Confused and Possible transitioners, get in here!

[HAIRapy]

Okay, I'm torn. I'm, hair type 2PZ (maybe 4A, I dunno) My last perm was in October, I was going to perm again in Feb. I don't know. Please ladies, let me know I'm not alone?!?!? I see a woman with natural hair and I want mine like that too... until I try to do something with my hair and my roots aren't laying right. BUT I love the way my new growth feels... I can't stop rubbing it. I even like the way my hair has smooth waves (only on the top, the rest is straight, permed hair) when I lay it down and ponytail it. I was even gonna call the other day to get my hair relaxed, but my salon, which has like 6 stylists, the owner, and a receptionist- no one answered the phone (I called like 3 times) on a day they were open. I took that to mean it wasn't meant to be. Anyway... how are you feeling? Are you leaning more towards relaxing again or going natural? Are you confused and on the fense like me?

 

[lisana]

my last relaxer was November and I am debating the same thing, I was natural for some years and then went back to relaxing. Now I'm thinking of transitioning again. I go back and forth all the time....I at 9 weeks right now and I think i am just going to try and stretch for a while and see what happen.

 

[HAIRapy]

my last relaxer was November and I am debating the same thing, I was natural for some years and then went back to relaxing. Now I'm thinking of transitioning again. I go back and forth all the time....I at 9 weeks right now and I think i am just going to try and stretch for a while and see what happen.

I've haven't been natural since I was 14, so I don't even remember what it's really like to have natural hair. I'm 30, so you KNOW that was many moons ago. Was your hair hard to manage when you were natural?

 

[coconow2007]

I feel you - my last relaxer was the end of September - I have never went this long without one. I put my own braids in before the holidays and they did well. But it feel like more new growth has just sprouted in all over the place - maybe cause I am baggying, massaging my scalp and keeping it moisturized well or I just didn't put my braids in tight enough.

Anywho, I am taking them out this weekend and I am having to restrain myself from buying a perm kit. 'Resist...Resist'

 

[Empress Yahudah]

my last relaxer was November and I am debating the same thing, I was natural for some years and then went back to relaxing. Now I'm thinking of transitioning again. I go back and forth all the time....I at 9 weeks right now and I think i am just going to try and stretch for a while and see what happen.

Ummm are we the same person This is my same situation

I was natural and relaxed off and on now relaxed for about 2 years now and keep going back and forth with the idea of going natural AGAIN
Im 10 weeks post now and was gonna do a re-touch today but decided not to. I was thinking maybe ill try a longer stretch and see how it goes

 

[bluediamond0829]

not really feeling torn the only thing that im hatin is that im wearing a weave and the front part is kind of showing and gel is not working for it. (all it is new growth). Up close its bad but i saw some pictures and hardly can see it. And i was thinking about relaxing or texturzing my edges--but im not really for it right now.

Ive been transitioning since August so this is going to be my 5th month(im happy i made it past the 4 month marker because last time i transitioned until the day of my 4 month and relaxed that day)---

 

[LovelyRo]

This has so been heavy on my mind today. I haven't been natural for almost 20 years (I'm 26) so I have no recollection of my natural texture. I was on MissJessies site today and it so make me want to transition. I think I might continue to relax and grow my hair out and then start transitioning once I'm tired of being at my goal length (BSL). I figure that'll take about 2 years.

 

[LiberianGirl]

Girl, I am one year post and I still go back and forth. I want to be natural but there are some days when my hair is looking a hot mess and I soooo want to relax. But, I think about all the progress I have made and I change my mind. I think you should at least stretch for a couple of months to see if you really want to go natural.

 

[MizzBrown]

Not alone. I am also transitioning. Last relaxer was on 10-31-07. I'm excited about seeing what my whole head will look like natural. I'm excited about getting to try new products, and do new things to take care of my "new" hair.

I only plan on going to the salon when its time to get me some kinky twists to help me transition.

It will be hard for me because of styling. I dont know how to cornrow or do braidouts so i have to learn how to tame it.

 

[HAIRapy]

This has so been heavy on my mind today. I haven't been natural for almost 20 years (I'm 26) so I have no recollection of my natural texture. I was on MissJessies site today and it so make me want to transition. I think I might continue to relax and grow my hair out and then start transitioning once I'm tired of being at my goal length (BSL). I figure that'll take about 2 years.

