To straighten or not to straighten

SimplyAlex wrote: Break some stereotypes.

I also agree! I'm black and a quarter Indian and I could tell you the lyrics to any Jill Scott, Green Day, or Santana song in a heartbeat! Whatever you do, make sure you're doing it for you!!

Red, i'm half black/half white and it's funny that you mention it because I joke that I am an albino black girl because my mom (who is full white) is darker than me...go figure. And yes, I inherited the 4B hair and strangely enough (our similiarities are almost frightening) I'm into every music type, but I'm generally classified as punk/rock although my current job has made me more "conservative". What is your hair type? I agree with honeydoo that maybe try straightening it first with a flatiron to see if that's what floats your boat before you commit to a relaxer. I personally don't have the tolerance or the patience to deal with my hair without a relaxer and have found that to be the best route for me, but I would experiment first before taking the plunge. I had my hair in braids for a long time (pink, blue, purple, black, every color, you name it). That maybe another option worth considering that would tackle both concerns, at least in the interim until you decide what you want to do. Finally, screw the ignorant folks that can't accept the fact that you are different. I dealt with the same (bleep) in high school which was definitely hard on the morale but looking back in retrospect, they were idiots and if you had seen their hair..... well, let's just say that they had never been on a hair forum in their life. Good luck!!!

I'm one-quarter african american, but i've seemed to have inherited the hair type. The conflict is that i'm very light-skinned, and really into the rock scene. I get made fun of ALL the time about my hair..."albino black person", "got a perm", etc., and i'm finding it hard to be taken seriously in the music industry with my current hair style. I've been thinking about getting it chemically straightened for a while, but i'm afraid of how its going to turn out. It's not quite as thick or curly as full african-american hair, so i need some advice on what i should do. Thanks.