can you transition without BC?

[Danichoo]

I have worked out that my hair has been relaxed for 22 years and after seeing Shortiedowap I realise that everything that is ingrained in my head about naturals is wrong!!!

but I am not as brave as she to bc and go through re growing my hair , so can you Transition without bc or at least just stretch till your new growth is cbl then chop off the remainder? Am in la la land? can you have the best of both worlds....

Man Im in a funk with hair envy today....

 

[Nonie]

I believe there are tons of people who have done this. I did it the "chicken" way by wearing braids and trimming off a little every time I redid a braid (Since I do my own braids, I'd redo them as needed one-by-one till all were looking fresh. And it is during that time that I would snip off a little. In a year, I had about 5-6 inches of natural hair--starting from 1" growth at the time I put the braids in. I stayed in braids again till I had about 9-11 inches of hair.

I don't know what search words will pull up the threads of long term transitioners, but if you look for the words "transition", "transitioners", or "transitioning" in the thread titles, you should find at least one of the discussions, if not more.

I think Allandra did it. She did a mini-chop too after transitioning for a while and I think will do another when she's comfortable--unless I missed an update.

 

[Body&Shine]

I have a girfriend who is doing this. She started out with Mid Back length relaxed hair. She went to her stylist and got her hair washed, rollerset, and flat ironned and bout every 2 months. The stylist trimmed a little most visits. She never trimmed above Bra-Strap. December with be 2 years that she has been transitioning. On her last visit her stylist told her that she will be all natural by February 09. Her hair is still Bra Strap. She did get some long layers cut this week. I am sure that some of her layers are all natural. Her hair is BEAUTIFUL. There were times that I had to coach her and tell her that she has come to far to relax again. She would get frustrated trying to style her hair at home with the two different textures. So to answer your question YES!!

 

[*fabulosity*]

I have a few friends that have transitioned without the BC.... I didn't know that most people BC'ed until I came here. Most people just let it "grow" on out and kept up dusting/trims. I personally cannot do hair shorter than shoulder length so I'll be transitioningfor a long time...LOL!

 

[*closer*2*my*dreams*]

me too! I don't want to bc...never ever... I plan to just keep it growing. in fact, i have not even trimmed my ends! I have not had a trim since january 19, 2008! and to think i was one who trimmed every time my ends looked "bad" or every time i went to a stylist...

I did however snip a very small piece of hair on my nape and a piece in the middle of my scalp to see what my natural texture was (but unfortunately, those curls are lost in the forest growing on top of my head)...

But to answer your question, it can be done, but you need lots of patience and you need to be understanding of what both of your hair textures need, because trust me, they never both need the same thing at the same time...

 

[MizAvalon]

Yes, you definitely can. When I was natural, I transistioned with braids.

 

[Eisani]

There's a support thread around here for this. I joined because I don't plan on doing a BC. I am slowly trimming a little at a time though and I'm okay with that. I would say if you have a line of demarcation, baby it w/lots of moisture and if your hair likes it, protein. I'll be back if I can find that support thread.

 

[Fine 4s]

I transitioned by pressing my edges every 2 weeks at the salon.

 

[lovenharmony]

That's what I plan on doing! I'm just going to let it grow..maybe 20 years down the road I'll give myself a trim

 

[Kay.Dee]

I really think it depends on your hair

In my personal case, NO I couldn't. I started off my transition with exetremely damaged chewed up neck length hair. My BC was more forced because my relaxed strands were just snapping off in my hands because my new growth came in xtra skrong I was was being as gentle as possible. The hairdresser that did my BC told me that it looked like a lot of my relaxed hair came out in sections through out my hair.

I think if you plan on transitioning w/o the BC your hair needs to be in pretty good condition before hand if you want to avoid any stress.