100% Natural, Yet I'm Transitioning

So I find myself transitioning.
No, not from a relaxer, texturizer, perm, etc.
I have heat damage and until a month ago I hadn't realized how serious it was until I observed how thick my new 2 inches of hair are! Much of my hair is a 4a texture, but lately I've noticed that my roots are 4b.
My recent move from Las Vegas, Nevada to Winston Salem, NC for school caused me to put down my flat iron (it's soooo humid here!). With that being said, I've noticed a huge change in the texture of my hair and it can only be because of the straightening I've always done with my flat iron.

So here I am transitioning, from heat damaged 100% natural hair! Who wouldathunkit?

Anyone else out there going through the same thing? If so, any tips?

Here I am Curly
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Here I am Flat Ironed (Unfortunately that's how I spent most of my time before NC)
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Sorry about that - so will you let it grow out or cut some off?

Trying doing a protein treatment and then follow up with constant deep conditions - I mean like 2x a week for a few weeks.

See if that helps.

Thanks so much for the reply I'm just going to grow it out and retain my ends. I've been baggying lately (love it).
And I just bought some henna powder and a jar of SheaMoisture Deep Treatment Masque. I can't wait for the color and conditioning.
Being in college makes me flat broke but I think these staples along with my Cantu leave-in will help me out.

Love your twist-out by the way!

Gorgeous hair! i'm 8 months into my transition from a texturizer so I don't really have a day and night difference between my new growth and my ends but it's still noticeable. I love baggying too! Temperature changes (due to school) has caused me to rely on that and protective styles a lot more and my hair is thriving. My routine is 10x simpler than it was when I got started; I massage my scalp with a little hot six oil or a sublimed sulfur mix at night and bun/protective style all the time. I think I'm going to get an inch of growth this month.

Check out MoptopMaven if you haven't already. She's transitioning from heat damaged hair as well (I think she just cut off the last bits) and has a ton of tips on how to grow thick, long, healthy hair

Hey Carmella! I SO FEEL YOU!! The majority of my hair is heat damaged b/c I pressed my hair all the time after I stopped wearing sew ins. I agree with Blondebydesire, the protein treatment will help but eventually it will have to be cut off to match the "fresh" hair. Aphogee also has a 2 Minute Keratin Restructurizer that you can use between protein treatments which is very effective. I'm still working on my routine but I make sure I keep my hair moisturized and protected. Sounds like we all love to baggy! I definitely think it helps fight those pesky ssk's...

@Krissy: Thanks! Your hair is lovely as well. My grandma has the same hot six oil and she swears by it so I'll have to get some of that. I have to get myself used to protective styles. I know I can find some cute ones if I look harder. lol Thanks for the site too! I'll have to check that out. Congrats on actually getting a regiment going Happy hair-growing

@Tiff: Glad to see I'm not the only one! I have the 2 minute reconstructor and I use it maybe twice a month but I'll up it now that I know better & you're right, the baggying really does help. My ends are better and I haven't noticed any ssk's either! Beautiful fro girly

wow FINALLY!!! ive been lookin for someone who was transitioning like me. I came to think that it only meant relaxers, and perms. I havent had a relaxer since 2008 but i usually got my hair pressed[the last one was aug 2010.] and i didnt notice anything was wrong but i realized my ponytails are very thin. So does this mean that ive been transitioning for 4 months since I have heat damage

I'm no expert but for me, my transitioning is just growing the texture of hair that comes from my roots lol Meaning, no heat damaged, fine ends. So if you're trying to keep that texture coming from your roots too then yep

That's what I'm going thru now as well. I am so glad to know about the heat damage or heat training cause that means I can treat my hair better & know why it's like it is. It's funny that I wondered why my roots were a different texture than the ends! I have the Aphogee 2 min as well. Dont use super often but I hope to get great conditioning & strengthening results from henna.
Also , please be super careful with that demarcation line where your hair is super fragile. I have some breakage in a section from not taking care of it. I didn't know!:-(.

@mokacoffey i was thinking about buying the Aphogee 2 min as well, how does it work? and do u have any tips on how to better treat the demarcation line besides deep conditioning?

I'm doing my Henna Treatment as we speak! It's 2:30 now, but I'll be rinsing it out at 2am in the morning. Yikes.

@kekecurly. The 2 min. reconstructor helps my hair. Especially if I clarify using baking soda with my shampoo.
I believe the Aphogee restores the pH of your natural hair. It leaves mine stronger, softer, and it made my twist out wayyy more defined

Anywhoo... I'm so glad I've finally done my Henna!!

Me too! I cut much of it out with my BC but one side was heat damaged all the way to the root so i had to keep it for shape purposes.

I hate it SO MUCH! It feels totally different from my "real" natural hair and never looks right when I style. Can't wait for it to grow out!

@Kekecurly; for that demarcation line be sure to keep it moisturized! Even if you need to do it a couple times a day. Also, I believe using harsh shampoos were a culprit in my breakage. Now i know abt no sulfate poo's & co washing and thats helped big time. Oh, and be careful when detangling too. Good luck!

I am also a lifetime natural and I recently cut my hair from extensive heat damage. I started flat ironing my hair in college (my granny hot combed it up until then) and long story short it went from once every 2 to 3 weeks to once every week! My hair was just super straight so you're lucky your hair can still curl b/c mine couldn't. I can't help with any transitioning tips specifically but what I can say is keep a hair journal: write down what you use and how you style your hair and write down how your hair responds to it. Take pics too to record what your hair looks like through the process.