEALTHY & your are HAPPY with it!

I'm natural & as versatile as I wanna be...some months i'll wear a pig tail every week some weeks it's braids, twists, whatever...i've even seen some heads that regularly press and are as healthy as the next.
 

kblc06

Well-Known Member
I definitely think natural is the way to go if you want more versatility; however, some styles may be more time consuming depending on texture, density, and length. I'm able to do the same things with my natural hair that I did with my relaxed hair, except for wet wrapping (wrapping the hair while wet so that it will dry straight). I promise if I could get that styling method down, I will be set for LIFE. My hair also looks silkier than when I had a relaxer, especially when pressed. Braid & flat-twist styles last much longer and I'm capable of getting a variety of looks with them
 

Hair Iam

Well-Known Member
I think both..they are both capable of manipulation for curly or straight...as someone else stated ..I think people of African descendant have very versatile hair
 

chamomile

New Member
I think both..they are both capable of manipulation for curly or straight...as someone else stated ..I think people of African descendant have very versatile hair

ITA...my sisters' 1a and 2a hair can't hold braidouts for nothing.
 

fluffylocks

New Member
I say both.

But if I didnt really change my stlyes up alot, but my main goal was to truely be versatile, then I would say natural. Because you can do whatever relaxed heads can do, but I think you might have to worry more about shrinkage and reversion.

If my main goal was to be versatile easily, then I would say relaxed, because I think since its always straight, then you can set it however you want faster & easier,..you can mimic natural styles with relaxed hair too, but it wouldnt be authentic IMO
 

Crackers Phinn

Either A Blessing Or A Lesson.
If you are skilled with styling then either one, but for someone like me relaxed specifically texturized/texlax is more versatile.
 

vkb247

Well-Known Member
I think that natural or very curly hair is the most versatile for the same reasons that type 4 hair is more versatile than type 1 hair. A type 4 or natural/curly head can make their hair look like a type 1 and everything in between. I have certainly seen relaxed heads/type 1's make their hair look curly, but I have never seen straight hair mimic a kinky curl.

Maybe some of them can make their hair look like a natural's wash -n- go but I've never seen it.

:wallbash::wallbash:What the hay am I talking about? I am a relaxed head and I can make my hair look like a natural wash -n- go? :nono::nono: Just shows you how the mouth/fingers can be too fast for the brain...

I think it's texture rather than whether hair is relaxed or natural that determines if either hair can be a lot more versatile than the other. Natural type 1 hair for instance looks like any relaxed hair so I think it can only do what straight relaxed hair can do. Braid-outs, twist-outs, smooth buns etc. While type 4 hair can not only be pressed to resemble relaxed hair and thus do those styles and look the way relaxed hair looked with them, it can also be styled for a different look by the same method (twist-out or braid-out) while in its unpressed state, or it can be worn as an afro, which straight hair can't exactly pull off as well as type 4 can. Of course texlaxed hair might be more versatile than relaxed straight hair but again, that depends on texture since everyone's hair processes to a different level.

:yep::yep: You are just making too much sense
 

spelmanlocks

Well-Known Member
I think it varies from person to person. For me I can figure out far more hair styles with my relaxed hair. I always get lots of compliments on my wash and go, which is one of my favorite hair styles. When I was natural (for almost 22 years), I could never figure out any hair styles to wear. My natural hair is probably 4a/b, and my wash and go usually just ended up being a large afro, so I mostly pressed my hair all the time (which over the years led to lots of damage).
 

kinkycotton

New Member
The main reason why I cut out my relaxer beacause I wanted a why more versatile look. With my relaxed hair I could never get a puff, afro, or the curl look. Not saying women with relax hair can't freak the styles. Just for me, natural works best.:grin:
 

RavenMaven

Active Member
I'm going to go with natural hair on this one. I am transitioning, and I love imagining the versatility that I will have when I am fully natural. Oh i hope the day comes soon!!
 

sylver2

Well-Known Member
i voted both.
i can do all kind of ways with my relaxed hair if i want to. waves, curls, straight, twists, braids..have even been asked if i was natural..etc..my texture has a lot to do with that as well.
 

Rae1234

Member
i voted natural. this could be a bias vote because ive always been natural. but i can do anything with my natural hair.
 

Southernbella.

Well-Known Member
For me, natural is definitely more versatile. I can wear it in its natural state and have tons of styling options, or I can straighten it and do everything I was able to do when I was relaxed. I can mimic texlaxed hair, and I can mimic any hairtype between 1 and 4:yep:
 

HoneyDew

Well-Known Member
i voted both.
i can do all kind of ways with my relaxed hair if i want to. waves, curls, straight, twists, braids..have even been asked if i was natural..etc..my texture has a lot to do with that as well.

