i miss my straight hair

I've been transitioning for almost a year with braids that I do myself. They look descent and I save a lot of money (I'm a grad student). I checked my hair length yesterday, and its just not where I thought it would be after a year. From the front of my hair if I pull it down, it reaches my eye lids (haven't checked the actual inches). I've been clipping the straight hair off and have about an inch of straight hair left to go.
Yesterday my best friend posted pictures from the last fourth of july, we spent together. My hair was still relaxed then, and it was way below my shoulders, and healthy looking. I don't think I look at young or as nice as I did with braids as I did with relaxed hair. The thing is my relaxed hair was always strong and healthy until after I had to switch hair dressers after a move. And then it all turned really brown and started to fall off, which is why I decided to go natural in the first place. But sometimes I just miss the straight hair and how much less time it took to do it. I never blowdried, flat ironed etc., just bunned or ponytailed and I was done. I'm so bummed about my hair right now.

sorry you're bummed.

I agree w/ Muz try some styles out side of braids if you haven't already, that may help--also finding some fun accessories.

weigh the pros & cons of being natural vs relaxed for you--and do what makes you happy!

i hope you feel better!

I agree with everyone! I have straight hair about once a month. You have to give you hair a chance to grow back down to shoulder length. My hair used to be BSL and it's NOT even close to that now.

Enjoy you hair. I am having fun playing with new styles that I would have NEVER tried before (thanks to CN and FOTKI).

You might also want to consider a sew in instead of braids. Do whatever makes you happy but you need realistic expectations.

Hi kinksandcurls~

I had a moment like this Sunday. I had such cute styles when I had straight hair. I was known for my pretty hair as they would say..see below: (my current pictures are on my computer at home)

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However, now I want to be known for my healthy hair. It is a process, but I love my hair in its natural state. I know it will take time to have the length we see the other ladies have here, but that motivates me to stay focused!!

Hang in there, and it's okay to miss your straight hair because that was a part of your past, but stay focused on the reason you decided to go natural knowing that will be a part of your healthy hair future... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

To tell you the truth, I really haven't missed my straight hair - maybe of ease of doing it, but that's about all.

I don't miss my straight hair at all. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Just too much (family) drama associated with it, and I'm glad to be rid of it.

I feel the same way about my hair sometimes. I just decided to go get a roller set next week. It will make me feel better for the moment, and the minute water touches it I can go back to my wonderfully natural self. Sometimes you just roll with it. Hair can be treated like an accessory, switch it up every now and then.

I never missed straight hair. When it was permed, I always wore curly wet sets. It's so much easier to do now, I can do it myself, no more bad hair days, no running from rain, humidity...the list goes on and on!

Remember, although your hair "looked" healthy, the relaxing process strips the top layer of the hair strand, so your hair was damaged right off the bat from the relaxing process. And with natural hair, you don't have one of those straight "clone" hairdos!

I think something similar happened to me. About two almost three years ago, I wasn't transitioning but my shoulder length hair started to become damaged so I decided to braid it. I braided my own hair for a year and by that time all my permed hair was pretty much gone. I actually went and got a relaxer then and my hair was like between ear and chin length. I was trying to figure out how my hair ended up so much shorter than what I began with but I do believe that the braids will break off the permed hair. Anyway it took another 4 months before it started to reach shoulder length again. So hang in there you are almost there. Unfortunately for me it was at that point where relaxers started to break my hair off again. So now I have to start completely over. Also as already mentioned you can get that straight hair with a really good blow out. But just thought I'd share and hope that helps.

Thanks everyone for the support. I'm going to hang in there. I feel like I've come too far to turn back now. I'm hoping I can find someone to just help me do the big chop so that I can get it over with. Once I do I'll post pictures. Its just the in-between time that's so hard for me, because I've always had really long hair. For now I'm going to take everyone's advice and focus on growing healthy hair. I do think I need a break from braids, and that its time to try new styles.

@Kinkcurls, you should really look into natural hair stylist in your area. I was a short transitioner but my hair is very healthy, and you can for sure play with different styles as the other lady said. I was showing a co-worker some pictures of a vacation I went on when I had a perm and extensions. She told me that CC (creamy crack) will do me good. But I love my hair. You will get A LOT of negative feed back, but I have found that most of that comes from the black community. Where as my Sr. Management out here (white males) have noticed and love my hair, and when I bc'd they all made sure I knew that they noticed my hair and the liked it. Now every little thing different I do to my hair it is noticed.

Stay true to you. Trust I remember the days of permed hair, I had to wash, blow dry, and flat iron. damage damage damage. Just play with it and find that styles that you feel best in. A year is a long time to turn around now. I went 11 months with no perm, I did sew in and braids, but at that 11 month I took out the sew in hair and wanted a perm, I put on in and it took 3 1/2 bottles of relaxer to straighten me hair. I will never turn back to that again. EVER!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I want to say, I did the long transition, 18 months total. Prior to doing the transition, my hair was below bra strap length..

During my transition, for the first year I went to a salon and got up does, then flat ironed styles. At home I would wash, blow dry and flat iron my hair. After the 1st year I went heatless and I started doing twist outs and bantu knot outs. When I did the big chop 6 months later, I only had 6 inches of hair. 6 inches of hair after 18 whole months! But after the big chop, my hair grew extremely fast. It grew probably twice or 3 times faster than it did when I had the relaxed ends. So I believe the relaxed ends is what slowed me down..

Now it's been 9 months since my big chop and my hair is once again bra strap length. Almost where it was when I had a relaxer. And I must say, when I had relaxed hair, it probably took 5 years for my hair to grow to where it is now..

