BIG SIS AT YOUR SERVICE

Im going to transition but i actually dont know how and like i have been reading a lot of stuff but its so overwhelming, the talk about breakage and everything

&& honestly im also so scared because ive seen pictures of my hair natural when i was younger and i just dont know how it will look on me as a young adult. But i am committed to the process!!!

Well first thing first transitioning is merely trimming the ends of your hair as your natural hair grows in so that eventually you will have no relaxed ends. And yes transitioning is not for the fain hearted there will be breakage etc which will subside in time. At first I felt overwhelmed with the thickness and not knowing what to do but I didn't have this sight. There are countless transitioning styles that you could try like:
~roller setting
~twist outs
~bantu knot outs
~flexi rod sets
~twists or plaits or cornrows
~ponytails
and all of these you could find videos for on youtube

Also, this topic has been debated for some time now: whether natural hair suits everyone and the result is YES!! Our hair was made to suit our features and there are so many styling options out there besides an afro.

Also, since winter is approaching you might want to get your hair routine down so here are some helpful hint (I apologize in advance for the length )

CLEANSE:
-Pre pooing
that is putting a mixture of oils and conditioner in the hair to thoroughly saturate it with moisture to prepare your hair for the moisture stripping shampoo. Also, during this time finger detangling can be done on the hair. Sometimes I mix regular conditioner with olive oil as my preepoo.

-Shampoo
Have you ever finished shampooing and found yourself with a hard mass of dry hair? Well that's your hairs way of telling you it hates shampoo. Shampoos containing sulphates i.e is most commercial brands will strip the hair of most if not all its essential oils. This is especially bad for curlies who need the extra moisture. However having said this, shampoos do have their place. Due to the ingredients in some of our hair products we may need to shampoo every so often to remove the products and prevent build up on the hair shaft and scalp. I shampoo bi- weekly after pree pooing using the kimmaytube method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1FQ79FD2VY

-Conditioner
Condition washing, to me, is a godsend for curlies. This is a method of washing the hair using only conditoner (and yes the hair does get clean). By using this method the hair and scalp is able to be cleansed without being stripped. I love Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. It is sooooo moisturising and it detangles my hair like a dream.

MOISTURISE
-Leave in
a good leave in is essential for replacing moisture to the hair after washing. I usually leave a little herbal essences hello hydration in my hair (and yes I can see your eyes bulging at the thought but wash out conditioners can be left in the hair and for me it is just woman enough to keep the tresses moisturised)

-Moisturiser
WATER WATER WATER!! Need I say more. Water is your BFFFF as a natural. It is the main ingredient in all good moisturisers. I usually dampen my hair when it is dry and apply a leave in and a sealant (which we will talk about later)

-Sealant
After working so hard to moisturise your hair I assume that you will want that moisture to stay put. The key to maintaining moist hair is locking moisture in. Some curlies use light oils like jojoba but I can't get enough of my shea butter. I usually whip it by adding oils like olive and coconut to it to make it lighter and easier to spread on my hair. However, I apply very little to my relaxed ends to prevent them from being weighed down etc as the two textures have very different needs.I also use the raw shea to slick my edges as an alternative to gels.

DEEP TREATING
I don't know quite how to stress the importance of deep treating hair, especially in the transitioning phase to natural. It is one of the best ways to strengthen and moisturise your hair.You can buy many commercial brands but I'm a lil mixtress so I usually start with normal wash out conditioner and add ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil and honey for moisture and egg and mayo for light protein. I normally apply this mixture to small sections of my hair and don a shower cap and leave it in for hours (but it can be left for like an hour or less if heat is used).

So there you have it. If you want any clarification on the mountain of info I have given you feel free to buzz me. Btw don't feel discouraged about not knowing the ins and outs of natural hair your a newbie and you'll get eventually.

Hi Kay!!

You're in no way intruding, welcome. NC is our big sister, the more the merrier - we're here to support each other in this journey.

How excited are you (and terrified?) about going natural?
Durring the first few days after making my decision, I was in a state of euphoria and fear. I just couldn't wait to start seeing my natural growth but at the same time I had no idea what the heck I was doing, hence the fear.

I think we've all been there, which is why CN.com's is so important to all of us -- it's been basically, at least for me, a life (hair) savior

So again, welcome and I'm sending positive support energy your way!

BA


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I hope you don't mind if I chime in also... @belle, your hair is SO beautiful! I am at 4 months and at this rate I can only hope to have as much progress!

@NaturallyChelsea - I always wondered why you changed your name, now I got my answer :-)

lol guys we are one big happy family

@NC - thank you, that's a lot of information that always useful!