I went on her site too not too long ago. I just imagine how it would be to have their beautiful hair!! I made teh decision to go natural that day! Then I flopped back and forth... so my decision is still not made. Shoot, just last night I'd made up my mind that I would get it relaxed in Feb. Darn... that's really flaky, huh...

 

[Tayw29]

Im going thru the same thing myself I am 12 wks post and I'm debating whether i should transition or texlax. either way im not relaxing bone straight anymore because I want my hair to thicken and I know that thats only going to be achieved if i stop relaxing bone straight. But what I've decided to do is stretch for 6 months and then decided from there if i will continue or texlax

 

[HAIRapy]

Girl, I am one year post and I still go back and forth. I want to be natural but there are some days when my hair is looking a hot mess and I soooo want to relax. But, I think about all the progress I have made and I change my mind. I think you should at least stretch for a couple of months to see if you really want to go natural.

Thanks for that advice... I think I'll take it. It's just so darn hard sometimes. I'm just happy to know that I'm not alone with this struggle. I see women on here and they have their reggies down and what they do is etched in stone and then there's me All I have is 1 staple: CON-green label. I love it and that's all I'm sure about so far Thanks ladies, I feel much better now.

 

[HAIRapy]

Im going thru the same thing myself I am 12 wks post and I'm debating whether i should transition or texlax. either way im not relaxing bone straight anymore because I want my hair to thicken and I know that thats only going to be achieved if i stop relaxing bone straight. But what I've decided to do is stretch for 6 months and then decided from there if i will continue or texlax

Can you texlax and still have relaxer in your hair?

 

[ALWAYZL8]

not really feeling torn the only thing that im hatin is that im wearing a weave and the front part is kind of showing and gel is not working for it. (all it is new growth). Up close its bad but i saw some pictures and hardly can see it. And i was thinking about relaxing or texturzing my edges--but im not really for it right now.

Ive been transitioning since August so this is going to be my 5th month(im happy i made it past the 4 month marker because last time i transitioned until the day of my 4 month and relaxed that day)---

Bluediamond, we must have made our minds up at the same time!! I have my good days and bad days. It is a little more work than I imagined, but when I put my mind up to something...there is no turning back. You are not alone, but if I can do it...YOU can do it. Hang in there, MtAiryHoney!!!

 

[BioGeekChic]

I know how you ladies feel. My hair is now almost 13months post. I originally wanted to stretch for 6 months to get to know my my natural texture. I hadn't seen it since I was 4 or 5 yrs old. Well I have to say that I fell in love with my hair texture and six months became a year and I still haven't relaxed my hair yet. I did make an appointment for last month but I ended up canceling. Even if I do end up relaxing (I rescheduled my appointment for next month), I know that I will go natural someday. This is exciting because before joining this board a thought like this would have never crossed my mind.

 

[Chromia]

It's been almost 4 months since my last relaxer. I've seen so many natural hairstyles that I like and I'm excited about trying them on my own hair. I feel like I'm going to definitely continue transitioning. I'm still rollersetting at this point, but I plan to try braidouts and twistouts soon.

Like MizzBrown I'm excited about seeing what my hair will look like natural and trying new products.

I got relaxers for about 18 years. I think I was 12 when I got my first relaxer.

I also love CON green label! By the way Sally's is having a sale this month on the 32-oz. bottles of CON: 2 for $10.

 

[texasqt]

I do this too. I have friends who have gone natural and I admire them greatly. I don't remember anything about my natural texture since I got a process curl early elementary which was later followed with relaxing. I have been able to stretch my relaxers to 3 months and I always try to convince myself to go longer only to cave in and relax again. I don't know how long this cycle will go on and whether I will be totally content with being relaxed. I've had major improvements in my hair since LHCF so I know being relaxed is okay but curiosity has me daydreaming about being a natural like many of my hair idols on this site.

Can't be 80 something asking the grand-chillin who gon' put my phyto on my head?

 

[sweettrini]

I am 9 months post and I STILL flip flop, especially when I'm having a tough hair day. That's why I threw my hair up in some kinky twists this week so I wouldn't have access to it to be able to relax it.

