Contrary to common belief, most women don’t fall out of touch with their blackness or have issues with self-identity when they choose to relax. This does not include little girls who grow up relaxed (i.e. myself at 3 yrs.) since it unfortunately becomes part of their self confidence and identity. They do it because they believe it is easier to manage, which is the problem. It wouldn’t be hard to manage if there didn’t exist the pressure to style it in ways not fit for kinky textures (the ‘versatility’ people speak of). The happy medium is a texturizer for most so that they can maintain even ‘more’ versatility, but having to vacilate between straight styles, the right amount of curliness, fear of over processing, and caring for damaged tresses is the breaking point for most. They either completely straigten or go back to natural.

Many people with non-afro textured hair don’t understand what exactly it means for someone with kinky hair to chemically straighten. It is not simply a “style choice”, as Holly Rose alluded to, it’s an exhausting lifestyle and to what end?

Keeping the hair in it’s natural state is something that can be done long-term, without fear of damage, fighting your texture (women who relax ‘touch up’ their kinky edges and roots frequently)and without exhaustion once you find the right regimen and let go of the idea of versatility according to non-afro textured standards.