U Call It:: Go Natural or Relaxed??

[Jhunt-smith]

i know this is a personal choice, but im seriously standing at the fork in the road && cant make up my mind.....
i have been relaxing forever && theres really no damage to my hair from it. my hair dont care, it will grow on its own. but after the relaxer my hair is high maintenence. look @ my flickr && fotki pics (no password needed) and tell me if u think i should relax or just try to transition. i know i can always go back to relaxed but i do not like my hair looking wavy andthen straight. furthermore. i have 2 phony ponies i wear my little hide your hair challenge. and i can afford a wig right now.... im seriously stuck. im 4b, the fluffiest kind....
BTW:: love u ladies, u all are true inspirations to all black women

 

[Nonie]

I am a believer that if it isn't broke(n), don't fix it. Natural hair is high maintenance too; if not money-wise, time-wise. So the grass may not seem that much greener when you get to the other side after all. If I were you and were doing fine relaxed, I'd stick with the devil I know. That's JMHO.

 

[BostonMaria]

I chose #3
Transition and see where it leads you

I guess you'll have to ask yourself: Why do you want to transition? Some people will look at a picture of Maya as an inspiration, but when they get Erykah Badu hair they freak out. How long you can transition? Take the time to figure out if you can deal with a TWA or dealing with 2 textures for a few months. Will you take the time to learn how to take care of your hair? Because I had the relaxed thing down to a science! I had long relaxed hair as well, but in the past 14 months I had to learn a whole new regime. I love hair so I don't mind. And last but not least... Can you deal with shrinkage and not having long silky hair? I can deal with not having straight hair. I had it for 26 yrs and I get bored with it easily. But SHRINKAGE?!! That's something nobody told me about! LOL I will need ankle length hair for it to look long in its curly state LOL j/k

You don't have to answer here of course. These are just food for thought. If you decide to transition and BC you have all the resources on LHCF and the internet to help you

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

I pick #3, or you can get wig or weave like your natural texture and see how you like it from there.

 

[BrownEyez22]

I like your hair and you have beautiful skin.

I would say if your not having any problems with your hair or a burning desire to be a natural, maybe reach your relaxed hair goals first and see how you feel after that.

Good Luck

 

[TrustMeLove]

Why is your relaxed hair high maintenance?

FYI: Going natural isn't easy. If you have never been natural before you really do have to learn about your hair and detangling is a process. It is more than finding the right product with slip and running the comb through your hair. You've got to want it..and be willing to commit to learning.

I would never go back to the relaxer. My hair is easy now, but it took some learning.

 

[gorgeous86]

I think that you should stay relaxed. I am fuzzy 4b all the way around. Last year, (2007) I was natural for about 11 months (6 month transition). THE ONLY way that I could wear my type of hair was in twists and finger coils. I could never just wash my hair and go (on my 4b hair, it just looked unkempt, no matter what technique I used) or braidouts ( only lasted for a day, at the time I was too busy to rebraid every night). My point is, just really sit and think about it. I know that some natural 4b's will probably chime in and tell you about their experiences. This was only mine. If you decide to go natural, please transition for a while, so that you can see your texture. Think about your lifestyle and how being natural ( or staying relaxed) will fit in. Like Nonie said, the grass might not be greener on the other side.

By the way, I went to your fotki....... Your hair is very pretty

 

[guyanesesista]

Girl leave that hair alone the way it is. It's beautiful. It looks healthy to me and if you aren't having probs don't bother it.

 

[Evolving78]

well my natural hair isn't high maintainence. it was the other way around with relaxed hair. but i don't think you have the mindset for natural hair yet. i think you should transition first, but i never did that, i'm an all or nothing person. i don't straddle the fence. i didn't want to be bothered dealing with two different textures.

 

[naijamerican]

I am a believer that if it isn't broke(n), don't fix it. Natural hair is high maintenance too; if not money-wise, time-wise. So the grass may not seem that much greener when you get to the other side after all. If I were you and were doing fine relaxed, I'd stick with the devil I know. That's JMHO.

