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Does Relaxed Hair Grow Faster than Natural Hair?

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Does Relaxed Hair Grow Faster Than Natural Hair?

  • Yes

    Votes: 34 4.1%

  • No

    Votes: 455 55.2%

  • Depends on the person and hair type.

    Votes: 215 26.1%

  • Don't Know

    Votes: 121 14.7%
  • Total voters
    825
  • Poll closed .
No, but I think some people's hair thrive(retain more length) more with relaxers as opposed to being natural. For example, my niece. From birth to about 7, she was natural and her never went past next length. She got her first relaxer about a year ago and the last time I saw her (April), her hair was well past shoulder length.
 
felicia said:
No, but I think some people's hair thrive(retain more length) more with relaxers as opposed to being natural. For example, my niece. From birth to about 7, she was natural and her never went past next length. She got her first relaxer about a year ago and the last time I saw her (April), her hair was well past shoulder length.
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I am beginning to think this, as well. My hair was much longer when I was relaxed than what it is now. If it had not been for the damage from the hard presses I would not have had to bc my hair.
 
:nono: I think hair our hair grows at the same rate (which varies from person to person) regardless of it's current state (relaxed or natural).
 
felicia said:
No, but I think some people's hair thrive(retain more length) more with relaxers as opposed to being natural. For example, my niece. From birth to about 7, she was natural and her never went past next length. She got her first relaxer about a year ago and the last time I saw her (April), her hair was well past shoulder length.
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ITA,I'm a 6mth natural, my hair right now is 1.5". If I was relaxed, I would be about 3-4" and growing. I retain length when relaxed as opposed to m being natural. And what's weird is, that I can loose strands, but not length. But for my growth rate it deppends on my day to day, one month I can get .5"/month and another month I can only get .25"/month. Ever since being natural, it seems as if I've only been getting .25"/month. I think handling my hair differently has greatly influenced the way my hair grows along w/ diet. After my one year nappturalversary I may relax again.
 
meia said:
I AGREE! My hair seems to be growing more now than ever and quicker (which its never done before). I think it appears, when you have a relaxer, to grow a lot quicker but its only because when you get a touch-up, you're only straightening out the new growth and so it feels like its growing faster. Honestly? its just because the new growth is straight....for years I believed this but then I realized I only noticed the growth when i touched-up and not really otherwise.

Even if you do just grow your hair out natural, imagine how much less breakage is faced versus the shedding from relaxers. I don't know this is just my personal experience- but the relaxers irritated me and made my hair thin something fierce..
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I agree. When relaxed heads get a touch up we can SEE the growth a lot better, shock effect. And this is why they also talk about their hair looking shorter when they stretch for a long period, all thanks to shrinkage. But when they apply the relaxer BAMB in ya maouth!
 
With MY hair I think it grew at the same rate. As relaxed I couldn't retain length, it was always shedding and growing, shedding and growing. As a natural now, I have length and thickness like never before. It appears to be growing faster because I'm retaining alllllll of my length now. TG!
 
The rate of growth shouldn't be too different in individuals with healthy hair and scalp that know how to care for their hair properly.

However, relaxed hair may SEEM to grow faster because it doesn't shrink up like natural hair. With relaxed hair you see more of the true length of the hair.
 
i vote no; i was grazing APL when i did the BC after a 12 month transition and that is longer than my hair ever was when i had a relaxer. my edges and nape are a lot thicker as well. i cant get over the joy of having a hairline again. LOLLLL

but i digress. like someone else said i think its just easier to see the growth because of the 2 different textures. as naturals we barely notice growth unless we have a loose curl pattern or unless we do frequent length checks, something i did like clockwork once i joined LHCF (but not since the BC).
 
Well tbh and I don't want to discourage you by what I say, but this is my personal experience. I have been natural since 2004 and transitioned for 8 months in 2003. During my transition my hair got longer. I did my BC in 2004 and my hair only grew a few inches in 4 years from my starting point. My avatar shows me in 2007, which is not much difference than in 2006, 05, 04. I did not use heat in these years, just wash, conditioned and either wore twistouts or puff. I have watched other members on this board start their transitioned after me, went natural and has dbled my length.

In January 2008, I was comtiplating getting a texturizer, but decided to go to the salon every 6 weeks and get it press to wear in straighter styles. I have retained more length now than in my 4 years w/o it being straight.

I do not think relaxed hair grows any faster, it all comes from the root so I don't see how it can grown faster, but I do think the curl pattern in being natural if the ends are not taken care of can cause breakage. Also being natural you have to make sure your hair is moistured at all times.

At any rate, my hair has been 10 times thicker as being a natural than it ever was as being relaxed. But I do think my hair thrives on some heat and straighter styles.

seraphim712 said:
After reading the thread wanna go natural, it reminded me to ask the question I keep forgetting to ask every time I come to LHCF. Does relaxed hair grow much faster than natural hair?

I just happen to wonder because it seems that most ladies on here who are relaxed seem to have better hair growth progress in having relaxed hair and stretching in between touch ups. Believe me, I've seen some beautiful heads of hair on this forum that's natural, but it just seems so much easier to have relaxed hair and watch for the new growth, and care for it.

