Healthy hair
is the goal.
Everything else is personal.

The natural hair movement and the diverse textures of Black hair — coils, curls, braids, and afros — are deeply rooted in Black history and cultural pride. Long before chemical relaxers existed, heat styling was the primary method for achieving sleek, straight styles. This evolution moved from heated butter knives to the traditional hot comb to modern flat irons. During the 1950s, societal pressures forced many African American women to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, making straightened hair a social expectation rather than a personal choice.

The decision to wear hair in its natural state is a powerful one. And like every hair care decision, it comes with its own set of clinical realities worth understanding.

What natural hair has going for it.

Natural hair retains its original protein bond structure — the disulfide bonds in the cortex that give hair its strength, elasticity, and ability to stretch and recover without breaking. Because those bonds are intact, virgin unprocessed hair has a structural advantage that relaxed hair does not.

Natural hair can also be worn in both its textured state and in straightened styles — and when healthy, will revert to its natural curl or coil pattern after washing. One important note: excessive heat use can permanently alter the curl pattern through a process called heat damage, and in some cases the hair may not fully revert. Protecting the natural texture means limiting direct heat.

Natural hair also eliminates the recurring cost and chemical exposure of relaxer services — which over time represents a meaningful lifestyle and financial consideration.

What natural hair requires.

Natural curl and coil patterns are prone to tangling, knotting, and single-strand knots — particularly when left in their shrunken, compacted state for extended periods. Attempting to detangle severely knotted hair almost always results in breakage. Stretching and protective styling on a consistent basis significantly reduces this risk.

Natural hair also requires more time and technique for detangling and styling than relaxed hair — and for clients who wear their natural hair in straightened styles using direct heat, the risk of heat damage is a clinical reality that must be managed with protectants and temperature control.

Hair relaxers are chemical treatments that permanently straighten tightly coiled or curly hair by breaking and reforming the natural protein bonds in the cortex. Invented in the early 20th century, the practice evolved from hazardous homemade mixtures to a billion-dollar commercial industry that shaped modern beauty culture. Relaxed hair has been a consistent part of Black hair history for over a century — and it is not going anywhere.

Choosing to relax your hair is a personal decision influenced by lifestyle, styling preference, time, and comfort. It is a legitimate choice that deserves the same care, knowledge, and product support as any other.

What relaxed hair has going for it.

Relaxed hair is significantly easier to detangle, comb, and style than tightly coiled natural hair — this is the primary reason the practice became and remains so widespread. Straightened hair requires less daily manipulation and holds styles longer.

It can withstand humid and rainy weather without reverting — a practical advantage for clients in certain climates or with demanding daily schedules. The reduction in styling time and the elimination of shrinkage are real quality-of-life benefits that matter.

What relaxed hair requires.

Because the chemical process permanently alters the hair’s protein structure, relaxed hair requires consistent and targeted maintenance to stay healthy. Protein treatments, bond-building care, moisture management, and careful application technique — specifically applying relaxer only to new growth and never overlapping onto previously processed hair — are not optional extras. They are the clinical requirements for maintaining the health of hair that has undergone a permanent structural change. The difference between thriving relaxed hair and damaged relaxed hair is almost always the consistency and appropriateness of the routine rather than the relaxer service itself.

Touch-up frequency, salon costs, and the time required for maintenance are genuine considerations. There is also a growing body of research examining potential health correlations with long-term relaxer use.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute — drawing on data from over 33,000 women in the NIH Sister Study — found an association between frequent use of chemical hair straighteners and an elevated risk of uterine cancer. The researchers noted that because Black women use these products more frequently and from earlier ages, the findings are particularly relevant to this community. This is an area of ongoing research, and anyone with concerns about their personal risk should discuss them with their healthcare provider.

Source: Chang et al. (2022). Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 114(12), 1636–1645. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djac165

Here is what the natural hair debate has gotten wrong for decades: it was never really about natural versus relaxed. It was always about healthy versus unhealthy. Managed versus neglected. Understood versus guessed at.

A natural client who heat damages, over-manipulates, and ignores her porosity and strand width is not healthier than a relaxed client who deep conditions weekly, uses bond-building treatments, and understands exactly what her hair needs. And a relaxed client who overlaps chemicals, skips protein treatments, and uses the wrong products is not more manageable than a natural client with a consistent, well-matched routine.

The hair does not care about the debate.

It responds to what it needs — the right moisture balance, the right protein support, the right cleansing, and the right technique for its specific characteristics. Those needs are determined by porosity, density, and strand width — not by whether a chemical service has been performed.

How you wear your hair is a personal decision shaped by your lifestyle, your culture, your comfort, and your identity. All of those things are valid. What ALMA cares about is making sure that whatever you choose, you have the clinical knowledge and the right products to do it in the healthiest way possible.