OK Ladies—So you have finally made the decision to transition from relaxed hair to natural. This is a big decision, and you have a long, grueling road ahead you. You will be faced with waking up rushing to work and not having ONE CLUE with what to do with your hair…One thing that I can say is PATIENCE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITIONG!
My Story
I transitioned for a period of eight months before I did the BC (Big Chop—cutting of relaxed portion). There are some that choose to BC immediately and rock a fade. That is GREAT, and for those of you that can rock this style you will probably be faced with an easier journey. For those that would rather transitions there are some easy steps that you can follow that will make your journey less tiresome.
1. Start treating your hair as if it is natural! This mean you MUST MUST MUST do your research! This includes googling “transitioning from relaxed to natural” and youtubing the same terminology. You will be bombarded with some literature and education that it will be hard for you to fail! I also wrote a blog entry that lists common ingredients in hair products that you should stay away from à http://curlykinkyqt.blogspot.com/2011/12/do-not-use-following-ingredients-in.html
2. Familiarize yourself with hairstyles that will compliment two (or more) different hair textures. As your hair starts to grow out you may become frustrated with having to do a bun in your hair to hide the dead, stringy relaxed ends. However, it is important NOT to use the same constrictive hairstyle on a daily basis because you may begin to lose your hair in areas due to the excessive pulling (from your edges or crown). You will learn a variety of hairstyles from youtubers. Youtube is great because you will have someone break down step by step what products they use in their hair and how they complete the hairstyle. My personal “go-to” styles while I was transitioning were straw sets and bantu-twist outs. Both were very simple to achieve
a. Bantu-Twist out- This is when you part your hair into four sections to begin with. Fully moisturize each section with a non-alcoholic moisturizer. Begin working with the first section of hair (I always started with the back) and part (I always parted small, not micro braid small, but thin cornrow small) and proceed to do a two stranded twist (basically just a twist in the hair). After the twist is complete, wrap the twist around itself until it forms a knot. You may need to secure the knot with a bobby pin if the hair will not hold on its own. The products (besides moisturizer) I used to complete my twist out were black gel and the foam wrap moose. The only difference I would do not is to use eco-styler gel instead of black gel (eco-styler is sulfate free) and perhaps some shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie. (Youtube video blogger, taren916 doesa great video on how it looks ------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_dTgPIwEkE
b. After you have completed the knots, you place a silk bonnet over your hair and go to sleep. Plan to wake up about 15-20 minutes earlier than normal to style your hair. In the morning after the shower, take out the knots. Your hair should be curly and you will have to separate the parts with your fingers (not too much or your hair will frizz). I recommend lightly coating your hands with EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) to prevent drying your hair out.
c. Headbands are the key to completing this style (especially if your hair is shorter in the front from breakage. If headbands are too tight consider using a knee high or one leg of pantyhose as a headband. You can even use the funky styled tights and no one will ever know!
d. Straw sets are made using perm rods OR actual straws. Using actual straws will be very tiresome and expensive if you choose to go to a stylist. Perm rods are simpler and normally go for about $45 and last for a week
My Recommendations
1. Seal your hair with oils and natural moisturizers. The term “sealing” was new to me, as I never heard it while I was relaxed. Sealing your hair traps the moisture to your hair strand keeping it hydrated. One difference you will notice between the two hair textures is that your natural hair may be drier then the relaxed hair. This is OK because it is natural for your natural hair to be dry. During the transitioning process, MOISTURE IS THE KEY!!! One way to seal the hair is to first apply water (as this IS the best hydrator!) Then SEAL the water to your hair by using you fav oil (EVOO, Grapeseed oil, Safflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Almond Oil). This seals the hair because the oil molecule is bigger than the water molecule. Therefore, the water is trapped to your hair keeping it hydrated.
2. Try to stay away from fake ponytails, braids, weaves; and constricting hairstyles. I know that it gets rough to style your hair when you are transitioning. If you have a job that you attend daily, maintaining your professional appearance may become difficult. Using ponytails everyday may cause you to lose hair at the crown, and this is normally the toughest section of the hair. Tight buns will cause edges to thin out, and let’s face it…that’s not a good look either…Weaves are ok ( I had then for four of my transitioning months)…Just don’t tight and leave all edges out.
