You know what’s crazy? none of us have any real concept of physical self. Think about it, when we all got here (regardless of what you believe in) none of us had a book that told us how our body parts worked. Some of it came natural, we knew how to use our legs and arms, we knew we needed food and there are things we do out of instinct that does not require a book.
Over time, we have developed as human beings learning about how things work and what makes us sick versus what makes us healthy. Hair care has always been a traditional and cultural thing, my mom learned how to take care of her hair from her mother, and she took care of my hair according to what she knew.
Coupled with that, hair care is also based on what we have conceptually thought was convenient and what we also think is beautiful. After age 13, I had the relaxer I begged my mother to get because I wanted straight long hair like all my friends. This meant that I would now head to the hairdresser every week or every two weeks to get my hair done and cared for.
Still I had no concept about how my hair remained healthy, I put all my faith in the professional, she was the one that had the education, there was no need for me to learn anything or to do any sort of maintenance outside of styling.
Fast forward to the time my hairdresser and my beloved relaxer failed me and I lost my hair. I was then faced with the reality of trying to learn for myself how to take care of my hair so that I can make sure it was healthy for me.
You must admit that great things happen when you have to depend on you. You get to know your hair in ways you have never bothered to entertain in the past. You start to read science-based books and consult with professionals so that you know what to do with your hair and how to develop a routine to keep your strands healthy.
Knowledge of how relaxers can hinder your hairs potential might lead you to make the decision to allow your natural hair to grow out chemical free.
Knowledge of how to keep your hair healthy while wearing a relaxer might also give you the confidence to do your own relaxer at home without the help of a professional to preserve your strands as much as you can.
The point is, as you learn about your hair, you learn about what your healthy hair should look like, you learn the signs of stress and deterioration, and finally you learn about what healthy hair is.
All relaxed hair is damaged. No matter how nice it looks, the actual purpose of relaxer is to damage your hair so that it will be straight.