I totally agree with Nonie, and she and I are both natural with 4B hair. If I felt that I could maintain 4B relaxed hair properly, I might have never gone natural. Now I'm more versed in caring for natural hair than otherwise, and for that reason alone I'm reluctant to relax. As Nonie said, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Just be glad that we're not some militant nappies! Natural hair is not for everyone. It takes time and patience, just as relaxed hair does. While it may be more resilient against setbacks (like over-processing, for example), it presents a whole host of other challenges. I enjoy being natural but it's not easy.

 

[Carrie A]

Your hair looks good BTW. Why is it high maintenance? Even if natural you still have to work on your hair to keep it stellar. Of course if you chop to a twa that's easy breezy, but once it gets longer there is a little more work involved. Detangling, twisting, etc. I doon't think that should be your only reason for going natural. Also how would you wear your natural hair? Being "napptural" (to borrow the term) may be easier than regular straightening as a natural in terms of maintenance.

 

[Mook's hair]

I am a believer that if it isn't broke(n), don't fix it. Natural hair is high maintenance too; if not money-wise, time-wise. So the grass may not seem that much greener when you get to the other side after all. If I were you and were doing fine relaxed, I'd stick with the devil I know. That's JMHO.

Yeah, I agree with Nonie,

That photo you have "
Pre-Micros, air dried"

Is sooo gorgeous, I love your hair.
What is making you want to transition?
For me, I mostly got sick of burns from relaxers. And I also just wanted to know my real true texture.

 

[luckiestdestiny]

I am a believer that if it isn't broke(n), don't fix it. Natural hair is high maintenance too; if not money-wise, time-wise. So the grass may not seem that much greener when you get to the other side after all. If I were you and were doing fine relaxed, I'd stick with the devil I know. That's JMHO.

co-sign. Except with the devil I know part, as I'm a natural who flat irons. My natural hair on wash day takes 5 hours or more and we're leaning to six (my hair and I), the longer it gets.

 

[Solitude]

Oh my goodness! OP, your hair is gorgeous! I am feeling the same way- relaxed, no problems, still considering "going natural" thanks to the inspiration of all the ladies on this board, but my hair is shorter than yours. I decided to try transitioning in 2009. If I wait until my hair grows long, I will not want to start over.

I say, stretch for a while and as someone else said, think about what styles you would want to wear and what your regimen would be like compared to what it is now.

 

[winnettag]

I agree with Nonie, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Your hair looks beautiful and healthy the way it is!
You can always transition to natural hair in the future if you feel strongly about it.

 

[SEMO]

Your hair is very pretty and I'm sure it would look good whether you were relaxed or natural. I say transition for awhile if you're curious as to how your natural hair might be (there are styles to camouflage the two textures). If you think you'd like being natural continue your transition, if not then you just have more new growth than normal to relax.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Allandra]

I pick option number 3.

 

[Naturelle]

You're beautiful and so is your hair! You have beautiful hair the more selfish side of me will tell you to keep it "naturellle" girl...but it's up to you, do what makes you happy and comfortable.

 

[Joanna721]

I say transition and see how you feel then I am a 4 sumthin and I am still transitioning after 11 months and some change.... my nappiversary is in 10 days and didnt plan on going natural I was just streching then I fell in love with my natural texture and started cutting off the relaxed part little by little....then I started getting scared to relax again....then trying to figure out how to texlax urked me....so here I am....its tons of work but I love it... I still teeter totter about whether or not to relax or texlax but for now Im good....I say that if I reach my goal streched that I will texlax but at the sign of damage or whatever Im gonna quit the chemicals

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Hair... all of it...........is high maintenence....

So - the choice is yours.

 

[gissellr78]

i know this is a personal choice, but im seriously standing at the fork in the road && cant make up my mind.....
i have been relaxing forever && theres really no damage to my hair from it. my hair dont care, it will grow on its own. but after the relaxer my hair is high maintenence. look @ my flickr && fotki pics (no password needed) and tell me if u think i should relax or just try to transition. i know i can always go back to relaxed but i do not like my hair looking wavy andthen straight. furthermore. i have 2 phony ponies i wear my little hide your hair challenge. and i can afford a wig right now.... im seriously stuck. im 4b, the fluffiest kind....
BTW:: love u ladies, u all are true inspirations to all black women

Your hair is beautiful....continue taking care of it and thats all. I say keep it relaxed

 

[loolalooh]

I picked option 2 just because you don't know what you're missing (or not missing) until you try it. The grass may be greener (for me it was) or it may be busted; you can always re-relax.

