Looking for Big Sis but not to BC

Okay so I'm ready to transition to natural hair but have no desire to get rid of all of my length. I know some people have trimmed regularly (6-8 weeks) but I don't know how to go about treating my natural hair in the meantime. I'm planning on getting braids just to help me leave my hair alone but I'd love to establish contact with someone whó has gone through what i'm trying to do. Someone in NYC who could also recommend stores/salons/whatever would be great too.

I transitioned long term (~1.5 years), but I didn't know what I was doing at the time product-wise. I started my transition in 1999 and it was a different world then. But I think I had the styling and frequent trimming part down, for someone who was clueless about hair in general. There are SO many stores & salons that sell the good stuff here in NYC. Ricky's is all over, Whole Foods usually has a nice hair product section, Vitamin Shoppes are everywhere, Karen's Body Beautiful is based here. There's a store here in BK I haven't made it to yet that I've seen listed as a vendor on some hair product sites and Richeau shouted it out on YouTube. As far as salons, I have yet to visit any of those for natural styling and cutting--but I have been listening to reviews because I'm ready for a cut. It's probably been close to 8 or 9 years since I've gotten my hair straightened here in NYC. Wish I could be more helpful, but maybe I will be in the future

i appreciate any reply! i had an appointment at Pikanini's over on Franklin Ave. here in Brooklyn for a cut/trim of my split ends and she was very helpful and gave me a free consultation. Right now I'm planning on deep conditioning and alternating that with a hot oil treatment once a month. What i'm finding is that so far I have 3 diff't textures in my hair so this is going to get really interesting really quickly.

What do you get from Ricky's? I've been in Karen's Body Beautiful since it's in my neighborhood but i've never bought anything b/c I have no idea what would work long term on my hair.

Also, how did you do your transition? did you weave/braid/twist?

thanks again for responding

We all have multiple curl sizes and some of us have multiple textures. Still, I know some of us are a little more dramatic than others. Mine are quite noticeable if you're paying attention, so cutting and styling is a little more serious for me than others when I want them to blend together.
Deep conditioning is great. Ideally my hair likes it weekly or every other week depending on the season, but I'm not always good to her
I actually love Ricky's for the hair tools and accessories. But they also have LOTS of the products that I read about on the boards like Kinky Curly, Mixed Chicks, Curls, Kiss My Face, etc. Right now I'm only using stuff from Karen's, Jessicurl, Trader Joe's, Suave, and Blended Beauty though. I only use the hair cream and hair butter from Karen's. I tried the Hair Milk and that was a disaster. The saleswoman in the store put some in my hair before I purchased it and it was fine. Once it dried (after the purchase), my hair felt icky. I'm not sure which ingredient did it, so I'm reluctant to try the Hair Nectar instead. Trying stuff out is a big part of the journey for most because we have no clue. I just recommend buying the smallest bottle/travel size/tester possible no matter how many glowing recommendations something's gotten. Figuring out your strand size and porosity can help with choosing products and application frequency. I'm assuming the consultation helped with that part, right?
For my transition, please keep in mind that I was close to clueless about healthy haircare so I was learning EVERYTHING as I went. First, I got box braids for 2-3 months. I sprayed them with some sort of spray moisturizer daily. After that I went to twist and curls, as Nikki calls them, for the duration. And I learned the hard way that taking my curl rods out early leads to a VERY bad hair day [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . Every other month I'd go to a salon and get my hair blown out, curled and trimmed. I'd tell them to be light with the heat from the irons, but looking back, the blowdry process was packing serious heat. My hair was fine, but I wouldn't recommend that routine because of the heat damage risk. Older, wiser me would demand a jumbo rollerset and trim instead. The frequent trimming got my hair transitioned pretty quickly, but was slow enough to allow my mind to transition too. I've never been a fan of doing my own hair so the salon visits also gave me a break. If I didn't get those breaks I might have gotten burnt out and not made it through. Funny to say that now, since it's now been 5 years since a pro has touched my head. The straightening also gave me a point of reference to compare my new and old hair. My motivation for going natural was healthier, fuller hair and when I got it straightened I could easily see the difference to reaffirm that I was on the right track. Other transitioners don't necessarily need that visual but need a styling break and get it from professional (or a friend) braiding for them, wigs, and/or weaves.

