Bye, Bye Relaxer? We'll see...

So, I am totally contemplating growing out my relaxed hair and getting back to my natural state of hair, or as close as I can get to it. I'm just tired of my hair being overprocessed by chemicals and breaking off. I've been getting relaxers for the past 20 years, every 6 to 8 weeks. I am tired of the chemical burns in my scalp and not being able to scratch my head, the way my hair looks when relaxer time is approaching, the way my hair grows like crazy only to break off terribly at the ends, etc. The only reason my mom gave me a relaxer (when I was about 7) was because my hair is extremely thick, it was way longer then, and it was hard for her to manage. Rubber bands, combs of the teeth and barrettes would literally break because my hair is so thick. My hair was really long up until I left for college at 18. With all the relaxer treatments (can I really call them treatments?) it had received over the years in addition to me getting highlights it just said enough was enough. It's still really thick and I do my best to take care of it but I am ready for a change. I do thank God for my thick hair. So lately I've been gathering all the research I can about transitioning from relaxed to natural. We'll see how this goes...

My goal is to have natural, healthy hair like this:


(picture of singer Corrine Bailey Rae)