@Kay - one of the things that was causing me a lot breakage was the shampoo. Even the ones with no sulfate is too harsh for my hair and what I do is dilute it in a bit with water; I've also started practicing the co-wash NC mentioned above and my hair really luvs it. If you've already shampooed this week, why don't you try co-washing over the wknd and see how you like it?

@jazzwife - thank you!! I'm always surprise to see the new growth. I've been consumed with preventing breakage and unnecessary shedding to the point that I forget about the lenght. Then I wash my hair and see the natural growth and I get one of those 'ah-ha' moments
One thing my friend told me, which made a lot of sense, is are your nails growing? If your nails are growing, your hair IS growing


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HEYYYY

lol okay sooooo i am like freshly transitioning so does this all still apply to me yet?? i havent had a relaxer since around august 19th or soo and my new growth is there a little but its not too thick.. i usually only get perms about every 2 months or so.. and does that mean it will take longer for me to transition??

YESS i am super terrified. Im afraid i wont like my new growth to be honest. i see all these pictures on here of this pretty hair and im just like my hair will not look like that

Well Hair grows at a rate of 1/2 an inch a month and I find that when I'm looking to see hair growth I don't see it but when I least expect it it grows on it's own so don't sweat it. Also, what I like here at CN is there is inspiration for every natural with every hairtype. No matter your hair type it is beautiful so I think that you just have to search within yourself and ask yourself if you can love the hair that grows out of your scalp. I had to accept that I would never have loose ringlets and curls but my own hair was just as beautiful.
HTH Kay!
What about you ladies any words of advice for lovely Kay?

Hello! Hope it's okay for me to piggyback on this thread :-).

I have been slowly transitioning from relaxed to natural for the past two years (washes and blowouts for a year and a half, and then twists and small chops every few months since May 2010). Saturday was my first time washing and then wearing my hair naturally! Very excited but also feeling overwhelmed. I used a sample kit of the Curls product line, but I'm not convinced its right for me.

I believe I have 3c-4a curls; my hair is just above my shoulders (when straight) and pretty thick. It needs lots of moisture. I need basic advice for beginning a daily and weekly routine. How often should I wash my hair? Should I co-wash? and how often? I also need product advice. I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the options and really trying to resist buying a bunch of stuff that may not work for me. Thanks!!

Welcome MsToinette we're happy to have you and congratulations on wearing your hair out

8-9 posts up I gave a step by step outline for creating a regimen so you could take a looksies and tweak it for yourself.

On a daily basis most naturals only really moisturise and seal their hair. You could go about this using a moisturiser and sealing with a light oil like jojoba or dampening the hair using a water, conditioner/ leave-in conditioner and oil mixture (or you could leave the oil out and seal the hair after as a separate step). You could do this daily or less as your hair dictates.

I think that we as naturals have to understand that no two heads are alike no matter how similar the hair type and texture. What works for one may not for the other. So in regards to regimens on the whole following the basic steps I outlined in a previous post you need to listen to your hair and what it is telling you. Does it crave more moisture, do some areas need more attention, how quickly does your scalp get buildup and therefore needs washing? These and others are questions you should ask yourself on a daily basis to help you to determine what your regimen should be.

As for products I am not a junky and keep it simple all the way. I listed the products that I use in the earlier thread but encourage you to peruse the web and this forum to find products and their reviews. Also you could check this site out for online purchasing:
http://www.curlmart.com/

To help curb your pj try this:
~set a limit for yourself like number of products, maximum price of each product, and maximum you are willing to spend overall
~read alot of reviews and make a list of products to purchase and stick to it
~buy products systematically like cleansers, stylers, sealents etc to prevent purchasing random products

Lastly, I know right now that you are feeling overwhelmed but stick with it and soon these feelings will pass and you'll be a pro on natural hair.

Thanks naturallychelsea! I saw your earlier post and will use it as a starting point Also, great advice about how to shop for and purchase products- I'm really not a product junky either and get so frustrated when I buy something that just ends up on my shelf unused!

well CN has a forum for swapping products so maybe you could exchange them for something else

Hola chicas,

I'm just checking in to see how you're all doing. It's really cold in my neck of the woods and I've been sporting a proctetive style-bun so far this week.

@Kay - I don't think there's any right/wrong time as to when you should start taking care of your baby curls (as I call mine). If anything I'd say this is perfect timing because if you start a healthier hair regimen now, your baby curls will be growing healthy and strong from the beginning.

