Well,ladies i just really have this question on my mind.we have been talking about getting our hair permed,pressed or just stay natural?my mom used to just perm my hair when i was younger.she just permed,washed it,dried it(rollers),smashed some natural things in it like blue magic or something like that and gave me a cute curly hairstyle.and yes,it grew nicely.but when i was a little older i decided to do my hair by myself.i wanted straight hair(like the stars on tv)and ppl told me that pressing my hair would be one of the best solution.so i tried it....horrible!!it was freaking hot,i burned my ears and i was just sooooo fed up with it!! lol!my hair got short and i was dying. i had a hair cut then and wanted to let it grow out once again.i could not deal with the frizzy,hard-to-comb hair,just did not know what to do.so i permed it,had roller-set my hair,wrapped it and had some kind of nice flow in it which last for like a week or two.now ppl are teling me that getting my hair permed is bad and wearing braids is bad,too.i wish i could just leave it natural and long without letting it look f***ed up like some crazy freak.but it is not easy for me to achieve this without anything that can get it straight so i can at least comb it or something... So please...i am begging for help.if you know how to achieve a long natural easy-to-deal-with hair then help me out!!!!! thanxxxx alot!!!!!

sorry i might have done some kind of mistake.did not want my message to appear 4 times. ssssooorrrrrrrrryyyy!!!!! lol

Have you considered wearing a short crop afro.
I wear my hair natural and short and love it!

WEll first of all..lol..who told u to press ur hair urself? lol...lol..GO TO A PROFESSIONAL... if u had been pressing ur hair at a salon you may have found it was the best thing for you. You know when someone is giving u a good press bc u leave the salon smelling like oil sheen. not burnt hair..and the thing with A press is... ur hair eventually becomes trained to the iron and will not revert as easily...All the stuff uve been doing to your hair is causing stress. I would first go to a good salon and have them assess the situation. If relaxing ur hair is working for you..go for it...not everyone's lifestyle can handle natural or pressed hair. I currently wear my hair natural and its a pain in the ass..its curly as hell and some days its cute and other days its a frizzy mess...but i like it bc when i get sick of the curly look, i can just go to the salon get a press and have it in a cute straight style for a week or two. But thats me..i knew my hair was curly which i why i grew out my relaxer 8 year ago...a lot of people think that if they grow their hair out it will be in cute little " natural" riglets like we see on tv. Do not be fooled..so many of the tv stars with this look have weaves...texturizers..straw sets..or use curling irons to better defin the curls...As black people we have all different types of curl to our hair..from long wavy hair...to little soft springy curls..to a more coarse and less defined texture...find out what ur texture is...if u like it wear it that way...if not press it or relax it..but again GO SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.
GOOD LUCK!

#1 you don't press your own hair if you want good results

#2 you're never ever supposed to press your hair if you have relaxer in it. If you do choose to do it you can only press the new growth

thanx for the advice.lol..lol. the problem that i have with pressing is that i am a black girl living in south-west germany(border to france).we do not have too many black folks over here which means that the hairstylists over here are white and pretty much do not know how to deal with our hair.the only way for me to really get my hair regulary done by a professional is going to an american air-base(military) which is like 45 min. away by train. but thanx for your advice..... i appreciate it.!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best wishes.

Greetings,

I certainly understand your frustration--I've been there! After a series of bad perms (both professional and self-inflicted), braids (absolutely loved them but didn't know about rest periods and having them done more loosely than face-lift tight), and damaging pressing (done by professionals, BTW). My head was spinning. I found the Naturally Curly site ( http://naturallycurly.com )and learned some useful strategies from the nice folks on the forums.

Both times my hair was severely damaged by pressing (breakage that continued until Inches had been lost), I'd been going regularly (2xweek) to the same hairdressers in salons. I've decided I couldn't do any worse so I invested in an electric pressing comb with a temperature control. My brand is Gold 'n' Hot. I'm going to invest in a ceramic flat iron. That said, I rarely use heat on my hair now.

If you have the length for putting it up (doesn't need to be very long, an inch or two past a the pony holder is fine), my regimen might work for you. It's a protective hairstyle that's tidy and professional enough for any office.

I wash my hair and use Dove Intense Moisture conditioner--this stuff is great! After rinsing, I comb a very generous amount (about a palm full) of cholesterol conditioner through my hair (2-inches past shoulder-length, 4A classification). The brand I use is Proclaim. I then braid my hair in large braids and smooth on some oil or Blue Magic type hairdress (especially the ends). When it's dry, I unbraid and finger comb it back and put it in a pony holder, give it a twist, lay the hair up against my head, and put on an hair clip (here’s a pic\: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jhtml?CATID=100840&id=prod363963&skuid=sku363964&navAction=push&navCount=4
The clip holds the hair neatly along the back of my head and keeps the ends protected. It can also disguise short hair as no one can tell how long your hair is).

Best of luck to you.

Dandelion

hey dandelion,
thanks a lot for your tips.i will soon try what u always do.i sometimes use blue magic,too.but i have been thnking about using organic root stimulator.i have also been thinking about going a little more natural.it is just that i do not know how to manage it.so i will keep on getting my hair braided but at the same time i still wanna get my hair permed.may be every 6 months or so.
thanx though....

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I speak from what I know about how my hair was done when I was younger. Try a texturizer. This was you keep some of the strength in your hair and gain more manageablility. Blue magic in not natural but artificial, it clogs pores and can possibly stunt growth. I suggest natural oils.Olive oil is easily accessible. Profectiv has a good line of products. Fully relaxed hair literally breaks the bonds of our hair as any relaxer. A texterizer is a mild relaxer that does not break as many bonds. When hair is 100% natural it tend to be hard to comb through and it often breaks in the crest of the curl. texturizing losens it making it easier to comb and harder to break. When I had texterizers as a child my hair was full and long (below the armpit, I cut it there) Then I moved with someone else who relaxed my hair all the way and it began to break off until shoulder lenth. Before texturizing my natural hair it was short because my mother had no patience or knowledge of how to deal with my hair. (her hair is 1a, very staight mine is 3c, very curly)hope this helps
-Devine