I'm a newbie

I am new to this whole process. Growing up, I was natural until i turned 11 I believe. I have had a perm ever since. My hair is ALWAYS curly at the roots, even after I receive a relaxer. I have been thinking about the transitioning for awhile. I think I'm ready to get the ball rolling. I received a relaxer 3 weeks ago, which means I have a long road ahead of me. Currently my hair is a little pass my shoulders. I know I am not ready for the BC. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get through the beginning of the transitional phase? Any good moisturizers, etc? I need all of the help I can get!! LOL.... Thanks ladies

It's all about trial and error and finding what works for you. Some people can wash their hair with shampoo and with sulfates and some cannot. Some love to co-wash with conditioners and as they get further along in their transition they cannot use shampoo at all without the shampoo tangling their hair. Some people clarify once a month to get all the build up from their hair from gels and oils..

To be honest I am not sure what moisturizers to recommend to you since everyone hair is different. How do you plan to wear your hair during your transition? I mostly wear mine in damp buns and I use a mositure spritz that I make to keep my hair moisturized..

I've been looking at different styles. The most common style maybe the straw curls or maybe a roller set. I'm just 3-4 weeks post relaxer. I need to search for some good conditioners, moisturizers, and such. How long have you been growing your perm out?

1 year and 2 months.. I was doing good with buying products b4 I decided to transition I had that under control but when you transtion its like finding products all over again to see what works for your hair..

Here are some good conditioners I use to just co-wash my hair:
Aussie Moist , Herbal Essence, Tresemme, Suave Shea & Almond Butter, Yes to carrots, Cucumbers.. When you get further along you will need to look for a conditioner that helps you to detanlge and either one of those that I mentioned will be good for that. A lot of ladies get products that you can buy from target that you use to have to order online and some still order their products online..

Your hair is beautiful. I don't believe that the transition will be THAT difficult because my roots are naturally curly. Just have to find some styles to keep my hands out of my head and styles that will last me weeks at a time. What made you want to go natural?

Thank You,

As you can see in my Avartar I am no spring chicken.. lol The ladies in my family the older they get I noticed that they starting losing hair and even balding.. When my mom went thru menopause it did a number on her hair.. So I said with all this working against me and knowing the older I become I might start thinning and balding too so if I do I will not let the chemicals be the cause of it. If its heredity then so be it. I never thought I could do it but you know what its not that bad.. Just coming up with styles and making them last. My counsin which stays in another state at the time we didn't know it but we both decided to transition almost around the same time.

Check out you tube for transitioning styles you will find some nice ones there. What was your reason to go natural?

Since my transition I have tried the 2 strand twist those I had to retwist everynight and sometimes I put too much product on my hair so the relax part doesn't curl up like I want.

I want to do the natural look because I am ready for a change. I am honestly thinking about going to by beautician so that she can give me a short cut, which will eliminates majority of my permed hair and it will decrease my transition time.

@ letha: what do u mean when u say co-wash?

That where you use conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. I only use shampoo now to clarify my hair to remove the gels and stuff that I put on my hair over time it can cause build-up

I'm learning a lot. Being informed about different ingredients that aren't good for one's hair is crazy. There is a lot more to learn, but I think this will be an eye opener

Yea and at 1st it can be over whelming. While relax I knew what products to stay away from so going into natural I just learned a little more about what products to use and not..

I've been looking at some youtube videos, which are giving me many tips on what I should stay away from. This process takes A LOT of work! Lol

Welcome to the board..!
If you would like to try them here are my stable conditioners for cowashing: Neautrogena Triple Moisture, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, and Suave Humectant. The good thing about these products are that they're cheap and allow me slip when I detangle my hair.

You might also want to try "extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)" to seal in your moisturizer. I like it since it gives me shine and keeps moisture in my hair.

Once you get a lot more NG then you might want to try protective styles such as roller sets, braidouts, buns, etc in order to protect your NG from things like heat damage or to camaflauge the relaxed ends with your natural hair.

@ ravenm721: what do u mean when u say stable conditioners?