Naturals Who Were Previously Relaxed: Pros & Cons of Going Natural

[Sianna]

Pros of Natural Hair:

1. I have MORE HAIR! Both length and volume... especially volume!
2. My hair seems to grow faster, and certainly retains more length.
3. Far less breakage than relaxed hair.
4. More styling options, mostly due to increased length. Now that I have more hair than I did when I was relaxed, I don't have to stand in the bathroom for half an hour with a curling iron trying to do something with my EL/NL hair. It was almost always broken off in the back, so I couldn't simply put it in a ponytail and go.
5. Now that my hair is nearly SL, I can simply pull it into a ponytail or banana clip.
6. WNG's!! Love the ease and convenience of this style! It even works with super short hair, as well as that "awkward" stage.
7. Waves!! When relaxed, I used to try to disguise my waves so that my hair looked uniformly straight, but now I love seeing the waves when I have my hair pulled back!
8. I like that my hair is becoming bigger and bigger. Someday it will be HUGE! And on that day, moviegoers shall proclaim ME the bane of their cinematic experience!

Cons:

1. Now that my hair is growing longer, I'd like it to show, but, you know... shrinkage.
2. Flat ironed hair will begin the reversion process almost as soon as the flat iron is unplugged.

I keep my hair pretty stretched most of the time, so detangling isn't much of an issue for me. Co-washing is fairly painless too. Overall, I ADORE my natural hair! I don't see why I'd want to switch back.

 

[Maracujá]

PROS:

• Hair is overall healthier and grows faster imo
• You don't have to worry about it getting wet in the rain
• You can wear it straight or in its natural state

CONS:

• You know how they say marriage ain't for punks? Well neither is natural hair, get ready to WORK lol
• Get ready to get yourself a hair day because it might take you a long time to wash, dc and style your hair
• Not alot of styling options imo (for me it's just double strand twists and braids :-/)

 

[aa9746]

PROS:

• Hair is overall healthier and grows faster imo
• You don't have to worry about it getting wet in the rain
• You can wear it straight or in its natural state

CONS:

• You know how they say marriage ain't for punks? Well neither is natural hair, get ready to WORK lol
• Get ready to get yourself a hair day because it might take you a long time to wash, dc and style your hair
• Not alot of styling options imo (for me it's just double strand twists and braids :-/)

For me it's more like a hair weekend. I've put off redoing my braids because of that.

 

[cartelise]

I agree with the other ladies on all of the cons.

I am almost 3 months post BC (currently in the "ugly" stage as Lucie mentioned) but the only thing I'm frustrated with is how I'm unable to define my curls in my TWA stage and how expensive natural hair products can be.

 

[Incognitus]

Cons: SPLIT ENDS & SSKs/DSKs!! Ugh. Sorry, I simply had to get that out. IN my relaxer days I rarely had split end, and I didn't even know what SSKs/DSKs were (never happened). Now I am plagued with them. The split ends a higher up in the shaft and so are the knots. Oh, and the knots--if I were to cut the out today I would have to cut 2-4 inches in many spots. I'm at a point where I don't what what to do.

Pro: I love the feeling of my hair in the shower. I love my hair texture (despite the horrid shrinkage). Oh, and my seborrhea dermatitis (sp) has improved dramatically (pretty much disappeared). Furthermore, no more scalp burns and scabs that I cannot help but pick until they bleed.

 

[Qtee]

What are your pros & cons now that you're 100% natural?

The only cons for me was the BC and subsequent TWA..I hate short hair..also strinkage is a PIA..I want my hair to show my length.

Everything else is pros..I luv my hair, I luv my curls..

What are the challenges with the varying lengths (TWA, SL, APL, etc...)?For me TWA was the worse...so that was the challenge..

 

[GJIna]

My dream hair is long, thick big rollerset curls. More and more naturals are showing me that I can acheive that look 100% natural...even with my 4b tight coily, wiry hair. I was natural for a year, but never really appreciated it and wore it covered for the most part.

What are your pros & cons now that you're 100% natural?
What are the challenges with the varying lengths (TWA, SL, APL, etc...)?
Those that wear it straight, share your issues, both good and bad.

I think becoming relaxer free was the nicest thing I ever did for my hair~! lol!

