Naturals that went back to relaxing, any regrets?

felicia said:

Well, after tinkering with the idea, I decided to relax. I used ORS and I'm a little past shoulder length, but I need a trim. I have no regrets so far, but it's only been an hour . Thanks for your advice everyone.

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felicia said:

Well, after tinkering with the idea, I decided to relax. I used ORS and I'm a little past shoulder length, but I need a trim. I have no regrets so far, but it's only been an hour . Thanks for your advice everyone.

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Fabulousity said:

Wow!!!! You did it huh? Did you go all the way straight? Any pics?

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hopeful said:

Congrats Felicia, hope it comes out just the way you want it to.

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metro_qt said:

I haven't read the whole thread, but I was natural for about 4 years... I had thick hair...which meant many knots and tangles.. and it wasn't for the lack of me taking care of it...
I was in the shower every night washing, detangling, etc.

I stayed between shoulder length and APL... my hair wouldn't grow just because I was constantly detangling huge dreads..
I do not exaggerate when I say that..My hair would clump very easily within the day and the different textures would just matt together.

Long story short.. I decided to texturize 2 years ago,and I'm very happy with the decision. This year, I decided to relax... my I guess my stylist didn't clean out his ear wax... and the result was Texlaxed hair.

I'm fine with it... I kinda have the best of both worlds..(actually, my hair's still very curly... so no I don't)

I still might take the bonelax plunge, but for right now, I'm happy.
Oh yes. My hair has finally grown to brastrap again, and is thriving....
I hope to make it to waist length by the end of next year,
and with my hair the way it is now, i know it's fully achievable.

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felicia said:

yeah, I just said what the heck, if I want I go back to natural I can do it at another time. I don't know how straight it is yet (I still have the conditioner on), but it looks pretty straight. I don't have a camera, so no pictures.

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glamazon386 said:

I think I'm going to texturize around Christmas time. I've been thinking about it quite a bit for the past few months and when I went to get my hair done the other day my stylist mentioned it to me so I think that was a sign. The longer my hair gets, the more it is shrinking. I still feel like I'm bald headed even though I have a good amount of hair now. He told me how he wants to do it, and it sounds about right and I'll still have my fro. The curl will just loosen a little bit and hang better. I'm just gonna go ahead and do it. I trust him as I've been going to him for almost 2 years now. I let him highlight my hair a year ago so it won't be the first time he's put a chemical in my hair. I am always pleased with his results.

I've been natural for 2 years now and I think I'm over it. I only went natural to start over fresh since my relaxed hair was thin and damaged. It had gotten better after being here on the board for a year but I only relaxed a few times a year anyway and was curious to see what my natural texture looked like. As far as the thin hair thing goes, it turns out that my hair is thin by nature. Nothing I can do about it. I never went natural to make a statement. It's just what I felt like doing at the time.

I can't really do much with my hair now anyway and I'm tired of having it covered up the majority of the time for that reason. My hair is usually in a weave, under a wig or pulled back in a bun. I did the same thing when I was relaxed. It's too long to be a short hairstyle but it's too short to be considered long. I don't wear natural hairstyles, i.e. twists, braids, coils, etc. because I don't like how they look on my fine hair. If I get it straightened, it's a lot of work to keep it straight. It only looks good for a few days and after that I don't feel like being bothered. Whats the point in putting all this care and TLC into my hair and having a good amount just to not even wear it out? I'm tired... I'm going back to the chemicals. At least I'll be able to rollerset and have my biweekly appointments and styles. I've really missed that.

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I totally understand how you feel, the last 3 weeks is the first time I have worn my hair out daily since I don't know when.

I've been keeping it under my half wigs and I was getting tired of it. Luckily my twist outs have been working for me and I'm finally enjoying "my hair" at its new length.

It sounds like you've been missing the enjoyment of your hair too. I'm sure your texturized hair is going to look great because I know you can work it. I'm excited for you!

hopeful said:

@ the bolded. I love your honesty.