@ktoliver: I've been looking for a natural stylist in the san francisco area, I haven't been able to find one, I googled a couple online but they had really mixed reviews and then I got too scared to go lol.

@Veela: I think that's what's been happening to me too, I've been transitioning for almost a year, and I barely have any length, maybe I really just need to cut it off. I've seen so many pictures of ppl who have natural hair that has grown so fast, that I'm beginning to think maybe if I let go of the straight hair, I will see some length too.

I'm transitioning and my goal is not to use heat on my hair. (I hate straightening my hair anyway) BUT, the cool thing about natural hair is that you can rock it curly or straight. Hang in there.

Yea you should stick with it. If you don't wanna cut your hair yet, you could always transition for awhile before you BC. One of my FAVORITE transitioners is Chime. She transitioned for 2 years but her hair was always on point and now, she is one of the most beautiful naturals i have EVER seen.

Here is her fotki http://members.fotki.com/lifesacatwalk/about/

Thank you very much for the link. She has such beautiful hair

I agree with the others. The best thing about natural hair is the versatility. This isn't my first time going natural. I went natural a few years ago, but just straightened. Although you may suffer some heat damage, this is still an option if you so choose. Furthermore, I agree that your hair does grow much faster without the relaxed ends weighing it down. And like the others said, you could do your BC and continue transitioning with some natural styles like curly weaves or kinky twists. Be strong, don't turn back now.

Are you crazy...why would anybody miss straight hair!!! I hated the maintenance...curling, flat iron, touch up, BURNING, going to the hairdresser every 4-6 weeks. AHHHH! I feel sorry for those still addicted to the LYE. Yeah people look at my fam funny(mom, sis and aunt are natural too) but healthy hair is what's important. I love it when people come to me and give compliments and ask for tips with their hair or children's/spouses. I must say I don't EVER want to see straight hair on this head again...

i get moments where i want different hair 2. i get tired of the tangles or i will see a really cute straight style that i wanna try... but when it all comes down to it, i wouldnt trade my curls 4 anything... they make me unique and i love how low maintenance my hair is... i can just wash it, condition it and go... its a beautiful thing... it is hard going from perms to natural but the payoff is so worth it...

Yes I can relate. I got to the point after over a year of not using heat on my hair, I wanted to see my hair straight. I got really curious as to how long it had gotten and how it would look. So I went and got my hair flat ironed. It was cute, but after about the first day or two I missed my natural hair immensely! Anytime I would see a natural haired lady in public I would get so jealous! I also got tired of being worried about the rain, scared of sweating, and even staying in the shower too long for fear of frizz.

After about 1 and 1/2 weeks of this hair, I washed it out and was so happy to get my naps, kinks, and curls back. I backslid for a moment, but I'm back and happier than ever to be totally natural.

Not to say that down the road, maybe a year or so, that I won't want to wear my hair straight again. Human nature I guess..

Yeah veela I totally get u on that. I recently had my hair in pixie braids with weave 2 try and grow it out and when I took them down (btw I will NEVER get braids again cuz it was absolute h e double hockey sticks 2 take down) I immediately wanted 2 get my hair flat ironed. My beautician friend did it and I was pleased by the new length and the staright look... But after a couple days I was done! I wanted my curls back... It was a mess... It was pretty much ruined by the st. Louis humidity n about one day. I tried 2 re-curl it but it just wasn't as easy or n my opinion attractive as au naturale. I did get a better response from the guys with the straight do. But I think that might b becuz everyone was so used 2 the braids and before that the curls. Anyhoo... The curls r back and here 2 stay!

kinksncurls wrote:Thanks everyone for the support. I'm going to hang in there. I feel like I've come too far to turn back now. I'm hoping I can find someone to just help me do the big chop so that I can get it over with. Once I do I'll post pictures. Its just the in-between time that's so hard for me, because I've always had really long hair. For now I'm going to take everyone's advice and focus on growing healthy hair. I do think I need a break from braids, and that its time to try new styles.

Hello, I think we all may experience this from one time to another..I get really bored with my hair very easy therefore I wear a new hair style from week to week! You are so rite you may just need a break from you braids to give youself a new look....that's the fun part about natural hair to me that I have the option to change freely [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ! Don't give up...Nothing in life that is worth having is easy!

I'm glad so many people have given you great advice! I could not have said it better. I think that transitioning is the hardest stage out of any. Straight hair is pretty easy if all you do is bun it but natural hair can be JUST AS EASY, if not more so!!!! Dealing with the 2 textures is what was difficult for me personally but having straight hair was a job that I wanted to quit. lol I was tired of taking so much effort for my hair to look decent.

However, you are entitled to your own opinion and if you miss your straight hair then you miss your straight hair! I would encourage you to keep on with your natural journey because I think you will find that you love your hair a lot

I don't think that people should be harassed for something so trivial as a hairstyle so if you want to style your hair straight, do it in a healthy way is all. You rock your style however you please just be happy with who you are!

Like a lot of the other women who posted, I don't miss my straight hair at all!! I don't miss the length or the work it took to keep it straight or the monotony of the styling options. I LOVE shrinkage! I love big hair, I love texture, I love curls, I love napps, I love kinks, I love natural hair!!! Just remember that you started transitioning for healthy hair and do this for you and nobody else!

kinksncurls, remember that if you want your hair straight...you can always fake it! (Purchase you a wig girl...don't be afraid to switch it up! lol) The Bali girl wig is fierce plus...no damage to your curlies...good luck lady.