Maintaining beautiful hair is not easy. All hair types are gorgeous, but not all are easy to deal with. Natural hair can be a nuisance, so a lot of women who have 4b/4c hair choose to relax their hair. There is always a debate on natural hair vs. relaxed hair, but both have their pros and cons.
Natural hair tends be thicker and healthier. On Bellatory, it says one thing natural hair wearers do not have to worry about is the chemical frustrations with relaxed hair. A lot of women are starting to see the beauty in their natural hair state and how fast it grows when it is taken care of and full of nutrients.
Natural hair is less prone to damage. Because there is no excessive heat put on it over time. It is easier to achieve a natural or big hair’d look.
With Relaxed hair, it is easier to manage, and style. Women usually want to achieve a straight silky look every once in a while, which they can do with relaxed hair.
Another great thing about relaxed hair is that if your hair is relaxed, nothing can un-relax it. Nothing can undo what the chemicals in your hair have done. It is so much easier to handle and you can go about your day without worrying what state your hair is in, or what might affect your hairstyle, like the weather.
Natural hair has its cons. Private Label Extensions states that natural hair maintenance can be time consuming. You spend a little more time conditioning and doing treatments just to make sure it is properly taken care of and moisturized. There are also days called “wash days” where that day is specifically for washing, conditioning, blow drying and doing whatever else to your hair.
Another con of natural hair is being faced with adversity and that adversity is the weather! Weather matters so much when dealing with your natural hair. Rain and the humidity will cause a great hairstyle to go completely down the drain. One tip I will give is to watch the weather forecast daily if you are natural.
On the note of cons, I can list a couple of cons for relaxed hair. Although the look is perfect and silky, the fact of the matter is that there were harsh chemicals put into your scalp and follicles to achieve that look. According to BDO, “Chemically treated hair has been weakened , and therefore, extra care is necessary to retain length.”
Relaxed hair can irritate your scalp and damage your hair if not taken care of properly. This means oiling your hair constantly and keeping the moisture locked in. If for a second you let your hair dry up or forget to grease it, the chemicals will eat at your follicles and your will start to break off.
There are pros and cons for both Natural hair and relaxed hair. Personally, I am all for natural hair. you cannot go wrong with that! I will say that both are prone to breakage, however, being an African American woman, my hair is apart of my identity. So my hair in its natural state means a lot to me because it stems from my roots.
You do not have to worry about heat damage with natural hair. As much work as it takes to keep up natural hair, I enjoy rocking different styles. Again, my hair is my identity and so how people perceive me, my hair plays a part in that.
Relaxed hair is alright for a short period of time, but for those who value their hair the way I do, I would not take a chemical risk with my mane.
I encourage all of you reading this to let me know which side you are on. Are you team natural or team relaxed? Also, if you have been both before in the past, which do you prefer? How do you feel about the arguments presented above? Lastly, send me some pictures of you in your natural state or relaxed!!
| Natural Hair Pro | Relaxed Hair Pro | Natural Hair Con | Relaxed HairCon |
| -Cute styles -Less heat damage – Healthy hair – Scalp healthiness – Hair | -Silky hair -Cute styles – Easy to style – Less maintenance – Less work -Doesn’t need much work | -Time consuming -Humidity -Weather -Climate change -More work -Tedious | -Prone to damage Chemical reaction – Scalp irritation- dry hair-damage hair |
I included the word cloud because it showed the most common words used from the blog and what words showed up the most in the debate between natural and relaxed hair. The chart is there for further understanding on the similarities and differences with the two.
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