The first time I went natural was in 2005. I bc'd and ended up relaxing 5 or 6 months later. That time I really regretted relaxing. I felt I relaxed for the wrong reasons and hadn't given my natural hair enough of a chance.

A year later in 2006 I bc'd again because my hair was a straight up mess, shedding and breaking all over. 2 years and 4 months later, this past July, I texturized my hair. It's only been two months but so far I have no regrets and I don't think I will. I really know my hair this time and I did a lot more research on relaxing this time and really had a process to follow vs. just doing it.

This time I just feel very happy about everything. My hair still has lots of texture in it, but straightens and stays straight much better. I can get my freshly washed hair in a ponytail easily, something I could never do with my natural hair. My braid-outs/twist outs last longer too.

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tishee said:

Why is that?

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tishee said:

I know, right......I started to relax today...lol

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glamazon386 said:

I think I'm going to texturize around Christmas time. I've been thinking about it quite a bit for the past few months and when I went to get my hair done the other day my stylist mentioned it to me so I think that was a sign. The longer my hair gets, the more it is shrinking. I still feel like I'm bald headed even though I have a good amount of hair now. He told me how he wants to do it, and it sounds about right and I'll still have my fro. The curl will just loosen a little bit and hang better. I'm just gonna go ahead and do it. I trust him as I've been going to him for almost 2 years now. I let him highlight my hair a year ago so it won't be the first time he's put a chemical in my hair. I am always pleased with his results.

I've been natural for 2 years now and I think I'm over it. I only went natural to start over fresh since my relaxed hair was thin and damaged. It had gotten better after being here on the board for a year but I only relaxed a few times a year anyway and was curious to see what my natural texture looked like. As far as the thin hair thing goes, it turns out that my hair is thin by nature. Nothing I can do about it. I never went natural to make a statement. It's just what I felt like doing at the time.

I can't really do much with my hair now anyway and I'm tired of having it covered up the majority of the time for that reason. My hair is usually in a weave, under a wig or pulled back in a bun. I did the same thing when I was relaxed. It's too long to be a short hairstyle but it's too short to be considered long. I don't wear natural hairstyles, i.e. twists, braids, coils, etc. because I don't like how they look on my fine hair. If I get it straightened, it's a lot of work to keep it straight. It only looks good for a few days and after that I don't feel like being bothered. Whats the point in putting all this care and TLC into my hair and having a good amount just to not even wear it out? I'm tired... I'm going back to the chemicals. At least I'll be able to rollerset and have my biweekly appointments and styles. I've really missed that.

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CollegeChick said:

Like someone else mentioned, the more my hair grows, the worse the shrinkage is. It is frustrating knowing that you have all this length and it won't show. I just want to show my length. I'm undecided, but something tells me if I do relax that I won't regret it.

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MJ said:

I've been natural --> relaxed --> natural --> relaxed --> natural. Looking back, I have never really enjoyed my hair -- natural or relaxed. There were always reasons why I felt and looked miserable with my hair.

All my life, my hair has been a burden - a source of misery and despair!

(I'm shocked by this realization. I didn't realized I felt this way . I think I had a breakthrough .)

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Country gal said:

I feel you glam. I have been wanting to wear my hair in my straighter styles or a braid out like Sylver. It seems to be too much work. It is easier for me to sport the natural styles like twists and wash and go. I want to get my grown and sexy on, I don't feel as sexy with twists. I started wearing wigs to give my hair a break from styling. It has grown. I want to be able to have a more polished look. I don't get that as much when I straightened my hair because it lasts like two days. I am not ready to take the plunge yet. My last perm was 4 years ago.

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Country gal said:

I think there is so truth to it. I actually have longer hair but my TWA just gets thicker not neccesarily bigger like some of the other naturals.

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glamazon386 said:

My hair appears to be doing this too. The front hangs more but the rest of it is staying the same or shrinking more.

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