It takes a strong person to wean off of the creamy crack, better known as hair relaxer. It's meant to lure the young and impressionable in at a very early age, just like it did for me. I'm 26 and can still recite the Just For Me jingle that I heard in 1993 ("I want style, body, and shine. A look that's totally all mine..."). But it's the photo on front of the brightly-printed box that did the trick for me — and you too, probably. You couldn't help but be enticed by a kid who looks like you, except with long, straight hair, curly ends, and pretty barrettes. I was a girl obsessed, and didn't rest until my mom let me get my own relaxer — a decision that ultimately damaged my hair in my adult years.
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Asia Feliciano, another R29er, had a similar experience. She, too, had relaxed hair most of her life, and kept on perming her hair until it started falling out at a rapid rate. "Because I was so attached to my [straight] hair, making the decision to go natural was difficult," she reveals.
After some thinking about the options, Asia chose to do the big chop — a haircut where you remove your relaxed and damaged ends — versus growing her straight hair out and opting for protective styles in the meantime. "I think the chop is the easy part," she notes. "Finding the right product is what takes you some time."
Even though it took her a whopping five years to nail her holy grail style down, it was well worth it. As you can see in the video above, her natural curls are flourishing and healthy as all get out. Keep watching to hear more about how Asia beat her own addiction...
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