Pros and Cons of Relaxed Hair

Chloe Vaughn

Pros

Easier Wash Days

I was able to complete my wash days quicker with relaxers. The process could take me about 2 hours. I did not have to section my hair to wash or to do anything else for that matter. Drying was quicker, air-dried or blow-dried. Straightening was easier since my texture was relaxed. It was a breeze looking back at it. I don’t know why I complained.

Maintaining Straight Hair is Easier

Along with easier wash days, my hair was for the most part done for two weeks. I didn’t have to fuss with it if I didn’t want to for TWO WHOLE WEEKS. I just needed to wrap it and moisturize. I used the occasionally dry shampoo when needed but I was living a life of hair leisure.

Styles Are Easier To Do

My styles were easier to do because texture and overly thick hair was not an issue. I was able to easily put my hair in a top knot, sleek or messy and go. Now is it just me or even when us naturals choose a messy bun, we still have to work for the right amount of messiness? That “I woke up like this” bun is way more than just waking up!

Detangling is a Breeze

I just didn’t have detangling issues. Period.

No Shrinkage

I didn’t even know what shrinkage was before I transitioned to natural! My length was my length and nothing could change that. Now, I have met “shrinkage” and he is kind of a jerk. My hair is literally half the length every time he pays me a visit. What a life.

Cons

Breakage Was Easier

Now, this is just for me personally. Some people take great care of their relaxed hair and have no breakage. I wouldn’t say I had excessive breakage but I would see little hairs in my sink when I would wrap my hair a centimeter here and few centimeters there. Hey, that adds up! I had decent length but my hair never grew past bra strap length.

Terrified of Rain and Snow

Unexpected rain was THE WORST. Here you are trying to lower the amount of heat you use so that you can have healthier locks and then here comes the rain. It can literally ruin your life… err I meant hairstyle. Being caught in it without an umbrella just feels like you weren’t quite prepared for life that day.

Gym Struggle

Like the weather, the gym was a big deal too. This is sad, right? Do I want my hair to last or do I want to get it in at the gym? Being able to go to the gym whenever without hair consequences is beautiful. I seriously don’t miss this.

Less versatile

Though styles were easier to accomplish, there weren’t as many as I have now. I found myself straightening my hair, wearing it straight for about a week, curling it once it was dirty and then bunning it the day before wash day. Then lather, rinse, repeat.

Thinner hair

Though my hair was thick. It was starting to thin. This was due to the heat and the relaxer together. I will admit that I didn’t know all the things I know now, which could have save my strands, but the relaxer did play a role.

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Manifest Monday! | August 29th, 2016

Sunnies

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” – Maori Proverb

I like this quote because I know that (at least for myself) it is easy to focus on everything that goes wrong and run with it. This quote reminds me to focus on what is good in my life and everything that I have been blessed with. Instead of looking towards the darkness, face the sunny part of your life and allow it to warm your heart… just don’t forget to wear your sunnies!

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Happy National Dog Day!

Yuki
Yuki (the great)

This is Yuki. I am his human and he’s kind of like my child since I don’t have a child yet. I say yet because I am well into my twenties I have consciously avoided having kids until I feel ready personally. I feel like this is a perfectly normal thing to do. Despite my thoughts, I tend to get a lot of questions about why I don’t have kids yet. My answer is that I’m trying to get my life together! Trying to do that with a small dog has already given me a run for my money. I’m working on it but in the meantime, he is my pride and joy and I love him very much. He’s the sweetest dogchild a girl could ask for! Happy national dog day everyone!

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Manifest Monday! | August 22nd, 2016

Chloe Vaughn - Love yourself

“If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?” – Unknown

I picked this powerful quote to be my first Inspiration Monday quote for more than one reason. The first is because I truly believe that there is power in the things that we say. The more beautiful words we speak the more beautiful outcomes manifest in the world. The other reason, and perhaps the most important, is to set a tone of what I want this community to look like. Whether I only have a few readers or not, I want this to be a place where people can come and not only get some helpful information but to communicate with me and others in a positive way. I hope that we can share information and experiences with each other without the worries of being verbally assaulted for differences of all sorts. So remember this quote throughout your week but also carry it with you forever. Be as beautiful as you can through the words you speak and type and think.

