AnaAtilano

Hello, curly girls (and dudes)

My name is Ana and right now I feel so bad. I had beautiful type 2 curls/waves, but on a sudden attack of insanity I relaxed my hair and chopped it all off. This happened in march (the relaxer) and may (the cut). I usually dont regret anything I do in my life, but this time I must confess I did everything wrong.

I attend the Aveda Institute and I gave up on the "short and straight" hair rule that the fashion world is trying to impose on everybody. But now I feel HORRIBLE. I don't mind the short hair. I love the haircut and I needed a change, but the relaxer ruined my life.

Now I need to blow dry and iron my hair every time I shampoo it, because if I dont, it doesnt sit right. It looks like broom hairs, stick straight, but damaged and everywhere. I can't leave the house if I dont iron it, specially because attending beauty school its required that we look decent every day. When I iron it looks really cute and I receive lots of compliments, but there's no way I can let it airdry.

I already have 2 and a half inches of miraculous new growth and I get the relaxed part trimmed every month. I think by the end of the year it will be all gone and I'll be able to stop ironing it and start showing the world my curls once again. I hope my hair will survive until then.

I'm sorry I'm complaining so much, but this website has brought me back to reality and I always find comfort when I read stories about you girls that are going through the same crap I am right now.

Thank you for reading!

Love and lots and lots of bouncy curls for you all!

Ana Atilano

OnyxCabelo

Hi Ana!! Welcome. I'm sorry you're going through this. I just did my BC on July 21st, my last relaxer/tex was on March 12th. I had only a couple inches left on my head after my BC. I can't offer tons of advice because I'm still very new to this whole "natural" thing, but I can tell you that the reason I decided to just go for the BC was because I suffered a great deal of damage from my relaxer and I felt that rather than risking damage to my NG it would just be better to let go of those relaxed ends and start pampering my natural hair. Here's my transformation, LOL http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlta...9&d=1216095120 . I'm not suggesting that you get the BC, because only you know when you are ready to take that step, but I can tell you that straightening your hair so often can really take it's toll on your hair. You may find that even after all of your relaxed ends are gone that you are still struggling to find your "true" hair because of heat damage.

I have found that even with 3c, uber thick, wiry hair I can still make my hair very neat and professional looking with the right products. I say this because you mentioned that in school you have to look "decent". Since you have type 2 curls and waves it should be fairly very easy to tame your natural hair and rock a cute short 'do. Now, again - I am not suggesting that you chop off your hair, I'm just suggesting that you consider the damage you may be doing to your hair trying to straighten it so often. It just may be well worth your time to consider a cute little cut, which will allow you to pamper your natural curls rather than trying to straighten them into submission. Just a thought.

Anyway, once again welcome, and I'm sure you'll find a lot of great information to help you with your journey, regardless of what you decide to do.

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Currently:Alaffia Shea & Coconut Enriching Shampoo, Alaffia Virgin Coconut & Shea Enriching Hair Lotion, Qhemet Amla Olive Heavy Cream, Qhemet Honeybush Tea Gel.

Last Texturizer: March 12, 2008
BC: July 21, 2008
Hair: Coarse, low porosity, iii.

Certified Denirophile

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome". ~ Albert Einstein