I know its been a while, but I had to settle into the swing of things, starting off a new semester, etc. Now I'm back, and hopefully I'll be able to post somewhat regularly. Today I wanted to add my 2 cents to the debate that has been going on for a while now - Relaxed or Natural? Which is better?
I wanted to start out by saying that my blog is mainly to provide haircare tips. Hopefully when you all, my readers, take good care of your mind, body and soul, you will feel and look beautiful. With that being said, I think the most important thing is that you all feel that you are attractive and special. Think about this, if relaxers were no longer available, how much of a crisis would that be for you? Would you no longer think you are attractive, would it be the end of the world? If the answer is yes, then there are a couple more things to think about. Why would it be such a trauma if there were no more relaxers? What is so wrong with the way that you were naturally made? I'm not at all saying everyone should go natural, but what I am saying is that you should be appreciative of your beauty, with or without relaxers. The same applies to those of you who wear make up, those of you who would like to get an enhancement surgery or sort of beauty enhancement. Can you survive without it?
Most of the hang-ups people have about natural hair or anything else that has to do with a beauty routine comes from society. A lot of you have probably heard these:
- Guys like girls with long hair; they don't go for girls with shorter hair
- Natural hair looks nappy, unkept or unprofessional
- You'll look like a slave with hair like that (yes people say this)
- Natural hair is for those radical girls
- No famous people rock natural hair, so why should I?
Don't let these statements, or anything else that people say about natural or relaxed hair stop you from doing what you want to do with your hair. Some people simply like relaxing their hair, and some like it better natural. That's cool, as long as you're being persuaded by your own beliefs and desires. I've been saying it and I'll say it again - whatever you choose to do is great as long as you love yourself with or without the enhancements.
I'm going to do a list of pros for natural hair, then a list of pros for relaxed hair, so that you can decide what you'd like to do with your hair.
Natural Hair Pros:
- It is not effected by the strong chemicals in relaxer, so it tends to break less easily
- You don't have to worry about water, whether from rain or swimming (although you MUST condition your hair after swimming!)
- Less heat damage, no flat-ironing or blow drying necessary
- There are tons of cute styles, from the twist out to the afro-puff
- Hair grows faster because it breaks less
- Natural hair products (in my opinion) smell better and tend to have more natural, and healthy products
- No more paying for the hair dresser!
Relaxed Hair Pros
- Growth is more noticeable, because relaxer stretches natural curls
- Tends to be easier to comb than natural hair if the correct products are used
- There are many possible hair styles
- There are more hair dressers who know how to work with relaxed hair
- When managed well, hair can be very long and flowing
- Other than the long days at the hair dresser, relaxed hair can be a little less time consuming than natural hair (depending on your regimen)
If you read My Natural Hair/Transition Story, you will get to understand why I switched from natural to relaxed hair.
I hope this helps!
Be Big and beautiful!
xoxo
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| Angela Bassett! So beautiful, and a great actress |
