I was having a nice chat with a friend of mine and I complimented her on how healthy her hair looked, plus I noticed it had grown longer since the last time I had seen her. I just had to know what had she done to get such noticeable results.
She told me that her hair had been breaking off around the edges and at the nape of her neck, or what some people like to refer to as “the kitchen”. She was at her wits end not knowing why her hair continued to shed and break off. All different kinds of shampoos and conditioners had been tried but to no avail.
Finally, one day her two nieces came to her and said they had done some research regarding her hair issues and discovered that her problems were most likely caused by her relaxer. My friend had had a relaxer in her hair for at least a couple of decades so the idea of giving it up seemed catastrophic. She had no idea how she would function without it, but she bravely decided to let go of the relaxer.
The “big chop” was not an option for her as she couldn’t visualize herself with ½ an inch of hair or less on her scalp; so she decided to let the relaxer grow out naturally. It was a difficult transition because as the relaxer grew out her own natural hair texture began to emerge and was at odds with the hair that still bore the remnants of the chemicals of the relaxer. As a result she had lots of tangles and knots in her hair after every shampoo. They had to be carefully combed out before she could even think about blow drying her hair.
At her wits ends she finally found a shampoo and conditioner that not only helped to reduce the tangles and knots but also provided moisturizer for her hair and scalp. Once she started using Crème of Nature Sulfate-Free Moisture & Shine Shampoo with Argan Oil and Crème of Nature Intensive Conditioning Treatment with Argan Oil the transition from the relaxer became much easier.
It’s been about four years since she had her last relaxer and she couldn’t be happier. The hair around her edges and the nape of her neck grew back, the breakage and unending split ends went away and her hair became healthier and stronger overall.
To her surprise she learned that her natural hair texture wasn’t kinky but curly. Instead of a relaxer she now blow dries and flat irons her hair every two weeks after shampooing and conditioning it. She wants her hair to grow a little longer and then she plans to stop straightening it and just wear her hair in her natural curly state. Wearing it natural should take less time for upkeep and maintenance.
My friend couldn’t be happier that she let go of her relaxer. The journey wasn’t easy but she survived it and is thrilled that she made the change, so if any of you are thinking about letting go of your relaxer, I say go for it! Odds are you will be glad you did and you will discover what your real hair texture should be.