Sadly my consultation didn't get into my strand size, porosity, or products. I'm going back today to get 2-strand twists with extensions so i'll pick her brain a lot more since i'll be there for hours.

my plan right now is to wear the twists for the recommended time with touch ups. i was considering doing what you did, with the roller set and trim so if/when i get bored with the twists i might go that route for a while.

since my trim a week ago it's been kind of cool getting used to the different textures i think i'm just nervous about letting people in my natural hair especially if i don't have some sort of proof that they know what they're doing.

i have the trader joe's shampoo and conditioner and plan to use that for now and i have a jumbo bottle of abba nourishing leave-in conditioner that i use for daily moisturizing and detangling as needed. i'm going to take a stroll to ricky's and see what they have that i can experiment with. do you use heat on your hair now? i was thinking i'd be going heat-free for now but curled my hair last sunday and felt awkward. i don't know, i'm taking this journey one day at a time but it's nice to know someone else has gone down the same path with great results.

i was wondering how the people around you reacted to your decision to transition and the final outcome and how you dealt with that.

I don't use heat on my hair now. The only air my hair has seen lately has been the cool setting from my blow dryer. I do that so I don't go out with dripping wet hair when it's cold. But I'll probably rollerset it if the urge ever persists long enough for me to get around to it.

I transitioned during my first year in college. While I was at school here in NYC no one was thinking about my hair. When I went home to Detroit on breaks, my family (I'm close with my extended family and it's majority female) wasn't into it and they said so, but they didn't harp on it. No one offered to pay for a touch-up or anything[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] My younger cousin, who adored me, cracked a few derogatory jokes about my hair. The next year her mother sent her to me to do a twistout on her hair. When I started to get the hang of my hair (after some bad hair days like I said), people started complimenting my hair and asking how I styled it. There were some slick comments or backhanded compliments from folk outside my family too. There weren't a lot naturals in the Detroit area 10 years ago, and as far as I see when I visit a couple times a year, there still aren't as many as I see here in NYC. But I was not caring about anyone else's
reaction because I had actually thought about it for 1-3 years (so long ago I can't recall) before I got out of my mom's house and actually did it. I was fully committed and unwavering in my decision. I dealt with it by just going about my business. I know how to roll my eyes, change the topic, and throw a cold look to make someone feel small when I don't appreciate what they have to say. But I don't get riled up or give them anything to work with, ya know what I mean? Their opinions are pretty meaningless to me because it's my hair and I'm grown.

Since those first two years, the only thing my family has commented on has been the growth because there's enough time in between visits for them to notice it. And my silly mother asked me this March when my hair became curly (as opposed to "nappy") because I was wearing my curls more defined than usual. I was just like it was always curly, woman-who-did-my-curly-hair-the-first-10-years-of-my-life. She even helped me twist and curl it on occasion back when I first went natural. *sigh* Outside of my family, I think no one really comments anymore because the number of women rocking the texture they were born with is growing and trendy right now.

Oh and BTW I frequent the boards at naturallycurly.com and there's a brunch meetup scheduled for tomorrow. They have a locked-in reservation, but if you're available, I bet they could squeeze you in. There are usually no-shows to these things. You could meet a whole gang of big sisters. I won't be there because sadly, that's too early in the afternoon for me to make.

sadly i wasn't able to make it to the meetup but thanks for letting me know about it. i spent friday getting my hair done. it's a 2-strand twist style that should last me 3 months without much work which makes me super excited. it also locked in my relationship w/a natural hairstylist and it was nice to know that i don't need to do much with my hair. my biggest concern is dryness so we'll see how that goes but she armed me with some great info re: products.

just wondering: how do you make your curls more defined?

I use a large amount of rinse out conditioner as a leave-in as per this website.

I have also used the curl cream featured on this page in the past, although my application technique was probably not as on point as the mom's who runs that site. Application technique is very key to the results with any product.

And I've also used gel on top of moisturizers. Many curlies rave about Kinky Curly Curling Custard (gel-like styler) for this purpose. I've never acted on my urge to splurge on it at Ricky's (or Whole Foods) and see how it works on my hair. I think I have sort of a mental block when products cost $20+. So silly because I will shell out $18-$19.99 [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I think I have sort of a mental block when products cost $20+. So silly because I will shell out $18-$19.99

i do the same thing! i'm so glad my arsenal of new supplies hasn't set me back too much!