Going natural l learned so much about hair & how to properly care for mine. When I was relaxed I didn't think much at all about haircare so long as it looked good in time for special occasions. And even though I wear my hair straight these days (via rollersets) my hair is thriving.

Pros:
No more breakage (thus more length). I was going through a horrible shed stage this winter but I was able to target that successfully.
Fuller, more body & bounce. Versatile.

Cons?:
Well, in the beginning stages when it was short & I wore wash n gos, it was kind of difficult to style. My hair was so thick & at the length I bc'd at, it was near impossible to get it slicked back. lol! But I believe all those failed trials were testament to my ignorance, laziness & sheer lack of experience.

Oh, & I spend less money now! Keeping it simple has helped me so much. My sister & mom have long since followed after me. The only thing my sis does is permanently color her hair (red) which I thought would further ruin her hair but she is a-growing without a hitch. And it's more full & healthy than it has ever been.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

My relaxed hair was easy to care for, but my relaxed hair just won't get relaxer strait without heat. I can easily care for it relaxed, but I longed to have natural hair. I have one con for my natural hair and it is because I can't take good care of it well. I have tried everything and I am purely discouraged right now. However, I am not going to stop trying. One day, I will get it. I just wish I could do something other than a wash n go. I'm making it my goal to do a decent set of twists on my TWA. The good thing is if my style looks bad, I can quickly co wash and go.

 

[southerncitygirl]

pro of natural:
silky strands when straightened that look better than my hair did when it was relaxed.
my hair is pretty low maintenence (my weekly style is a twistout) and i don't spend alot of money on product either
my hair is the longest its ever been.
its unbelievably soft and i can't keep my hands out of it.

pro & con of natural hair:
shrinkage is a la kinda low manipulation/protective style for me when my hair is in a twistout because my hair doesn't lay on my shoulders. the length my hair becomes when straightened has me and y stylist in awe when i come in for a dusting very 5-6 months....shrinkage makes me feel like a baldy though i'm far from it,lol.

con of natural hair:
until i discovered washing my hair in celie plaits in this forum i had tangling issues, my hair is easier to detangle now on wash day cause i pre-poo and wash in plaits use a shower comb to detangle with a water based moisturizer as my leave-in after my conditioning step. i'm retaining tons of length because of this.

i had positive experiences with my relaxed hair because my stylist would stretch me for 4-5 months when i was in virginia....when i moved to nyc i made the mistake of going to the dominicans once per week and chaos ensued i had to cut 4-6 inches throughout my entire head because of the breakage and thinning of only 3 months of going to them.as a result of that trauma i decided to go natural so truthfully who's to say that i wouldn't still be relaxed if that wouldn't have happened to me?

 

[lexxi]

Pros:
I can wash n go in the summer
I love my curls
So many Styles to try only one head
No more perms which im lazy so I hated to do
I love big hair
Cons :
Shrinkage
Ssk

For me thats about it I had done everything to my permed hair as I could except grow it longer than sl but I love nl-sl hair on me anyway. If I could change anything I would have waited longer to transition because I bced way to short for my liking .

DDTexlaxed have you tried just doing kinky twist for about 4 months and than weaves for 3 months maybe just to put it up completely for awhile til its longer might work because wen I first went natural nothing worked for me really(well im lazy and impatient) so I would do straw sets they lasted a week and than I would do kinky twist than when it was longer by may(started in march) I was able to braid and do my own sew in with edges out and in between take out it was either wash n go or straw set .

 

[RedVelvet310]

PROS
Healthier

CONS
Styling takes longer
I can't be lazy

I only have one pro... but the fact that it's healthier beats every and all cons. I don't get anything but compliments when I decide to put the time in the style my hair.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Pros:
I can wash n go in the summer
I love my curls
So many Styles to try only one head
No more perms which im lazy so I hated to do
I love big hair
Cons :
Shrinkage
Ssk

For me thats about it I had done everything to my permed hair as I could except grow it longer than sl but I love nl-sl hair on me anyway. If I could change anything I would have waited longer to transition because I bced way to short for my liking .

@DDTexlaxed have you tried just doing kinky twist for about 4 months and than weaves for 3 months maybe just to put it up completely for awhile til its longer might work because wen I first went natural nothing worked for me really(well im lazy and impatient) so I would do straw sets they lasted a week and than I would do kinky twist than when it was longer by may(started in march) I was able to braid and do my own sew in with edges out and in between take out it was either wash n go or straw set .

