The Relaxed Decision

I'm interested to know y after finding out how harmful relaxers can be and hearing all the horror stories of the damage its caused we still feel we(black women) need to get our hair "permed" on a regular. I've been natural for over a year and I love it. I realize that some individuals find it hard to care for natural hair so they continue to relax...believe me I'm not hating. I just would love to hear y they love relaxers so much. I would love to know y they are so addictive.

I don't talk much about my decision to go natural, but I began thinking really hard about this when I began to read the post Good Hair. As a child I can remember going to the hair dresser every couple of weeks with my mother and sister. I don't have many memories of my childhood but these visits are clear. We were all natural but got our hair pressed on a regular. My mother never did our hair at home(by this age my sis could style her own hair), so I never saw my natural curls...if I even had any left from getting my hair pressed so often. My mother wore her hair in tight rollerset curls and I hated it lol. It reminded me of a 60's hairstyle. As I got a little older my sis got her hair relaxed by a stylist from church....then my mother got hers relaxed. It only seemed natural to get my hair relaxed too...or so I thought. I actually learned to love the feeling of head getting burned from the relaxer....odd and weird I know. One time my head burn so bad it literally felt like my hair was going to fall off. My stylist had to pour antiseptic over my whole head. Yet, I didn't think twice about it. I felt like it was my own fault that I got burned. I wasn't supposed to scratch my head. It's like we are brainwashed. That's not normal. Y would I want something in my head that burned that much? Some women feel that their hair is only beautiful when their new grow has just been fried and their hair is bone straight. I wasn't that type. I wanted my hair to grow and I wanted my hair to be healthy. Once I began to learn about natural hair I challenged myself and transitioned from the relaxers.

Like I said before, I'm not hating on relaxers. I believe that we have free will and can do what we please to our hair. I understand that natural hair can be too much to handle at times. I just wish we as black ppl could be more open to change. More willing open to our eyes when something is obviously wrong with us. I know so many women who have bald spots all over their heads and you can see their scalp from just looking at them from behind...yet they still go back and get there hair relaxed. I know that some women feel that relaxed hair is more acceptable. Those same women will wear blond synthetic weave and think their hott.

I also know women who are very aware and knowledgeable(or they have good stylists) of whats going on to their hair. These women understand that relaxers need to be stretched and carefully applied. It would make sense for these women to choose to continue to relax, so my curiosity grows deeper for women with damaged hair. I want to know y they find so much comfort in getting them. It can't be so much that they wanna be just like celebrities or the tv because the majority of them are rocking lacefront wigs not relaxers.

I know their are historical facts and research on this, but I just want what is really going through these women's minds. I want to know what their really thinking. Hmmm...I just wanna know.