Option 3 is good as well.
If you can handle a LONG transition, then being natural is easy. You can BC when you're ready. If you don't like transitioning (and don't want to go natural), you can always relax AND keep your length.

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

I really like your relaxed hair, I wouldn't transition.

I am actually in a similar boat as you. I want to see how my natural hair is and if I can hang with it but there is nothing wrong with my relaxed hair and it is doing really well. But yet I am attempting to transition b/c I've thought of it since I was probably 12 and that was over half my lifetime ago.

I have my hair braided under a half wig and I will be taking it a week at a time. I think I will really like my natural hair and I realize that both are high maintenance. But who knows, I might decide to relax. So I'm babying both and one day I will make a decision.

 

[sowhut]

I chose #3
Transition and see where it leads you

I guess you'll have to ask yourself: Why do you want to transition? Some people will look at a picture of Mya as an inspiration, but when they get Erykah Badu hair they freak out. How long you can transition? Take the time to figure out if you can deal with a TWA or dealing with 2 textures for a few months. Will you take the time to learn how to take care of your hair? Because I had the relaxed thing down to a science! I had long relaxed hair as well, but in the past 14 months I had to learn a whole new regime. I love hair so I don't mind. And last but not least... Can you deal with shrinkage and not having long silky hair? I can deal with not having straight hair. I had it for 26 yrs and I get bored with it easily. But SHRINKAGE?!! That's something nobody told me about! LOL I will need ankle length hair for it to look long in its curly state LOL j/k

You don't have to answer here of course. These are just food for thought. If you decide to transition and BC you have all the resources on LHCF and the internet to help you

@ bolded!...thats too funny.

I agree with all of BostonMaria's points.
I would probably transition for a while and just see how i feel after some thought.
your hair looks good as it is btw

 

[Jhunt-smith]

In reply to all of you ladiees:: First of all, thank you so much for your input. I was at the orthodontist's office looking at your replies on my phone As of now, I'm going to stretch this relaxer until the end of the challenge like Im supposed to, then make the decision. I will probably relax since my hair isnt breaking or anything bad.
Why is my hair high maintenence?? Because its stuck up. It ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS wants moisture. I have to use 2 boxes of hair dye at least to dye it. My hair sops it up quick. It wants to be wrapped in a silk, not satin, scarf every night. And it wants certains oils, and certain hairstyles, etc... Its too picky lol.
But once again thank you all

 

[jennboo]

I choose option 2. Go natural, see how u like it. If the fluffy hair isn't working for you, re-relax or become a pressed natural.

I don't buy the natural hair being high maintenance stuff, bc that hasnt been my experience (im natural 4b).

 

[justsimply]

I voted to transition. I have some serious 4b, I've been relaxed, natural, relaxed again, and now natural. The first time I went natural it was to loc, then after 3+ yrs I cut my locs and went loose for a minute, then decided it was a bit much and I had some length, I relaxed again. I regretted it but only because I prefer the feel of my natural more and I missed it. BUT I made the choice after I experienced both sides of the fence thoroughly. I also started over a lot which I'm not going to even attempt to lie and say I enjoyed. Transitioning allows you to get a glimpse of what you'll have to deal with (just a glimpse) and if you decide you don't want to do it, you haven't lost any length....it would be equivalent to "stretching".

 

[ShaniKeys]

I'm natural myself but I voted for you to relax your hair. I saw the pics of your relaxed hair, you are beautiful and so is your hair. And it looks really healthy.

 

[Lyoness]

I voted transition cos I love big hair.. The air dried picture sold the road to a natural head to me for ya

 

[asummertyme]

I agree, if it aint broke...u know the rest...I have had alot of setbacks messin around and doing big chops...going natural..dying it..texlaxing...relaxing...cutting of damage from coloring while natural...sometimes those rash decesions become regrets...i say get a weave or a nice natural curly wig or some braids to cutt up the bordom a bit and think about it for a good long while...
Good luck with whatever u decide !