The Evolution Of Black Hair As It Relates To Relaxers

I think I should start off by saying, there is so much trauma rooted in relaxers and until black women can realize the growth of the community as a whole, people won’t be able to see it any different.

Relaxing 10 years ago looks much different than relaxing now. And in my opinion that change wouldn’t be possible without the evolution of black hair over the years. The appreciation of my natural hair makes it easier to stretch my relaxer which in turn allows me to relax 2-3 times a year. This is far less than I use to relax and just that change alone, has made my hair Journey much more pleasurable.

We now have a plethora of black hair products to choose from which caters to the needs of black hair in which we didn’t have before. 

The process in which I relax now gives me the freedom to apply the relaxer in a more efficient amount of time which prevents relaxer burns. I’ve been able to cut my total processing time down to 15 minutes in total. I love the texture left in my hair and the results are perfect every-time.

Salons back in the day had a goal of getting the hair straight. My personal goal now is to leave a kinky straight texture so that it’s easy for me to transition from straight styles to textured styles. 

No one gives black women enough credit. Going natural or relaxing is a choice. I’ve taken my hair Journey into my own hands and I’ve made it look how I want and that’s powerful. Black women are being more open with stylist on how they want their hair to look and we now have the products and knowledge to get our desired look no matter what.

So no, we aren’t stuck in the time zone 10-15 years ago still doing the same bad habits that were done back then. Just like a-lot of things in this world, the relaxer process has evolved. The process has changed, there’s more education, and the girls no longer conform to old relaxer standards.

If you like this discourse and want to dive a bit deeper, I’ll link the corresponding video below!

I hope you’ve enjoyed, until next time!

-Do what you love, love what you do.