i have very thick, curly hair...and its pretty as long as I do it right.
When I was younger my sister did a relaxer on me like 2 times. It looked okay...I guess
I got it done again in 7th grade, in 8th grade, then in 10th grade I got something called a Reverse perm (which is basically using the same things thats in a perm, aside from the rods, to straighten your hair) out of everything, I'd say that I love the reverse perm. It made my curls looser and BEAUTIFUL without hardly any effort. however it lasted a really short period of time (like, a week) Maybe its just my hair, though.
after that I got more relaxers. I think with everyone's hair is different. Relaxers never made my hair completely straight...which was a good thing. They only made my curls more like waves/looser curls. But my hair was more manageable.
Relaxers did not make my hair thin. At all. Actually I used to get my hair thinned periodically because it was just so thick. I really think it just depends on what kind of hair you have. A lot of girls I know used to HAVE to get relaxers (in their opinion i guess) and their hair was extremely damaged because of it, and would not grow. That may be because they dont know how to take care of their hair.
My hair did become damaged, but I expected that. The chemicals in a relaxer are really harsh, which is why you need to go to a salon and get someone who knows what they're doing. I would just go to a salon and have a consultation first, because a stylist can see your type of hair, you can explain to her what you want/don't want, and she may be able to provide other options. Also, you may be doing something wrong, or could be doing something better when it comes to styling your hair and caring for it. She may be able to give you some tips on styling, conditioning, and the right products. After relaxing your hair, you have to be really gentle with it...deep condition it, don't use too much heat on it, etc.
The weird thing is, I haven't relaxed my whole head of hair in maybe 7 months or longer. I feel as though all of the chemicals i've done in the past have changed my hair's texture (for the better). I have maybe 4 inches of hair on my front hairline that has unruly roots, though, and luckily now that is the ONLY part of my hair I have to relax. A lot of people regret doing relaxers because it eventually will make your hair...change. in all kinds of ways.
HTH
