Why did you get your 1st relaxer??

I know this is a right of passage (not about self hatred) for many young girls. However, I am curious as to why some of us received our first relaxers.

For me, my mother is half white, her curls hung low, and blew in the wind. I hated my hair in plats all the time. I hated the "styling sessions" that my mother ignorantly performed on my fragile hair, burning the backs of my ears with the hot comb while I could heard grease cracking. My father did a slightly better job, however being half Indian, and a man, knew little of working through my kinks. My father was however much more gentle in running a comb through my hair. After their divorce I ended up living with my mother, in a predominately white upper middle class area in northern California. I WANTED LOOSE CURLS. I was sick of the hot comb! My mother took me to a salon where a white woman put a relaxer in my hair, I was eight years old. After the relaxer was washed out, my kinks where still "too tight." I was immediately put back into the chair and received a 2nd relaxer that SAME EVENING. For the next year I hair broke off all around me. And for the next 10 years my mother would relax my hair every year before school started, and not again until the next school year. Needless to say, transitioned OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Oh how I wished I knew then what I know now!!!

OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT 2 RELAXERS IN ONE DAY!!! wheww girl! I don't know why my mom relaxed my hair?? I remember getting my first one in Kindergarten.. something else I remember..My aunt would relax my hair and bring the relaxer to the ends, talk about over processing. UGHH killing my hair right? What you don't know CAN hurt you!

I lived in a predominantely african american neighborhhood but my school was predominantely caucasian and everything else besides kids that looked like me. I used to always ask my mom why I couldnt wear my hair out bc my white friends would ask me why I always wore braids at school. And everyone knows that wearing the hair out was a big no no.

So i begged my mom for a relaxer for months. She was tired of doing my hair and i was sick of crying lol I was very tender-headed. Anyway so I had my first kiddie relaxer at 13 and touched up every 6months. When I turned 18 I switched stylists and he recommended that I touch up every 8-10 weeks using the very harsh designers touch relaxer. I took his advice until I became enlightened lol

I got my first perm because my mom put it in my hair at a certain age. I think like 9 years old or something i forgot. I didnt ask her it felt like it was just tradition for the girl to get perms at a certain or something. Now my mom says she wish she never put perms in our hair lol

I received my first relaxer when I was 11 years old. I begged and begged my mom for a whole year. I told her I was tired of her doing "baby" styles on me, such as 2 and 4 ponytails, and I wanted to do my hair myself. I had no idea what I was doing and totally trashed my hair. My hair got shorter, and I kept on begging, so I got a relaxer for my 5th grade graduation. In middle school (6th grade-8th grade) I started experimenting with curling irons, blowdryers, and in high school permanent color. It's no wonder I kept any hair. lol.

I was a senior in high school and it was time to take our pictures. Well I spent alot of time getting my hair just right. I pressed it with a straightening comb and then curled it. It looked nice but I had to walk to the bus stop and it was humid as heck! Well imy hair poofed up like crazy and I had to take my picture like that!I was so mad because it took alot of time to do my hair!That is when I decided to get a relaxer. I was 18 yrs old and I had a relaxer until I was 44!

My mom asked if i want a relaxer and i said yeah...lol....short and simple

I had no choice my mom started relaxing my hair when I was 4 or 5

it was 9th grade year & even if i got the same style as the other girls it didnt look right to me because i did not have a relaxer..i think it was more so to fit in..i wanted straight hair& a wrap not the wavy stuff that was on my head..lol now i think back like wow i was crazy my hair was beautiful wavy heaven lol

I begged for a relaxer and my Mama finally let my aunt put one in my head when I was about 12. Burned my scalp and made me cry....but hey, my hair was straight.

i was 3 years old maybe 4, so i didnt have a choice. when i was that age my aunt who lived with us at that time always did my hair and she begged my mom to put a relaxer in my hair to help make it more manageable and my mom agreed and my aunt did it. from than all the way up untill a year ago i was relaxed.

