
curly or straight hair? That's a question many of us women with curly hair ask ourselves.
In today's post I will tell you about my personal experience with relaxer, how I took care of it when I relaxed my hair and how I currently take care of it without relaxer.
I had my first relaxer when I was 9 years old, my mom decided to get a relaxer because I didn't like to comb my hair, it was easier to comb and my curly hair got tangled easily.
Since I was 9 years old, every 3 months I went to the salon to relax my hair, it was a long and tedious process especially when I was a girl because it was very difficult to stay still.
During all those years I only tried once to stop relaxer and I only lasted 5 months without relaxer. It was very difficult, my hair was tangling easily, it was falling out and I didn't know how to handle it, so I did a relaxer.
This was my care for my hair in its different facets:
Relaxed hair care | Natural or curly hair care |
Washing every week | Washing every week |
Straighten hair every 3 months | Protein treatment |
Blower or flat iron once a week only in case of emergency. | Cutting of tips |
Cutting the tips | Daily hydration |
Treatments once a week | Wear protective styling (braids, weaves, extensions) |
Wearing a sleep net | Keep hair manipulation to a minimum |
Wearing a satin sleeping cap |
My hair relaxed or straightened
When I was going to move to Finland my first and biggest concern was my hair, I had no experience with my curly hair and I had never had a relaxer done by myself. Looking for contacts in Finland who did relaxers a new fear was born, trusting something as delicate as my hair to a stranger. Finally I decided to cut off all my hair and let it grow in its natural curly state.
I don't regret cutting my hair, it gave me a chance to experiment with my curly hair.
My photo after the "Big Chop" cut.
The first few weeks I felt free but then my ordeal began. I didn't know what products to use, my curly hair tangled easily and I didn't know what hairstyles to do, I tried to read and look for information and I started to do simple hairstyles.
While my curly hair has grown quite a bit, in a fit of madness I made a mistake. I tried to cut my hair because the ends were burnt and the result was horrible, now my curly hair is very uneven.
Note: DO NOT cut your hair if you don't know how to do it hahahahaha
My hair today
My curly hair is beautiful, I love it but it also requires a lot of care. I feel like I still need to learn about its care, management and what products would be best.
Although every day I learn a little more about caring for my hair, I feel like I still have a lot to learn, but if there is one thing I have learned, it's to love my curl type.
I grew up believing that long straight hair was beautiful and short natural hair was ugly. There is a lot of pressure in society for brown women because of their hair and even in some countries there are people who look down on you because of your hair. If you have straight hair they criticize you because you are not happy with your natural hair and because you don't accept your roots and blackness. On the other hand if you have natural or curly hair people criticize you and make fun of you with nicknames like "little hair", "cocobola", "cuscus" among others.
If you are a woman who is having trouble deciding what to do with your hair, this is a message for you:
Don't be manipulated by society, your hair is your identity and only YOU decide what to do with it, everyone has their own definition of beautiful and you must find yours. Give your curly hair a chance and after experiencing both facets of your hair decide what is best for you and your hair.
I would like to know your opinion.
How do you currently wear your hair? Have you ever had your hair relaxed or straightened?
What do you think about natural or curly hair and relaxed or straight hair?
Unfortunately we live in a society where everyone wants to look at the lives of others; having the right to believe that they can judge a life that they have not lived. And you know that I support your decisions and I am glad that you are leaving your hair curly: showing your great pride to the Afro or Afro-Caribbean community. My friend, remember that you are beautiful and no one will take that away from you!