3. Purchase a silk bonnet and silk pillowcase…both are under five dollars and great investments.
4. Research, Research, Research!!!
5. Experiment with various hair products. Make sure to read labels.
6. You will have people tell you “girl, what is wrong with your head” or “dang, that ish in nappy as heck, do you need me to perm your hair?”. Please remember that these people are HATERS! They don’t pay your bills, they don’t clothe you, they DON’T feed you. DON’T let then change your vision of healthy CURL poppin hair! YOU WILL GET IT!! And when you do, the same people who were dissing you will be complimenting you…
7. Watch your diet!!! What goes on inside is reflected outward (hair, skin, nails)
8. Ask your doctor about starting a vitamin regime! Biotin is a great vitamin that grows and strengthens your hair. A multi-vitamin and various Vitamin B complexes also help.
9. Drink A LOT of water!! Keep your hair, skin and body hydrated!
10. Join natural hair communities on facebook or twitter…
11. Surround yourself with people who will encourage and support you through this process!
12. Prepare those around you what you are planning to do. It will be as much of a shock to them as it is to you.
13. ASK QUESTIONS!! Whether to me, your stylist, your friend, or your online community…ask about everything! Hairstyles, products. Believe me, someone will know the answer!
14. Lastly, know you are beautiful inside and out and your hair does not define you! It is simply an extension of the person you are!
Top 10 T!ps for Transitioners!
Congratulations on your journey to become natural. (Applause)! This journey is exciting and requires diligence, patience and acceptance. You must be diligent in learning about your new hair as well as moisturizing and sealing your hair properly. Patience is the key if you will last without relapsing on that creamy crack! You will have several bad hair days before you learn what works for your two different hair textures. Lastly, you must learn to accept you natural hair texture once it has been freed of the perm! Your true texture may take awhile to appear, but don’t fear your curly tresses are near!
I have composed some tips that I found useful while transitioning:
1. Treat your hair as if it is already natural. I am sure you have read this statement EVERYWHERE on google and youtube. What does this statement mean? When I was transitioning I found out that many of the products I used on my permed hair were sooooo damaging and contained products that only hindered my hair and promoted breakage. Naturally, you should stay away from these products on your natural hair.
2. READ LABELS!!! When shopping for hair products make sure that you read the ingredients labels! The first give ingredients listed is basically what is contained in the products. I have wrote a separate post that list all ingredients we should stay away from and why: http://curlykinkyqt.blogspot.com/2011/12/do-not-use-following-ingredients-in.html
3. Invest in satin products! such as a satin pillow case ($5.00) and satin hair bonnet ($3.00). When you sleep on a regular pillowcase, it does not allow for fluid head movement throughout the night. When you sleep on a silk pillowcase, your hair glides over the pillowcase without catching in any cotton fibers, which results in breakage.
4. Do not towel dry your hair, this will cause frizz and breakage. Instead, opt for using an old t-shirt or microfiber towel.
5. If you insist on getting a blow out every weekend make sure that you use a good sealant and heat protectant!!! If not, you will experience heat damage and may have to start allll over more than once! I personally recommend that you lower the heat while transitioning. Heat damage is very real and very easy to happen!
6. Be careful when handling your hair! If it is tangled, make sure that you start to detangle from end to root. Also, invest in a detangling, conditioning hair spray only detangle your hair while wet!
7. Moisture, moisture, moisture!!! One way to deter from breakage while transitioning is to properly moisturize your hair!!! When I was permed I was obsessed with greasing my scalp. This was really fruitless since your scalp produces its own waxy oil. The part of your hair that needs moisture the most is your hair strand, especially the ends since it is the oldest part of the hair. You must seal your hair and retain moisture. To achieve this you start by slightly misting your hair with water than sealing your hair with your fav oil or DC. This seals your hair because the oil molecule is bigger than the water molecule. Thus, applying oil or your fav DC or moisturizer after applying water will seal the water into your hair. An easier way to do this is mix your fav oils and DISTILLED water in a spray bottle. Make sure you shake the bottle before you apply to hair…NOTE: If you are transitioning with a weave (be careful with those edges!!!) or braids it is still important to moisturize your hair daily!!!
8. Get used to Deep Conditioning! I know that if you go to the Dominicans they always apply a DC for an extra 10 bucks. You can do your own DC while you are home and then go to the hair salon and let them wash it out! This will not only save you money, it will also get you used to dealing with your own hair!
9. Gradually cut/trim your ends. The point of transitioning is to eventually have all natural hair. While I was transitioning I cut my hair once about ½ an inch once every 1.5 months. Find what works for you and stick to it!
10. BE GENTLE! Treat your hair as if it was your fav cashmere sweater. You would never treat your sweater badly! Make sure you treat your hair even better!
