Relaxing Hair

**sadia** · January 15th, 2013, 12:03 PM

Has anyone ever used a relaxer here? I have a sinking feeling I am never going to gain control over my curls.

**rock007junkie** · January 15th, 2013, 02:47 PM

Can you post a picture of your hair? There are other things you could try before you go that route that might work better in my opinion. If you want to relax them a little or make them more manageable I would definitely give cassia and/or henna a try.

**lacefrost** · January 15th, 2013, 06:24 PM

Show us a picture and we'll see if we can help. I think part of your issue may be how you're seeing your hair. You can't really gain control of curly hair and the idea of controlling hair is probably where a lot of frustration lies. I'm sure all the longhairs here can to attest to the fact that if you want nice hair, you figure out what your hair wants to do and you let it do that.

**sadia** · January 15th, 2013, 07:14 PM

Okay hold on, let me post them.

**lilliemer** · January 15th, 2013, 07:15 PM

I had my 2c/3a hair relaxed and it was burned off at the roots. That was 10 years ago. I think it is less damaging to try non-chemical strategies if you want straighter hair or try to figure out a better routine for your curls. Also for me a very blunt cut has helped to weigh them down and pull the curl out a bit but ymmv.

**sadia** · January 15th, 2013, 07:22 PM

This is my hair soaking wet.

This is my hair almost dry:

Almost almost dry:

Dry:

**wavykisses** · January 15th, 2013, 08:00 PM

Your hair is beautiful. Have you considered henna or cassia?, I've been using henna and my curls relaxed a lot
and my hair feels silky soft.

Henna imparts a red tint, although in my hair doesn't even show because is quite dark the same color as yours
So maybe henna will help you.

My hair looks so similar to yours and in order to make it hold its curls I have to use some a gel and diffuse it
Which I don't like because it feels heavy and full of product. Henna has gave me the freedom to not use gel anymore
But I lost my curls, for me I liked the trade off

**sadia** · January 15th, 2013, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by lacefrost

Show us a picture and we'll see if we can help. I think part of your issue may be how you're seeing your hair. You can't really gain control of curly hair and the idea of controlling hair is probably where a lot of frustration lies. I'm sure all the longhairs here can to attest to the fact that if you want nice hair, you figure out what your hair wants to do and you let it do that.

I want my hair to be actual curls not curls that on their own have separated to such a point where its just a mass of hair with little definition.

**rock007junkie** · January 15th, 2013, 09:23 PM

Oh honey, your hair looks beautiful. Girls would kill for those curls. Some techniques and/or products might help. Go on the Naturallycurly.com website and check it out before you do anything else.