Can't take the heat ... getting off the flat iron!

Hey Curlies!

I've been off the creamy crack for about 5 years now but I've always blown out and straightened and, my ultimate addiction, weaved my hair. I've finally made the decision to go curly and although I have major support (my best friend/big sister I never had just did her big chop about 2 months ago!) there's still a lot that I need to know. Some of my more prevalent questions are as follows:

1.There's a lot of talk about trying different things and seeing how your hair responds and what's right for your hair. Well, what exactly is a positive response? What should I be looking for whilst fiddling around with these new products to let me know whether its a keeper or not?

2. What should my daily regimen consist of? (I know its gotta be specific to my hair but I've gotta have a ballpark idea of how I should be taking care of it, right?) How about weekly?

3. Is there any advice specifically for natural gals such as myself who have been straddling the fence?

For the most part my hair stays in a weave (I know, bad me), therefore it doesn't get the moisture, attention, and overall TLC that its desires and truly deserves. However, my hair is still pretty healthy. I've been making more of a conscious effort to keep it this way and I think my decision to go curly is the best thing to give my hair what it deserves.

So, thats my story thus far. Any and all advice, encouragement, etc is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks ladies!! ^_^

Congrats! I stopped relaxing about 5 years ago as well and just stopped using my flat iron about 3 weeks ago. I've been loving how my hair looks. My big thing is I need to cut off my relaxed ends... trying to get that courage, LOL.

On your questions...

1. To me, a positive response is seeing that, after using a product (or combination of products, which may be more likely what you'll be doing), my hair looks good. Meaning shiny and moisturized. Not dry, dull, crunchy feeling, etc. Or, if I've switched a shampoo or conditioner, knowing that my hair feels clean and well moisturized.

2. I'm sure the other ladies and other Web resources have better regimen ideas than me, as they're veterans in this, but what I do weekly is to wash my hair with a moisturizing shampoo and condition with a good conditioner. I detangle with the conditioner in my hair. (Just tried using a brush over a comb yesterday, and it was soo much easier!) Then I wrap my hair in a T-shirt and leave it like that for 20-30 mins. or so. When damp, I style my hair for the next day. What I've been doing is to 2-strand twist with leave-in conditioner and oil mixed together, then seal with a little more oil. Then I wrap my hair. The next day, I take the twists out with oil on my hands. Every night after that, I retwist dry, unless I notice my hair is looking dull; then I use water and oil on it. (You may have to experiment to see what works for you, but this has been working for me so far!)

3. I've absolutely been where you are--I know I didn't want another relaxer, but I was still heat-styling my hair. I don't know if you have had the same feeling as me, but I think I didn't go fully natural until now because I didn't know what to do with my hair, and I had a lot of uncertainty about how it would look. If you're in that mind frame, I think picking up as much knowledge on natural hairstyling in general, and on your hair in particular, will help. There really are tons of good sites to go to for advice, video tutorials, etc. I guess my advice there would be don't stop learning!

One last thing: I'm sure the ladies on the board would encourage you to give yourself time. Time to get used to the new regimen, time to see how products work, time to love your hair if your initial feelings about your natural hair aren't positive. Fortunately, you have the rest of your life. Take all the time you need!

Good luck, and have fun! : )