Checking up on relatively new naturals!

[PittGirl06]

I haven't posted in the hair part of lhcf in 4eva!

I just wanted to see how those of you who are newly natural are doing.

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?

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This question is for ALL new naturals in particular...I would define "new" as 2 years and less since the bc. old heads chime in too if you wish.

 

[carameldiva]

I'm not a new nappy but i did wanna say hello to Pittgirl and see how she was doing.

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?

New hair is super duper thick. Maintenance is easy- i was co-washing daily but now i am cornrowing once a week after i henna/shampoo/condition/deep condition and wigging it. My hair loves shea butter, castor oil, virgin red palm oil, virgin palm kernel oil, vegetable oil and olive oil. Henna, honey, molasses, glycerin and indigo are other loves. Also loving castille soap, african black soap and some shampoo and conditioner bars that i got from Lush.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?

I didn't bc- i just cut it all off. I only had a few months new growth at the time.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?

I absolutely love it. I plan on staying natural for life.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?

I am pleased with my hair but i just decided to grow it longer for once so i am on a challenge and i have definitely seen some growth. Therefore, i plan to stick with it at least until December 22nd. The henna has made my hair even thicker than it already was and the color is fab-u-lous.

 

[PittGirl06]

niiice. DOes nenna change your hair color? i ask becaus.e...being albino, I am a a black girl with natural blonde tresses and woudl hate to alter their color....

 

[anherica]

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?
I like that my hair is thick and somewhat resilient. In contrast to my old hair, its softer with much less breakage/shedding. I don't like that I wake up every morning with my hair hanging onto my scalp in a death grip, but I'm working through that.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?
Can't think of anything I would have done differently. I was impatient, so I think the BC was the best choice. I'd do it again.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?
I don't think I'm going back to chemicals, natural is working out for me.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?
I'm pleased with overall progress. I'm very excited about growing out my hair from scratch, a new beginning. I feel like I'm finally going to get the hair I always wanted.

 

[carameldiva]

niiice. DOes nenna change your hair color? i ask becaus.e...being albino, I am a a black girl with natural blonde tresses and woudl hate to alter their color....

Cassia obovata is neutral henna and does not deposit color stain on the hair- so it is safe to use to get the benefits of henna minus the color.

After about 8 or 9 treatments- i finally saw a significant color change on my tips- prior to that i just got the halo effect (i appeared to have hi-lites). I did leave the henna treatment in for 16 hours this last treatment so that is probably why as well.

 

[dimpalz]

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?
My new hair is BEAUTIFUL! lol I love it. I loved my wash and go phase but now it's colder I've moved on to twistouts with headbands (I really need to canerow the front again cos I don't wanna go bald!) I like the way I don't have to spend a whole day washing, drying straightening, proteining, remoisturising etc. it and if I'm staying in or going out in the car I don't even have to dry it. Like the styling can be done later so I can just wash it, puff it back and go, then in the evening worry about twisting it or plaiting it. Life is easy!

Also I love the fact that you can't really go wrong with products, unless they're drying, and even then you can rinse and start over. There's no "it's too heavy" or "it made my hair greasy/limp" if it's greasy just curb your HIF and get on with ur day.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?
I might have cut it off sooner. I definitely wouldn't have been worried about having more hair for my BC (I was a bit impatient and did try MTG for a week ) cos I looked great with my TTWA

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?
Well I plan on staying natural til I reach my goals but who knows after that. My hair was relatively healthy, just over-cutted, and this was more of a style/lifestyle choice in the first place. You can't really know what you'll think in 5 years time...

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?
My progress has been great! Better than I imagined especially now I'm in control. It's great that I don't have to depend on anyone else but me especially with regards to trimming. I did my first trim last month and cut off about half a centimeter, all on MY TERMS! I'm nearly at 4 inches (Last relaxer in February) so i think I can reach my goal this for year

 

[KiSseS03]

Hiii PittGirl06! Great Thread! I'm just under four months completely natural and I LOVE IT!

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?

My new hair is much less maitenance, and I love the fact that no matter what it looks like I can just wet it and it can easily make it into a style. Now that I'm natural I'm beginning to understand the hype about co-washing and I don't really have a regimen anymore.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?

I wouldn't change anything about the transition. I had intended to stretch it out longer, but I had more than enough hair to play with once I chopped, and chopping early was the best thing for me, because this way I was not able to chicken out. The one thing I would do differently after the transition would be not to hide under extensions for a month! My own hair looks wayyyy better!

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?

I'm natural for life! That was the plan going into this because I hate the whole relaxing process, the maitenance and all that, plus I would never want to transition again! I also just think I look sooo much better with my natural hair.


Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?

I'm very happy with my progress, my hair is growing like a weed! When I chopped I could barely get my hair in three ponytails, a month later I could get two and a month and a half after that I could get my hair into one! I had relatively healthy hair relaxed, but for me it's no comparison to natural. My hair is sooo much thicker and I get no breakage at all.

 

[Cheleigh]

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?
My new hair is much more...tempermental, LOL. I knew what to expect with 20+ years of relaxed head. My hair needs more moisture now, and needs to be detangled more often (I never detangled my relaxed hair, much to the dismay of my stylist). I don't have many dislikes--I love not worrying about keeping my hair straight, which I was obsessed with relaxed. It does (by choice) take me longer to do my hair in the morning. I also love having control of my own good hair days.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?
I wouldn't change a thing about my transition, really. Just about everything I learned about my hair during my transition has served me well since I've been natural. In hindsight, I realize that short hair is great, and it's great on me, so I could have done the BC earlier and still been okay.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?
LOVE being natural. Can't imagine going back to another permanent chemical of any kind....er...except maybe permanent color.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?
I think it's been fine. My hair has grown has been steady, 1/2" or less. But I also think my hair is healthy, which is even more important to me.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

I haven't posted in the hair part of lhcf in 4eva!