I was going with my aunts to a grown-up party and they suggested that I would look much better (meaning more presentable) if my hair was relaxed. Anyway it was not the 1st time I had heard that advice. At that time of my life, I would often hear comments like: "how beautiful that thick hair would look relaxed"..LOL (And this was Africa!). I was 18 years old. Until then I had manage to grow a TWA which I got at 10 years old.
My mum had always said that later on I would regret it. She had hers relaxed and would always tell me how nice (not good but nice) my hair was and that relaxers would harm it. In fact, she was right. And now, 20 years later we are both walking on the same path : She is, as well going "natural". We had started the process several times both, but this time we will reach the end, whatever this might be. I intend to tell her about all the tips I am learning everyday at this Curlynikki blog.
Hola Pana, muy graciosa tu expresión: "reparto embalado". Aquí en España diríamos mi pelo y yo vamos en el mismo "pack" LOL (como en inglés)
Saludos a todas

I wanted a Jheri Curl and my mama got me a relaxer instead But seriously, my mom has naturally wavy hair and I thought she had a curl so I told her that I wanted a curl too, and she was like "okay" and she got me a relaxer....

My mom is white, my dad is black....my poofy big kinky curls were NOT something I wanted when all the others girls had straight styles (white = straight and black = pressed hair) so I begged and pleaded to get SOMETHING done to my hair, anything, I was willing to get it pressed by an aunt if that's what it took, but my mom found some white lady at JCPenney salon to put in a White persons relaxer, needless to say, after I came home and got it wet the curls were BACK ...LOL...so at about 14 before I started high school she let me get it done at a black salon and that was the death of my curls. After high school I always wanted my natural curls back, but never had any support, or the knowledge of where & how to get them back.
But I'm on my way back now!!!

Got my first relaxer at age 13. I was "tender headed" back then. I would go for months refusing to let anyone comb my hair, so it would get matted. My mom came home one day and slapped 2 boxes of gentle treatment in my hair and that was it.......23 long years of killing of my tresses.

I got my first relaxer in the 8th grade because my sis & I kept bugging my mom that everyone else had one so why couldnt we get one At this time we were doing our own hair by then so I guess we didnt want her to do it for us anymore This was well before everyone was doing it to look cute or having issues like they are now(the early 80's)
I kept a relaxer til I went natural in the early 90's I just kept it short for about a year then I went back to my relaxer because I got bored with it During that time there wasnt as much info as it is now so I really didnt know what to do with it Then I went back to my natural state 7 mths ago because of hair damage Im loving it

My mom started perming my hair around age 9 or 10 I think. I had hip length hair (in its curly state) and she just got tired of the endless hours of dealing with it I guess. Plus I was tender headed. So she slapped a perm in it to make her life easier. Now here I am at 23, natural and on my journey to growing that long healthy hair back. I'm SO excited!

I don't really remember exactly when it was or how it happened, but I think I wanted it and was really happy about it once it was done. I was probably 12ish? I hated the hot comb, it scared me and made me jump which drove my mother crazy, so thought the relaxer was a much better alternative.

i got a relaxer at 13 i wanted it i begged for it because i wanted to start doing my hair and i hated those plats and crazy ponytails but back than they weren't so many options for styling and i didn't know how to properly care for my natural hair 13 years later im transitioning and i plan on never relax again for my self and my daughters to come

My boyfriend and my BFF broke me down. I waited until i turned 27 to relax my already damaged hair (from being a weave queen for many many years!). It was flat and lifeless and boring and wack and I hated it. So i cut it, Halle Berry cut that made me broke every two weeks. Nevertheless, Today, IM FREE!!!!!!!!!!!! and loving it!

(free from that man too- hallelujah)

re-introducing myself to myself.

I'm honestly not sure. I would assume that my mother thought it would make my hair easier to manage.

My mom did not want me to get a relaxer but I bugged her until she gave in because I wanted straight hair like the rest of the girls and had no appreciation for my curly hair at the time.

I don't remember exactly at what age but I know it was before I turned 10 yrs old. I had no choice it was the norm. I was surrounded by women with relaxers.

I was in the 6th grade and a pop warner cheerleader. I hated the styles my mom did in my hair when she braided it. So right after the season was over I went to the salon and got a relaxer. It was my choice. Of course when you are that young you don't know how to take care of your hair. it feels like a right of passage to get your hair permed. So from about 11 to 25 I got my hair relaxed about every 2 months.

My mom went natural 7 years ago and got locs about 5 years ago. So I have been thinking about it for a long time. FInally I just said cut it off. I am loving it.

I was about 4 when I first got a relaxer . I hated when my mom put that clear gel around my edges; it burned so bad and she had to keep telling me "Don't touch it!". But, the only part of the process that I liked was after she rinsed, listening to the "Just for me" cassette that came in the box