As weird as this may sound, to many of us who are not familiar with terms related to hair treatment, relaxing your hair does not mean giving it a good time or massaging it.
What is Hair relaxing?
Hair relaxation is a chemical treatment given to your hair to relax it from its curls. Thus, a method of straightening one’s hair.
Many people today have adopted this practice for a while now, because of their love for straight hair. However, you should know that hair relaxing, is in fact, not very healthy for your hair and your scalp. Recently, people have been discovering the negative effects of hair relaxing and have been wanting to stop this practice.
However, putting an end to hair relaxing is not as easy as it may sound. This article gives you a glimpse of what happens if you stop relaxing your hair.
Here is what happens if you stop relaxing your hair –
1. It will still stay the same for a while:
Firstly, your hair will not turn back into your natural hair in an instant, it may take weeks or even months for it to get back to its natural texture. It is beneath the relaxed hair that your natural hair lies and that will take time for it to grow.
2. A healthier scalp:
You may start noticing a healthier scalp. Relaxing entails putting a number of chemicals on your head which is why you may often feel a burning sensation when you use relaxers. Although you may not see an improvement in the short term, you will definitely start seeing a healthier scalp down the line.
3. A realization of the quality of your hair:
You may start to notice that your hair will be drier and thinner when you stop relaxing it. This may be an effect of the chemicals used during relaxation and thus, you will be required to moisturize it daily.
4. Stronger and healthier hair:
Nevertheless, in a few months, you will start seeing your hair become stronger and healthier. It may not break as often and you may even start having lesser hair fall.
5. Less expenditure:
You are going to start seeing an increase in money in your account. This is because relaxing your hair requires a lot of products and visits to hair salons, which may be expensive. When you stop relaxing your hair, you will no longer have to spend a lot of money on hair products and can use them elsewhere.
Is it time to stop doing it?
As you now understand what happens when you stop relaxing your hair, let’s discuss when you should no longer relax your hair.
When you keep relaxing your hair, you may damage the follicles permanently, which means your hair won’t grow back.
Relaxing your hair for years can damage hair follicles. The result is permanent hair loss.
You should stop relaxing your hair when:
- There is itching and sensitivity in your scalp.
- There is a possibility that your hair is falling out.
- You often color your hair permanently.
- Your hair type does not require a relaxer.
- You can wear protective hair styles all year round.
- There is excessive breakage, limp, and brittle hair on your head.
Conclusion
If you are someone relaxing your hair because you feel insecure about your curls, let me tell you that curls are beautiful and you must embrace this natural gift of yours. However, if you are someone who is relaxing your hair because you love straight hair, do keep the above-mentioned points at the back of your mind and ensure you are doing whatever you can to keep your hair healthy.
Unsure about stopping hair relaxing? Here is an article that may give you a first-hand experience of hair relaxing that may motivate you to take the decision.
