Sunday 14 October 2012

Age that we relax our hair,our daughters' hair?

Poll on the left!
Having read a lot of blogs from people who have decided to go natural, I realised that my experiences on relaxing hair are totally different.
I made the decision to grow and relax my hair when I was at university.I clearly remember the day I asked my dad to take me to the barbers when I was 6 as I was tired of having my (natural) hair combed. (And the ensuing drama with my mum, Ha!) I had short hair throughout my high school years as I could not be bothered with hair. Given my previous aversion to spending lots of time on my hair, the decision to relax it came naturally. (No pun intended) It just took less time to deal with.
Was it a decision that I agonised about and researched heavily? No.
Should it have been? Yes. 
Do I regret relaxing my hair? Not for a minute.
Will I ever go natural? If there are ever any conclusive findings that hair relaxer when used right is a danger to me, then yes I will think about it.
And yes, I have read Dr Wise's findings and also the fact that she has said there is a suggested link which is in no way the same as a discovered fact. And I am aware that this link supports going natural but it also quite honestly tells the story.
http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/02/hair-relaxers-and-fibroids.html
 What stood out for me in this were 3 things:

  • Age of first use
  • Frequency of use
  • How it is used. Length of time it is left on hair, instructions followed etc.

Of all these things, we really only have control over the last 2.
I decide when to relax my hair and that is usually 3 or 4 times a year.
I ensure that the hair stylist follows all the instructions on the pack, and have never had chemical burn.
What a lot of ladies/girls cannot control though is when they first relax their hair. I personally think it should be at an age when they can make a mature decision which includes reading the research and making an informed decision. What do you think?
Please answer our little poll, top left.

1 comment:

  1. The results of this poll were that majority thought 16 was an appropriate age for girls to make the decision themselves.

    ReplyDelete