I've been natural for three years after transitioning from relaxed hair. I didn't realize however how much thicker and coarser my hair is. It also seems to grow much slower in comparison when I had relaxed hair. Does it have something to do with my curl pattern being much looser allowing moisture to sink in? I ask this because now that I'm natural, every time I add moisture, my hair seems to drink it up and dry out like a desert. I only wash twice a week and add light oils such as grapeseed and jojoba. But the only time I seem to be getting anywhere is when my hair flat ironed and not tightly coiled in natural curls. I hope to use caruso steam rollers to do the trick in making my hair a bit more manageable.

I apologize, I just had to vent out my frustration at that moment. But I am still curious for your answers and opinions.
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For some reason when my hair gets at least an inch of new growth, it grows faster to me. And I'm relaxed but I've been relaxing every six months. It seems llike after a relaxer it take forever to get new growth but once I get a lot. The growth takes off! But that's just me.
 
Fine 4s said:
I agree. When relaxed heads get a touch up we can SEE the growth a lot better, shock effect. And this is why they also talk about their hair looking shorter when they stretch for a long period, all thanks to shrinkage. But when they apply the relaxer BAMB in ya maouth!
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:lachen: that's the one thing I like about getting a relaxer...instant visual of the growth! I know I'm itchin' for it right now (3 months post this Saturday)
 
It doesn't for me. I have found that because i've changed some "bad" hair habits (hot-hot curling irons, hot-hot blowdryers, not conditioning or moisturizing the hair regularly, constant combing/brushing, ripping through the hair while styling) that i wasn't retaining everything i grew.

Now that i'm natural, all that's changed and I'm not really surprised at how fast my hair grows, i am very surprised at how much length is being retained even if that length is harder to see due to shrinkage ;).
 
Last edited:
LynnieB said:
It doesn't for me. I have found that because i've changed some "bad" hair habits (hot-hot curling irons, hot-hot blowdryers, not conditioning or moisturizing the hair regularly, constant combing/brushing, ripping through the hair while styling) that i wasn't retaining everything i grew.

Now that i'm natural, all that's changed and I'm not really surprised at how fast my hair grows, i am very surprised at how much length is being retained even if that length is harder to see due to shrinkage ;).
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You must be doing something right, because your hair is thick and beautiful!!!
 
When my hair was relaxed, it was long. Even though it was long, it seemed to take forever to grow. In reality, I did not take care of it and it was breaking off oftentimes faster that it could grow in. So, it appeared to stay at a certain length for a loooong time.
Now that I am over 2 years in transition, my hair appears to be growing like crazy, but that's because I don't have the breakage issues anymore (my natural hair is stronger) and I am taking better care of it. Right now it's longer than when I was relaxed.

In short, my hair grows the same amount whether relaxed or natural. Sorry for my incoherant babbling :yawn:
 
All new growth is natural so the relaxed hair is not the growing part the natural roots are growing out from the scalp. So I chose no.
 
When I was relaxed, my hair didn't grow worth spit! :nono: Now maybe if I had known about LHCF back then it would have. Now, since joining this forum, my hair has actually been growing quite well. :yep:
 
Exactly. Length was never a problem when I was relaxed. I had to BC last month after being natural since 2003. :perplexed

Honestly I feel as though I have the right tools to have healthy relaxed hair. Not feeling this BC at all, more than likely I will relax soon. :yep: I am not willing to spend the next years once again going through a natural journey.

tishee said:
I am beginning to think this, as well. My hair was much longer when I was relaxed than what it is now. If it had not been for the damage from the hard presses I would not have had to bc my hair.
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AlexB7 said:
I don't think the hair grows faster. It's all natural when it grows out of your scalp. I'm sure shrinkage with natural hair makes it appear that it isn't growing as much. Also, there's no new growth so you can't actually see where the new hair has come in.
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co-sign. also, when you're relaxed, seeing the ng come through and increase every month or whatever, reassures you that your hair is getting longer even if there is no real apparent difference in length. when you are natural, this doesn't happen any more. you only really notice every few months when you know see an obvious difference in length (unless you measure monthly).

i don't think the rate at which someone's hair grows has anything to do with hair type. i do think it's down to the individual person though.
 
LynnieB said:
It doesn't for me. I have found that because i've changed some "bad" hair habits (hot-hot curling irons, hot-hot blowdryers, not conditioning or moisturizing the hair regularly, constant combing/brushing, ripping through the hair while styling) that i wasn't retaining everything i grew.

Now that i'm natural, all that's changed and I'm not really surprised at how fast my hair grows, i am very surprised at how much length is being retained even if that length is harder to see due to shrinkage ;).
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Co-signing with this. It's all about retention :gorgeous:
 
I would say it all depends on the person, genetics, and diet. Just my thoughts....:perplexed

Ohhhh, and how well you protect and care for your locks too.
 
I've been thinking alot about this. I BC'd two years ago with no transition. It's been two year, and my hair is close to being where it was when I chopped it all off, except now its natural. I handle my hair MUCH more now than then. But my hair is growing MUCH faster. Could be changes to diet, environment, and perhaps I am handling my hair differently...But I tend to lean in the direction that my natural hair grows and retains much faster/better than my relaxed hair....lol. That was a long explanation. :blush:
 
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