Transitioners who's been through it before

[jennybean's hair]

Ladies what was it that made your hair grow in 11months to a year cause i'm 2 months post and i'm already struggling with both textures. i put threads out to get questions answered and i hardly ever get answers back. Then right when i'm about to say forget it and relax my hair. I see everyones natural hair and it gives me inspiration to keep going, but the relaxed ends are already getting complicated but i my goal is to be SL in natural hair before BCing aug 5th 2010 when i start college . i just found out about MN mixture .im putting twists in should i put the mn mixture in my hair everynight or what?And what are the good products,and methods to advance my hair growth. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AND ADVICE...

 

[msa]

Sorry, I don't know anything about transitioning. I don't know if you've been in it before, but the transitioner's thread may be a good place to ask questions and get answers. If you go the the favorite stickies thread on the first page, it's in there. That has alot of useful threads where you may find answers.
Hope this helps!

 

[jennybean's hair]

Sorry, I don't know anything about transitioning. I don't know if you've been in it before, but the transitioner's thread may be a good place to ask questions and get answers. If you go the the favorite stickies thread on the first page, it's in there. That has alot of useful threads where you may find answers.
Hope this helps!

thank you.

 

[lilsparkle825]

a large part of my transition was before i found LHCF so i survived it by getting monthly dominican blowouts and keeping my hair wrapped up. i also used a satin scarf which i guess helped retain the style. once i discovered LHCF i was in month 9 and i began cowashing and bunning a lot, which made my hair easier to deal with. i flat ironed maybe once or twice after march. i was trying to get to APL or SL unstretched but when the time was right it was just RIGHT and i dont regret a thing. i BC'd after 12 months.

tips:

• have a solid regimen, and try to stick with the basics, once you find them. i switch products a lot but i will always make sure i have a moisturizing poo, a clarifying poo, a cowashing condish, a deep condish, a moisturizer, a non alcohol gel, and a good heat protectant on hand. how often you use what is up to you.
• experiment with styles and hair accessories. this way, becoming natural will seem...natural, lol
• find your texture and search for the threads that deal with managing it. there are support groups for just about every texture of hair on here. find your hair idols as well. they may be supermodels or be on LHCF. they may even go to your school or live around you.
• know WHY you are transitioning. this way when people ask you "why dont you just get a relaxer" (and they will) you can have an answer ready. for me, i wanted to see what my hair looked like as well as get some volume/thickness back. my hairline thanks me every day.
• try cowashing and/or DCing more; the two textures are so much easier to deal with when well moisturized.
• a good way to see results IMO is to cut out the heat. that one was hard for me since i was used to getting my hair blowfried by the dominicans but i started small...no heat for one week, then two weeks, then a month. i went two months without heat this summer, and the first time i used it was last week for a rollerset.
• only manipulate your hair when wet cause it is more likely to break at the line of demarcation, especially when you get into the later months.
• stalk fotkis of transitioners and find one or two to buddy up with.
• if you get the urge to relax and you really dont want to...wash your hair so you literally CANT relax! (got this tip from mook's hair)
• get a shower comb and denman brush for detangling; you may find you like one or maybe both. i use the shower comb whenever i cowash and i use the denman to detangle once a week.
• protective styling is your friend. if you get tired of dealing with your hair you can get braids or twists so you dont have to deal with it.
• if you have a question search search search cause it has probably been answered before and may give you a different perspective. (posting you own thread is ok too, just be patient )
• i have never used MN but use it for at least a month or two to gauge if it is working for you. but just remember...the best tools will ALWAYS be patience and moisturizing.
• take lots of pictures, even if you never share them, so you can look back and marvel at how your hair has grown or find styling options when you are in a rut.

if i think of any more i will post them...i will also look through my subscribed posts to see if i can find anything to help you. i know off the top that the transitioners thread you should look for is authored by SouthernTease and is called the Long Term Transitioners Club.

hope that helps...good luck.

 

[lovinglength]

I transitioned for about 9 months b4 I BC'd. I just mildly pressed the new growth and wore buns or strawsets. Try to avoid combing the hair a lot, go for low maintainence styles. If your relaxed hair is tripping on you, I recommend getting individuals, kinky twists or cornrows until you reach a length you like and can cut the relaxed ends off. Also, strawsets/spirals are great for blending the two textures as you grow out the relaxer. If you are bold enough, just chop off the relaxed ends and rock some pretty twists. I personally would not use the MN everynight, maybe twice a week on the scalp only. Wild growth oil is great for moisturizing the hair and ends. I think it's really important to keep the hair moisturized and I've learned that natural hair doesnt need to be trimmed so often. I actually cut back to once /year. I would only trim more if I was wearing my natural hair straight often. Rough ends on straight hair ain't cute, natural or not. Some good products are WGO, Infusium 23, peppermint essential oil, suave conditioner for detangling, cholesterol for deep conditioning and I like cream of nature shampoo. A good multivitamin taken daily, with a tbsp of flaxseed oil and biotin is how I get down. And recently, I've been drinking a LOT of water and eating lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and whole grains which is not really hard to do and is great for overall health, including hair growth. Just bought a silk pillowcase which I heard is supposed to be great for hair and skin health...we shall see Hope this helps. Much success in your hair journey.

 

[Whimsy]

get your butt to the transitioners support thread girl!!! tons of info and advice and ideas there.
With only 2 months post I'm surprised you're having such a hard time. I'd say get a maxiglide to straighten new growth. that's what i did up until month 5 / 6. then months 6-12 i was (and still am) all about the braidouts / twistouts...

Experiment and see what works FOR YOU!