I agree.

I think both are versatile in their own way.
 

casey3035

New Member
I think it depends on your hair Type. I don't know much about hair types ,but I think if you have big curls maybe like. Jasmine guy or Tatiyanna Ali. (Pretty much if you can comb through the natural hair with out a struggle)Then chances are you can benefit from being natural or relaxed, so then why be relaxed if you can have the best of both worlds.:ohwell:
 

luxe.li.

New Member
Imma say natural. I wanted the curly wavy look as a relaxed head, I had to get straw sets for the curly look, and then I couldnt wash my hair or mess with it too much to keep the look. Now that I'm natural I can wear my hair straight, or wear it wavy and curly. I can wear a curly fro, a fro, or a slick back wavy look with my braided head bands, I can wear a curly hump with my beanie, or a straight bang with my beanie, or my straight short choppy cut, and this is all being with 4 inches of hair. So I will learn how much more versatile a natural can be with more length.......
 

luxe.li.

New Member
I think it depends on your hair Type. I don't know much about hair types ,but I think if you have big curls maybe like. Jasmine guy or Tatiyanna Ali. (Pretty much if you can comb through the natural hair with out a struggle)Then chances are you can benefit from being natural or relaxed, so then why be relaxed if you can have the best of both worlds.:ohwell:

you can have the best with a tighter coil too, a 4a coil or a 3b coil is all about how you rock it. I always wanted a big fluffy floating afro when I was in highschool, and I could never achieve that look relaxed, now that I'm natural, like I stated in the post above, I'll see how more versatile my look can get...
 

LunadeMiel

Well-Known Member
Definitely natural hair. While relaxed I was never able to wash and go and do really nice textured styles. Now that i'm natural all I need is some rollers and a blowdryer to look relaxed.
 

prospurr4

Well-Known Member
As an adult, I have been natural, relaxed-straight, and now texlaxed. For me, texlaxed is more versatile. I can wear a BIG textured style where people wonder if I'm natural, or I can wear a straight style with an air-dried rollerset...no heat required...and it doesn't take hours upon hours to achieve these styles.
 

SouthernTease

New Member
I don't think it matters... if you're skilled you can do just about anything to your hair. The key to versatility is just experience and experimenting.
 

tinycoils

Active Member
For me I have to say that natural is way more versatile. My hair is healthier and I can roller set, go bone straight, twist/twistout, and what is easier than a wash and go!!!
 

bermudabeauty

New Member
I believe both texture types...styles are endless. Personally I only feel the difference between nature and relaxed is in certain weather conditions, the natural hair reverts more than relaxed hair.
 

melodies815

New Member
I'm relaxed but I think natural is more versatile. With products like Sabino Moisture Block, naturals can get relaxed styles...

...but show me a completely relaxed head who can wear her own (not purchased) hair in an afro. lol Can't be done as far as I know.

I'm just not brave enough to cut my hair and do all the work required of being natural again. I do miss it though...

cj
 

**SaSSy**

3rd Big Chop on 7/18/2016
Texlaxed hair to me is the most versatile, but f I had to pick between Relaxed or Natural, I would say for sure natural.
 

brucebettye

New Member
I think being natural or relax both can versatile. To me it depends on the person. I have texlaxed hair and I only wear it curly because I am lazy, even though I have many styling options.
 

Marand13

Well-Known Member
I got rid of my relaxer cause I wasnt doing anything with it. I thought I could do alot more with my natural hair and truthfully I was right! I do have to put in more work sometimes but it is ok & I love it. I can wear it in all the same styles that I wore when I was relaxed plus wayyyy more. & when I straighten it looks the same as if I relaxed it.
 

tocktick

Well-Known Member
Natural, imo. If I wanted to go down the straight route or do styles that needed straight hair as a "base" of sorts, then I could achieve it. Achieving a "realistic" looking afro or the other types of styles I do/see on others naturals if I had relaxed hair would not even be an option, imo. I think I'd be able to get half-way towards the "natural" style and that's it. That immediately makes relaxed hair less versatile for me.

The only con I can think of by going from natural to straight is that it's time consuming and could potentially damage your hair. I do see a lot of straight hair styles that I adore and want to do but don't have the patience to try because of the process. But the option is there if I wanted to take it (I'd just need to not be lazy :look:). However, overall, I think the cons of maintaining relaxed hair and the lack of versatility in comparison to natural hair far outweigh the cons associated with achieving straight styles as a natural.
 
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Poranges

Positive Vibrations
Natural, by far, and I'm relaxed...I love straight or wavy hair 100% of the time so I wouldn't need to be natural to achieve either of the two but for people who love to switch it up and are not bland like me :( go NATURAL!!!
 
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