Welcome!
I have been natural for maybe a year now, I think. I had shoulder-length relaxed hair and transitioned without doing the big chop. I washed my hair once a week on Sunday because it took me hours. Remember, you must be gentle with the 2 different textures.
I always did a pre-shampoo treatment with either mayonnaise or warm olive oil. I would wash my hair and then apply a moisturizing conditioner. I would put a shower cap and towel over my hair and let the conditioner sit for about an hour. Then, I would finger comb my hair then comb it with a wide tooth comb. After rinsing out the conditioner with cool water, I would apply a leave-in conditioner, oil, and then aloe vera gel, and then plait my hair into maybe 10 plaits. I always air dried my hair. In the morning, I would take the plaits out, separate the hair with my finger and I would have a beautiful braid out for about 3-4 days.
I re-braided my hair in plaits every night (beforehand, I would spritz my hair with a little water and oil). After that initial 3-4 days, I wore a loose bun.
I forgot. When I washed my hair and the 2 textures became unbearable, I started to wash my hair in 4 sections -- plait the hair in 4 large loose plaits, take one section out and wash it, finger comb, then rinse and re-plait. It is timely but I managed to keep my hair.
I did trim every few month and I even cut 2 damaged sections which are now as long as the rest of my hair. No one could tell about the cut because the rest of my hair covered those sections.
I would say that it took me about 1-1.5 years to officially transition. My hair went through so many texture changes that I didn't know what was going on sometimes.
