The Benefits to Wearing Your Hair Natural Instead of Relaxed

I started to seriously consider wearing my hair natural awhile back and about a year and a half ago I cut all of my relaxed hair off and haven't touched a relaxer since. Now that I've been wearing it completely natural, I know the positive aspects to not using relaxers on your hair which can help you if you want to go natural too.

Versatility

One of my favorite things about having gone natural is how versatile it is. When I relaxed my tresses I could only style my hair in about 3 ways that actually looked good. Whenever I wanted to wear it in a cool style I always had to go to a hairstylist.

I once read in a book written by a white male hairstylist that said the downside to black women wearing their hair natural is that they don't have a lot of styling options, but he didn't know what he was talking about. Now that I've been natural I have worn my hair in about 10 different styles and there's so many more to try.

A Kinky texture can shrink up to 80% of its real length when it's wet and my hair does exactly that. At first shrinkage was something that I wanted to fight, but now I go with it because it gives me a lot of versatility too. I can look like I have a short cut the first few days after I shampoo my hair. But then if I decide to twist it or style it during the days that follow my strands stretch more and more and can look longer.

I just feel like I have so many options now that I wear my hair natural. It can be short or long, and I can wear it kinky, curly or straight depending on what mood I'm in.

Uniqueness

Another benefit to going natural is that it's unique. The majority of African American women still wear their hair relaxed so for the most part I'm usually the only one wearing my hair natural whenever I'm around other women in my race, so I always stand out.

When I wore my hair relaxed I always felt like I looked like everyone else. I felt so bored and unoriginal but now I always feel like an individual even when I'm around other women who wear their locks natural.

It's really rare that I see someone who's wearing their hair the same way I do, but even if I did we'd still look completely different. Natural hair has so many different textures, it can range from silky and wavy to coarse and kinky, and those extremes can be found on the head of one person. Everyone's hair does its own thing, so even if you're wearing the same hairstyle as a fellow naturalista you both can look original.

Healthier Hair

Another pro to being natural is that my strands have never been healthier. When I had a relaxer I knew that my hair was considered damaged because relaxing strips the hair cuticle. My hair was very dry during that time but I always thought it was in fairly good condition because it was always thick and long and I didn't have a lot of hair breakage.

But now that I'm natural I see a big difference with my hair and my scalp. I thought my hair was thick before but it is extremely thick now, and each strand of hair on my head is strong and healthy.

Before strands would break off whenever I combed it, now I would literally have to use both hands and a lot of force to break a strand. I used to get split ends religiously every 5-6 weeks when I relaxed my hair, now I don't get split ends at all, and I can go months without trimming my hair.

Because I had to trim my hair so often my hair would stay at the same length for months when I had a relaxer. But now, in a little over a year, my hair has grown back close to the length it was when I cut it all off. And I'm sure my natural hair will surpass that length within 4 or 5 months.

Also my scalp is completely different. It's no longer dry and itchy and I don't have to worry about a relaxer burning and irritating it and then leaving scabs in my head for days.

It's Cheap

The first few months after I went natural I really thought that I had to buy a ton of expensive specialized products, but I was wrong. When my hair was shorter I used a lot of different products to tame it. But the longer it gets the more I just learn to just work with my texture and I've realized just how low-maintenance my tresses are.

I found out that the product my hair loves the most now is just water. Now the only styling products I use are a leave-in conditioner and some kind of hair oil, and gel occasionally.

I Love It

I used to like my hair before when I relaxed it. But now that I've gone natural I love it. My hair has so much character and life now and it's so interesting. It can make me look cool and rock star-ish and other times it can look regal and sophisticated.

I get a lot of compliments on it now from people who just want to tell me that they like my hair and they think it's cool.

In the End

I've found that wearing my hair natural looks, feels, and is totally different than wearing my hair natural. I didn't know if I would prefer wearing my hair natural over wearing it relaxed, but now that I am 100% natural I love it and couldn't imagine relaxing it ever again because there are so many benefits to it.