Women in the African-American community have been letting their hair down for years. This is a common practice for many reasons, one of the most popular being that they make styling easier.

While there are few advantages to hair relaxers, there are also many disadvantages. It may work for you in the short term, but it may do more harm than good in the long run. It might simplify styling and give your hair a sleeker and more professional look, but the downside has to be addressed. That’s why you need to ditch hair relaxers as soon as possible.

We know this is going to be a huge change for you, and without complete information you will be even more skeptical about making this major change to your lifestyle. So, here are six reasons why you need to ditch hair relaxers for good.

1. Potential health risks

Your first priority is always your health; when something presents a potential health risk, it’s best to stay away from it. Here’s why this is the number one reason you should ditch hair relaxers.

Recently, a number of women have come forward with lawsuits against several cosmetics giants for hair growth agents. Many of these major brands of hair relaxer products contain harmful chemicals such as endocrine disruptors, phthalates, and parabens. These chemicals are known to cause DNA damage and also increase the risk of breast, prostate, testicular, endometrial and uterine cancers.

Hair straightener lawsuits are often initiated by women who face numerous health and monetary losses from their continued use of hair straighteners. So, to avoid such disasters, it’s best to avoid using hair relaxers right away.

2. Scalp burning or tingling

For healthy hair growth, the health of the scalp is essential. Regular use of hair relaxers can damage the health of your scalp. As mentioned above, the toxic chemicals in hair relaxers can cause scalp irritation. A burning or tingling sensation on the scalp is a sign of inflammation.

If your scalp feels itchy and sensitive, you should stay away from hair straighteners. This can lead to bigger problems if ignored.

3. Hair Loss and Thinning Hair

You may love silky straight hair when you relax, but if you use conditioner too often, you may start to lose your hair. Hair relaxers can cause hair loss, hair loss, and thinning hair. Scarring hair loss caused by inflammation is a common condition of an afro head. This is common among people who have been using hair relaxers for years.

Constant use of hair relaxers and stress on the hair can lead to inflammation that can damage the top of the hair follicle. Over time, starting with thinning hair, this can lead to complete hair loss. For this reason, it’s best to transition from hair straighteners to safer hair-straightening options.

4. Dry hair

One of the most common effects of using hair relaxers is dry hair. It breaks down disulfide bonds in hair. Over time, this change can weaken the hair, making it difficult for the hair to retain moisture. Hence, it causes severe dryness of the hair.

If you often relax your hair, it will face problems like dry hair. It shouldn’t take you long to figure out the reason behind it. That’s why, for healthier hair, you should stop using hair straighteners to straighten your hair.

5. Increased hair breakage

Losing hair elasticity is another obvious disadvantage when using hair relaxers. During this time, relaxing your hair can lead to more damage and brittle hair.

If you experience problems such as hair breakage, you must stop using hair relaxers. They are an important factor in the deterioration of hair health. Therefore, you should avoid hair relaxers if your hair is already brittle and damaged.

6. Color your hair regularly

People who like to color their hair frequently should avoid hair relaxers. Two chemicals are not good for your hair health. Relaxing hair will weaken them, while adding permanent hair color will do more damage.

So if you love using color, lighters, and hair relaxers, for the health of your hair, you must stop using any of them. They cannot withstand continuous chemical action. They will eventually start to show signs of damage.

in conclusion

There’s not one, but six great reasons to ditch hair straighteners. At first they seem like an easy solution and styling choice, but over time, hair relaxers can cause a lot of damage to your hair like hair loss, thinning, dryness, irritated scalp, etc. So, either look for the harmful ingredients listed on the bottle or avoid using them altogether to improve your hair.