My hair hates all types of extensions. I think if I'm going to remain natural, I need to learn how to do protective styles on my own hair. I am sick of wetting my hair daily, so I'm really working on doing 2 strand twists. My natural hair is thriving since starting to use Komaza and Oyin Handmade products. My ultimate goal is to start a protective style challenge for myself so I can improve my styling skills. I am currently now able to twist my hair, so I made my first goal since recovering from my forced BC 2 months ago. That's a positive sign for me.

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

PRO:
It's healthier & longer than it has ever been. It's fun to experiment with. I'm discovering new styles all the time. I like being part of the natural hair community (lol). Any bad hair style can be fixed with conditioner and water. I loved my TWA, but the in-between stage was hard. I couldn't do much but put a headband on it (lol) Now, it's shoulder length and I can do just about anything I want. I'm less stressed about length and I'm just enjoying it at the moment.

CON:
I get nervous when I straighten it. I have fine strands so heat is its worst enemy. I have natural friends with coarser hair that can straighten every week and would have no heat damage. Not me. However, this is not huge for me cause I don't straighten often. I don't plan to straighten again until after summer.

 

[BostonMaria]

This isn't a pro or a con..

When I first BC'd it took me months to get used to touching my hair without being like "wow this is so thick" Not in a bad way of course, but my relaxed hair was much thinner than my natural hair so when I would play with my hair (I have awful hair in afro disease) I'd be like whoa who dis? LOL

By month 3 post-BC my Hair in Afro Disease was so bad that my thumb was numb from touching my curls ahahahaa I still get this from time to time.

 

[LongLeggedLife]

The only con I can think of is the time it takes to discover what works for you, and how to tweak your different styles to get te results you want. After I passed that stage, its smooth sailing, all pros.
Im not anti-heat, so I blow dry and straighten whenever I feel like it, I dont really do protective styling, I like to enjoy my hair out just about everyday. Took me about 1 year 8mos to go from a old Rihanna shaved type cut to touching APL, so I havent seen any negative effects of doing so. Hope to real full APL in a couple months, and at least touching BSL by the end of the year.

Another pro is that my straightened styles are so much thicker and fuller...Idk why the hair just seems so much heavier than it did when relaxed.

Anyway, I dont think that once you've re-learned your hair that you cant achieve any style you want to.

 

[Lady S]

Pros
*Roller sets, wraps, and curling irons aren't necessary.

*No more chemical burns to my sensitive scalp.

*I like the way my natural texture feels. I like touching the coils.

*Less products to deal with.

*I can dye my hair without dealing with two chemical processes.


Cons
*I have thick hair anyways. It's just a whole lot of thicker hair to handle. Try to slip on a wig cap without cornrows and coiling it? Ha!

*Tangles. Oh lawd, the tangles.

*My hair is super resistant to heat styling, so straightening it is laughable. But then again, I'm part of the wig challenge so I just plop on a straight wig & it's all good.

 

[Imani]

Pros:
-Hair is healthier
-Scalp is healthier (no more burning, irritated scalp)
-Not having to pay and go to salon for relaxers
-Hair can look full all the time, not having to wait on that flat stuck thin stuck to the scalp freshly relaxed look to go away
-Hair is more moisturized, stronger, and has more elasticity
-Has more shine
-My straightened hair is fuller and more luscious


Cons
-If its super humid or u plan on sweating intensely, straight styles usually are not going to last


And honestly thats about it with the cons. And its not really that huge of a con bc when I was relaxed, my hair styles didn't hold up in an intense workout either. Like, yeah it would be straight, but it would still like a HAM. Really u just have to find styles/products/techniques that work well for YOUR hair and lifestyle.

So far I have not had big problems with split ends or knots. Detangling can be slightly time intensive depending on ur hair type. Takes me about 2 hrs. But not a con for me bc I don't really mind it too much.

As for wearing it straight. That is something u just have to experiment with and figure out how much heat ur hair can take and still be healthy and also realize how hard it may be to keep it straight. I straightened weekly the first year of my transition. My hair didn't break off or anything but it just wasn't as healthy and full as I wanted it to be, so I cut back to about 4-6 times a year. Once I reach my goal I will allow it 10-12 times a year.