I just wanted to see how those of you who are newly natural are doing.

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance? I've been natural since August of this year and I have to say I'm in love with my hair. I like that I can just "wash & wear" so easily and the only thing that I don't like is that I have to get it somewhat wet in order to really style it the way I want to.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser? I would have cut it sooner instead of trying to hang onto those relaxed ends. Didn't serve to keep them on at all.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?I plan on staying natural for the rest of my life. Just this past weekend, after not having heat in my hair (other than rollerset) in over a year, I flatironed my hair and it looked just like I had a relaxer. I loved it!!! If I want to get my hair straight, I'll just flatiron it.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been? It's been amazing. My hair has taken off in leaps and bounds. It's much thicker now and it really has grown these past couple of months greatly, to my amazement. I didn't really know how much until I straightened it, then i was like !

---
This question is for ALL new naturals in particular...I would define "new" as 2 years and less since the bc. old heads chime in too if you wish.

This is a good thread!!!

 

[PaperClip]

Firstly, thank you for caring about the neo-naturals!

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair?
I'm learning that my hair overall is SO RESILIANT, having survived more than 20 years of relaxers, yet it sprouts so proudly out of my hair follicles. It LOVES water. It HATES oils (at least directly), and it doesn't like to be manipulated. It likes to be free!

What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?
I like that when I get it right, the shake/wash-n-go is a beautiful thing. I don't like having to wet it on cold mornings. I wish it would grow faster. I wish it would stay back in a phony pony without so much work.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?
I wish I had had the strength and courage to stay consistent with the plan to either BC right away or transition longer. I BC'd at 10 months, but I wasn't quite ready and didn't expect the shock I had.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?
I plan on no more chemical relaxers. I am open to straightening it at some point in the far future. I am planning on using henna for coloring, but no more permanent dyes or chemical straighteners.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?
I believe I don't give my hair enough credit. It's only been about 3 months, and I'm sure there's been phenomenal growth, but I'm still not satisfied. I do not have breakage at all, beyond the normal that occurs with hair combing. I'm still learning which products and techniques work best. Bottom line: I have NOTHING to complain about. I like my natural hair so much. I appreciate it more and more every day. I'm no longer a slave to the dominant society/culture's standards of beauty that long and straight is best. My hair is beautiful just the way my Lord created it.

 

[glamazon386]

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintanance?

My new hair is easy to get along with and low maintenance. The best part of all is that I get NO TANGLES. I just run my fingers through it in the shower and that's it. No combs. I hope this doesn't change when my hair gets longer. I find that my hair likes more creamy conditioners. The watery ones don't do much for me. I don't like that it looks dry sometimes despite the fact that it feels so soft. And I can't figure out how to do a decent wash and go to save my life. My curls won't hang. I also hate that my hair is so thin. It was thin as a relaxed head which caused it to break off. I thought it would have thickened up by going natural but it didnt. Ahh well, we'll see how it does in a few more months.


Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?

I would have transitioned longer. I bced on a whim. It's too short for me right now. I don't like it this short. It has grown since I first BCed about 7 weeks ago but it's still too short for my liking. I've been hiding under wigs, weaves and falls for now. At least I can pull it back in a phony pony now though.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you woudl consider another chemical permanent of some kind?

I'm not sure. I was thinking about a texture softener/silkener but I'm not sure. I'd rather just wait it out and see how my hair looks as it grows out. It may look different. If the curls hang the way I want it to as it gets longer, then I won't do the silkener. Later on in life I may go back to being texlaxed. I like to change styles often. We'll see.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?

My progress has been pretty good. My hair grew a whole inch in the 5 weeks I kept it weaved. Go hair!

 

[Miz_Complexity]

What have you learned thus far about your "new" hair in contrast to your "old" hair? What are some of your new likes and dislikes as far as maintenance?

I like my new natural hair it less maintenance, I keep micros, two-strand twist in my hair to keep from constantly manipulating it. Over the summer when I wore my afro it was just a wash and go wide tooth pick and moisturizer. As far as a regimen I really don’t have a fine tuned on yet. I wash my hair every two weeks since I am natural I was washing my hair every other week and my natural hair was curling around the braid and it became difficult to take out. I am taking my vitamins and eating a lot of protein I can’t weight to see the progress.

My perm left my hair over processed, thin and severally damaged. I was not taking good care of my hair. I was doing to much to it.

Is there anything you would have done differently in your transition had you been the wiser?

I think that I am still transitioning my hair as far as the length. I want my hair to fall on my shoulders when I wash it and it curls. I think I should have watched the mini chops and the dusting a little better.

Also.....what do you think, so far? You plan on staying natural or you think you would consider another chemical permanent of some kind?
I think I am going to stay natural for a while I can always straighten my hair for special occasions.

Finally, tell me....how has your progress been?

I am excited about the progress I have been making in February 2007 I would be truly. Now I am just working on the length and retaining it.

 

[PittGirl06]

wow, nice turnout! thanks for the responses people!!!! If I wasn't so swamped with work I woudl respond to my own questions and contribute to the discussion....but for now I need to work on a script adaptation for my Italian class! I'll chime in later with my own experiences. I hope this thread will be useful for current and potential transitioners. Plus it's nice to see where others are coming from.