Why Did You Stop Getting Relaxers?
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Question of the Day
Some women go natural because they like the look of natural hair, to make a statement, others because it's cheaper, others for health concerns or to stop breakage. What were your initial reasons for going natural? Did your reasons change over time?
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I did it for all 3! I was paying $65 a month to get them, my hair was breaking off badly, and I learned exactly what's in a relaxer and its effects when I saw "Good Hair". I'm currently 3 months post-relaxer.
ReplyDeletei stopped getting relaxers because my hair would always break off and then i would have to cut it in a short bob. I was so brainwashed that straight is beautiful that i did not mind having chemical burns ..as long as i had straight hair i was happy. I am happy i grew up out of that! My hair is now healthy and gorgeous! i wouldn't change it for nothing in the world. Natural hair is beautiful even if people do not like it.. i love it!
ReplyDeleteWhat made me stop using perms now over 2 years ago was when I put a kiddie perm in my daughter's hair. At that time she was 12 and it started breaking it off from shoulder length to barely a ponytail 3 inches! We did everything to make sure we were doing it right, moisture, etc. Then more and more articles started popping up about the damage the chemicals are doing to your hair. And Chris Rock's Good Hair really put the nail in the coffin for my daughter! lol. So many people are not used to the natural style. They constantly will tell me to put a texturizer in her hair which is 4a type with beautiful curls. Why would you want to straighten that! It's georgeous! Leave it alone. I'm trying to teach her to embrace your beautiful hair, but in school perming is the thing to do. So blow outs have been the routine for now, and an occassional braid or crochet weave to help as she grows it out. But definitely no more perms!
ReplyDeleteMy mother had never wanted my hair relaxed to begin with. I didn't care one way or the other. I'd spent a summer with my dad when I was 13 and his jheri-curled god-sister made it her duty to relax me. I just continued because, well, I thought that I had to.
ReplyDeleteI have a thyroid condition and one of the symptoms is inflammation of the skin.
My most problematic area is my scalp. The skin on my scalp would always be dry, tender and swollen since I could remember.
I'd started stretching my touch ups out to 4 months. I liked how much more volumn my hair seemed to have and so I just stopped.
Haven't had a relaxer since Sept 2008.
I've always had a love/hate relationship with perms/relaxers. I hated that they made my scalp so dry and itchy, and that my hair suffered from terrible breakage. Plus, I hate hair maintenance. All throughout high school I kept braids or individuals when my hair wasnt relaxed and I would always love how it felt coming out of a three cornrow stint. I tried going natural in college, twice, but it never seemed to work out for me.
ReplyDeleteIn April of 2008, I got my last relaxer. Four months later I got dreadlocks, and haven't looked back since.
Why? Its low-maintenance. Its cheap, relatively. My scalp is no longer dry or itchy. My hair is shiny and I dont have to put anything in it. Did I mention its low-maintenance? haha But overall, I like being natural, and I love my natural hair texture so that even if Im not a life-time loc-er, I'll always remain a natural.
I did it for a lot of reasons--:)partially because of laziness. I would put off touch ups for 3 months...and then I just never found an easy time to fit it in. At that point in time my friend was locking her hair...so then it became a way to bond about natural hair. Ultimately it became a challenge. I had only dealt with my hair when it was straight--pulled it back when it got too "nappy" and then started the process all over again. It was a challenge to hold off. Somewhere along the line I started to notice that I felt anxious about wearing my hair certain ways at work, so I pushed past that...because no outside force is going to dictate how I feel about my appearance :)
ReplyDeleteNow...I'm still figuring out how to deal with my hair...there are some good days and bad days...but I'm having more of a conversation with my hair now, than I ever have. And I like that.
1. it's cheaper....i moved to london in '08, as a student, a BROKE one, a relaxer was a luxury i could afford no longer
ReplyDelete2. It seemed like the healther choice....the question kept coming up :What does a relaxer do to you over time? If the occasional burn is anything to go by, prolonged application cannot be good...also, i read somewhere that mold was found under a woman's scalp during an autopsy and it was said to be due to the relaxers she'd had over the years..scary
3. I missed my curls. Hadn't sen them since i was about 12 and back them, i suppose i didnt really appreciate them (what 12 yr old does? :D
I'd been transitioning since last September and have just done the BC 28/3/10 but through that time my reason's have not changed AT ALL and I don't think they will. I may straighten (flat iron or roller sets)every once in a while but I don't think i'll be missing the relaxers that much. This was a big decision and I plan to stick to it. :D
I got my hair permed when I was 10 and I was over it by the time I was 11. lol. Since then I always new that permed hair wasn't really for me. I've always been obsessed with bug curly hair. When I was 18 I decided not to perm anymore. I wasn't as educated about going natural then as I am now so my mom did coax me into a couple texturizers but I've put an end to that. When I was 20 I decide to educate myself and stick it out- Guess what?! I've got that big curly hair I've always wanted. : D
ReplyDeleteMy hair dresser told me I should go natural. I would get a relaxer every 3-4 months and then one day she looked at me and said "Heather, you should go natural," in her Dominican twang (yes, my Dominican hair dresser!) She went on to tell me that my hair was pretty, curly, and if I wanted to straighten it, it wasnt more than a wash/set and maybe blow-dry away.
ReplyDeleteI wondered what "my" looked like. So I tried it (figuring if I didn't like it I could relax again) but here I am 10 months into my transition and looking forward to cut what's left on my 1 yr anniversary of my last relaxer, ready to rock my 'fro
the reason why i went natural is because i had scalp burns that hurt like hell and from that point on i was against getting my hair relaxed also most of the time i have micro braids in my hair anyway. it a lot healthier and less stressful on the head and scalp.
ReplyDeleteI did it because I think it looks better. I was tired of pressing, perming, and then i just feel in love with my coils! Never going back.
ReplyDeleteNatural since 2005
I decided to transition because of hair breakage! That was my main reason. My hair is much healthier when it is in its natural state!
ReplyDeleteThen when I found sites like this and forums like BHM I started seeing women flaunt their natural texture confidently. Now I can't wait to throw some twists in my hair or do a wash and go with a BAA! I'm a proud transitioner waiting to be natural!
i decided to stop getting perms because i never really liked them. my mother permed my hair when i was two because i cried whenever she tried to comb my hair. i had no choice. but even with a perm, i still hated that evil comb, so when my hair wasn't in multiple ponytails, she would just put braids in my hair.
ReplyDeletebraids as i got older became my identity, i was a real life moesha. i wore braids so much, when i did have my hair out no one recognized me! it got to the point where i wanted something low maintenance and didn't involve a comb in my hair all the time. also, i was tired of having braids, having to take it out, perm my hair, having it out for about a week and then back to braids. (i know, i know. my hair has been through some things, lol)
i wasn't as educated as i was when i started transitioning, but i don't regret locing my hair. perms never made me feel better about my hair, it actually made me more insecure about myself. but being natural and knowing that it is MY hair i run my fingers through, encouraged a lot of confidence in myself. plus, unless i am getting my locs retwisted, there is no comb that meets my hair!