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Cherub | Story Time

Gym Time

It happens to the best of us right. The daunting realization that you’ve put on a few pounds, or in my case quite a few. Well, I’ve seen the light… Well actually, it was my grandmother that saw the light. My grandmother is 72 years young and if you know anything about the older generation, you know that they tell it like it is. After all the years that they have put in on this earth exceeding their contribution to society, they say what they want with no apologies.

“Hm, looks like it’s time for us to put you on a treadmill”. Yep, absolutely no apologies.

Except one that came from me, “I’m sorry?” Not that I was actually sorry but more so I was looking for clarification. Had my sweet nana really just shade me to the point of a severely over casted sky? Yes. Yes, she had.

At first, like I usually take shade-like commentary, I called my sister and gave a monumental vent/rant (we can start calling this a vant to keep it short) and then proceeded to take it with a grain of salt. But like I said that was just a first. Then I started to realize that my clothes were in fact tighter and that I was sucking my no longer toned tummy in a lot more and that maybe a treadmill would in fact be conducive to my life. But let’s face it, I was busy so I took it as seriously as I could in that moment. Turns out, I was only serious enough to make it into the gym every once in a while and eat well throughout the week for the most part and then binge on the weekends. It wasn’t a lot but it was more than before and that gave me enough comfort to kind of not make any progress.

It wasn’t until my dad called me his little cherub that things started to change. The definition of a cherub is this: a winged angelic being described in biblical tradition as attending on God (Google). Aw shucks, cute right? Daddy’s little angel. False! The image of a cherub (I’m roughly quoting Google here) is depicted as a chubby, healthy-looking child with wings. So correction, I was Daddy’s CHUBBY little angel. As you can see, I blamed my nana’s age but clearly my whole family is great at shading, even if it is coated in an angelic compliment.

I guess I’m just someone who needs clarification because as I sat in the shadiest part of my mind lost my thoughts under this imaginary tree with a plethora of branches covered in leaves so thick that I could not see the sun, again my response was, “I’m sorry?”. Only I wasn’t sorry, I was chubby. However, I did get more clarification from my dad, which was different than my previous interaction with my nana. He told me that he loved me and that I was beautiful but that I had gained weight.

So again, (I am who I am) I called my sister to vant! Went through all points of the conversation and she was very supportive just like before but something had changed. I believed him. I believed my dad when he said he loved me. And I believed him when he said that I was beautiful. And despite my despair, I believed him when he said I was chubby. Then I thought back to my nana, and even though I still believe that “mature” people say what they want even if it’s rude, I also believe that she loves me too and only said what she had out of love. It was shady love but love none the less.

One thing that my dad did mention that stayed with me, is that if I was okay with the weight than he was too. That’s was really made all the difference. This is because it actually challenged me to really think about it. Was I okay with the weight?

The answer was clear and immediate. No. No, I’m not okay with the weight. Not just because I looked chunky. The truth of that matter is that I hold my weight pretty well. I am bottom heavy so most of my weight is in my lower half. Which is why it crept up on me like a thief in the night trying to steal my joy. I had changed more than just my size physically and that’s what I want to change. I was ALWAYS tired. I was ALWAYS thinking about my weight. I was ALWAYS sitting. ALWAYS. It had to change.

You might be wondering what my next step was? My next step was to start doing better. Eating better. Training better. Sleeping better. Thinking better. Not just to lose the weight but because I want to be a better me.

So, this particular portion of my blog will be dedicated to health. Full of encouragement to love yourself no matter what that devilish scale tells you. I hope it can build a community where people can share tips and tricks and support each other. I, of course, will be posting here about what I learn, my progress and anything that I think can be helpful. Now, let’s get healthy peeps!

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