Sidebar - I used to extend my relaxer to 6 months and back then I was still using products full of sulfates and I even put vaseline on to smooth out my edges, which you've probably read by now on CN.com that petroleum is no good for natural hair. So I basically didn't take very good care of my baby curls until I officially decided to transition in July.

I don't know how long you've had relaxed hair for, but as NC said, and without trying to put down relaxed hair, all natural type hair is beautiful. It may take some getting used to it, especially if you haven't seen your natural hair since you were young...so my word of advice, is be patient. Take care of it and give it time to shine! (From experience, one of the reasons I'd falter in my decision to transition is because new growth was always coming out looking very dry and ashy...I had no idea is because of all the sulfate-ladden products I was using which was stripping my hair to the "bone". A well-moistiruzed, healthy hair will look totally different) -- so be patient baby curlista

@ NC, really?! I had no idea one could swap products on CN.com, that is so cool!

@MsToinette - sporting a full natural style must have been so cool - congrats! I too have 3c/4a mix textures, I think, but like NC said, no two hair are a like. I was 'pooing over the wknd and I pre-poo'd by mixing Suave tropical coconut conditioner with a bit of grapeseed oil, jojoba oil and a few drops of lavender, lemon and rosemary essential oils. My hair felt amazingly soft even after shampooing. (I think traditionally pre-poo is done with just extra virgin olive oil or with a mix of oils but I don't really like the oil running down my face/neck when it warms up with body heat so I mix it with the conditioner). Maybe you could give pre-pooing a try and see how you like it...

Belle

Thanks Belle! I did my first co-wash last night...I couldn't find the Suave conditioner (argh!) at the drugstore, but I did find the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, which I really liked. One thing I noticed is, I tend to have trouble detangling and I had several small knots (despite applying some olive oil before- maybe not enough) :-(

After the co-wash, I left some conditioner in and twisted it. I'm liking how it turned out this morning! I'm worried that I have some chemical/heat damage on my ends in certain places. Not sure what I can do besides trim...

Good morning

@MsToinette - for the detangling, next time you could try mixing about a teaspoon of EVOO with your HE Hello Hydration, sometimes depending on your hair, you may need more slip than your conditioner provides. Have you tried, detangling gently with your fingers before finishing with the wide-tooth comb?

P.s. Keep hunting down the Suave conditioner, you get a big bottle for like $2.99...totally worth it and it smells delish!

MsT for hair prone to tangles you should pull out all the stops:
~pree pooing with conditioner and oil
~detangling in small sections and twisting the hair once done to prevent retangling
~using a really wide toothed comb
~Applying conditoner then bathing to allow the conditioner to "marinate" in the hair
~applying water to sections of conditioned hair that are more difficult than others as this reactivates the conditoner
~when washing the hair only rub the scalp with pads of fingers and smooth the conditioner onto the length of hair making sure to not mat the hair with vigourous scrubbing like actions
~you might want to try finger detangling before washing to remove really big knots before detangling whilst wet when hair is at its weakest

HTH I'll post more if I think of anymore

@NC - errr what does HTH means?

Lol belle it means hope that helped

ooooh duh! LOL LOL

Hello lovely ladies I just wanted to check in on everyone.

Belle, Kay how are those transitioning tresses? Are you ladies hanging on in there and how is the weather treating you and your hair?

Ms Toinette how is the detangling and those pesky ends?

Sorry if I forgot anyone. Just trying to do my big sisterly duties.

Hola!

Omg, I'm so excited! Today I got butters n EVCO from butters-n-bars.com and I cannot wait to start mixing this weekend. I've also agreed to write a review of my mix - it'll be my first product review ever. I'm psyched

How about you, have you found a protective style for coils yet? Remember to lined your winter hat w a silk scarf. I haven't yet but thankfully it hasn't been so cold as to required a scarf.

That's all I got to report for now, I'll be back once I have an update on my butter mix for the winter

Awesome belle jealous much but I'll put the green eyed monster back in its cage. Good to see that you are doing so well. And please do review I like to mix a few things every now and again.

Well my protective style is really just the run of the mill twists and cornrows seeing as its the only thing my mere 5 inches will do.

And thnx for the reminder. I've been meaning to do it.

@chelsea, you are an AWESOME big sister.....you gave so much info in this thread and others!!!!!

@KayC I'm still transitioning, don't get overwhelmed...take what you learn here and apply either ALL of it or start with a little at a time to acclimate yourself.

Hold on to your horses....this is the first time I'm showing off my curls....

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this was from my wash the other day...

Thnxxx Kay and OMGGG!!! Your curls are gorgeous!! How long have u been transitioning for?