Blow drying or not

Hey everyone,

Just became a member on curly nickki, and i just decided a few days ago that im not doing my retouch so yup, going natural [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] .

Here's my question Ive not relaxed for 3 months now so i have some mew growth, I just took my hair out of a weave, when i wash, how should I dry my hair? should I blow dry like normal? or should I leave it to air dry? I want to fully embrace all of the natural techniques, so can anyone help me out a little?

Id really appreciate any advice

Naé xx

congratulations on your decision to go natural! you have an exciting journey ahead of you.

one of the best pieces of advice i came across while i was transitioning was to treat your whole head like it's already natural, as opposed to blending your natural hair to look like it's relaxed until all of your ends are gone. to me, that means beginning to sport more "wet set" styles such as braid outs, twist outs, and bantu knots. these forums are the perfect place to come across styling ideas for transitioners.


this was the video that made me feel like i could really transition, and that it wouldn't be so bad lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr8GbJNJ2jM

I agree with Lanabell,

I've seen some Youtube videos where people say that you can't treat your relaxed hair like it's natural, etc, but I am. I've noticed such a difference in my hair. All for the better. It's so much healthier. It feels alive, not dead.

Also, I think if the goal is to go natural then that's the hair I'm trying to preserve and nurture. The things we do for our natural hair can't hurt relaxed hair, but the things we did for our relaxed hair could definitely hurt our natural hair. Examples of the good are co-washing, deep conditioning, using oils and butters. All of that is awesome good stuff, so I say begin to practice it now, not when you transition.

You'll learn a tremendous amount here. I have.

Lanabell, Thank you so much for your response! I have been on your tube all morning and its funny but I actually watched that video by Dprincess earlier on today. Even though Ive seen all the videos and read blog and stuff I still wasnt sure if because I only had 2months new growth if I should continue drying or not but that really does answer my question, and its not more heat from now on... I think the last time i used hear was just before i put my weave in 2months ago.

Can I ask how long have you been natural now? and did you do the big chop?

Renny thank you for your response also, I'm already learning a lot, such a shame my mother didnt know this information before she got my hooked on relaxers! this is definitely something ill be sharing with other.

Also how long have you been natural and are you going to do the big chop? or just trim as you go?

so glad i could help!

i had my last relaxer some time in march of 09. i didn't actuallly know it would by my last, much like you i just decided not to go in for that touch up lol. i bc'd in october 09 and have never looked back

Golden,

I am still transitioning. I haven't had a relaxer since April 2009, but I wasn't really transitioning. I was wearing Kinky Twist and not taking care of my hair so I had a lot of breakage and damage. So about five weeks ago, maybe six, I decided to go natural. My story is on my Curl Journal along with my product trials and such. Please check me out:

http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/the-curl-street-journal-f14/really-renny-t4614.htm

As for the big chop, it's coming. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Naé
I suggest you blow dry. When I was younger my mom would always blowdry my hair after a wash (every 2 weeks) and as a rlaxed girl I blowdried as well.

I just think if you let it air dry your natural hair will be poofy and the relaxed hair will be straighter causng a huge difference in texture which leads to breakage.

Hope I helped. I've been transitioning 7 to 8 months and I noticed that my hair is hard to manage with no blow drying. Or if you dont blow dry then make sure you use some leave in and put your hair in a style right away while wet

Thanks Renny, Checked out your story, and congratulations! I want to read through some of your products, although I live in the UK and will not be accessible to some of the products.

Krys, I chose not to blow dry, Ive only got about an inch of regrowth and the rest is all relaxed, but I thought I'd try something different, I did bantu knots and left them in over night and took them out in the morning, they werent as curly as I would have liked but I still rocked it and I felt nice, no one complimented me, but I felt comfortable! probably because it was such a big difference from the weave i had the week before., thank you ladies.. I can see there are going to be many more post like this!

Golden Nae,

I'm glad you appreciated your bantu knots. You do have to enjoy your hair yourself, because sometimes people just won't accept the change. It's all too ethnic. No matter what I do to my hair I decide everyday that I love it and it makes it a good hair day. It's so liberating.

Good luck finding the right mix. You're making the right decision on that blow drying. It's so damaging to our hair.