MtAiry, listen stretch until you decide for sure. As beautiful as being natural is, it is difficult to manage until you figure out what regimen and products work for YOUR hair. But you can always relax again when you decide but you could lose months of new growth if you relax now and then decide to transition again later. So S--T--R--E--T--C--H!!!!!!

 

[Prettyeyes]

I am 27 weeks post and wearing my hair cornrowed under a wig. I want to transition so BAD. but i been having bad days.

 

[silkii_locks]

This is so crazy! I've been going thru the same thing, lately I've been thinkin about how fast my hair grew when I went natural 8 years ago and how healthy and thick it was. I told myself I must be crazy for thinking about going natural again b/c my hair has not just one but two minds of its own. I don't know maybe I'll just do what some of the other ladies have said and stretch for like 6 months to see if I can manage.

 

[Babydall818]

Yeah I was natural when I was little and had long MBL hair, mother permed my hair (bad idea) and it broke off and then I was natural up until my senior year of High school and I'm still learning everything. I have decided If I have any major breakage or loss I will transition back although I'm texlaxed and it seems to be the best of both worlds... but I still wonder if I went back natural would my hair be how it was when I was younger... blah....
I think I am just going to stretch and see

 

[MysteryMe]

I feel you. I relaxed and my hair is giving me a hard time. It was much healthier natural. I go back and forth daily about this issue.

 

[lisana]

Wow, there are quite a few of us...we need to form a club

 

[almondjoi85]

I'm in the same boat as most of you. I do not remember what my natural hair was like. My last relaxer was on Dec. 1, 2007. I'm texlaxed, but a 2 inche section halfway down my hair shaft is completely natural. So its texlaxed hair ... natural hair .... texlaxed hair <-- no idea how it got like that. The crazy thing is I do not want to do a corrective relaxer because I like the natural part...its waaaaayyyyy dryer than the rest but other than that no real issues with it.
BUT HERE IS MY QUESTION....DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR SOMEONE TO GO NATURAL IF THEY PREFER TO WEAR THEIR HAIR STRAIGHT? ALL THE TIME?

 

[HAIRapy]

I am 9 months post and I STILL flip flop, especially when I'm having a tough hair day. That's why I threw my hair up in some kinky twists this week so I wouldn't have access to it to be able to relax it.

MtAiry, listen stretch until you decide for sure. As beautiful as being natural is, it is difficult to manage until you figure out what regimen and products work for YOUR hair. But you can always relax again when you decide but you could lose months of new growth if you relax now and then decide to transition again later. So S--T--R--E--T--C--H!!!!!!

Thank you for that advice. I think I will stretch until I can't take it anymore- whether that means 6 months or 6 years... who knows. One this is, I have to find a style for my Feb ski trip, cuz I WILL be swimming! LOL Maybe I'll do braids...

 

[HAIRapy]

I'm in the same boat as most of you. I do not remember what my natural hair was like. My last relaxer was on Dec. 1, 2007. I'm texlaxed, but a 2 inche section halfway down my hair shaft is completely natural. So its texlaxed hair ... natural hair .... texlaxed hair <-- no idea how it got like that. The crazy thing is I do not want to do a corrective relaxer because I like the natural part...its waaaaayyyyy dryer than the rest but other than that no real issues with it.
BUT HERE IS MY QUESTION....DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR SOMEONE TO GO NATURAL IF THEY PREFER TO WEAR THEIR HAIR STRAIGHT? ALL THE TIME?

There's one person who comes to mind with your question, PinkSkates. She's 100% percent natural with a BEAUTIFUL head of hair. She straightens her hair. I believe she wears it straight everyday, I may be wrong though. I think it depends on the person as to whether it makes sense. That's what scares me though. I work out and sweat. I go out to clubs and dance and sweat. When I sweat, my hair draws back up- so that would be more heat on my hair to straighten it. I also heard that you can train your hair with constant straightening on natural hair- I don't know how tru that is though.

 

[Tayw29]

Can you texlax and still have relaxer in your hair?

Sorry it took so long to respond, Yeah you can texlax the new growth and i will just grow out the completely relaxed part and trim until its fully texlaxed or natural still undecided

 

[Jakibro]

Hey,It's nice to know i'm not alone, I have been trying so hard to go natural.I have been transitioning since last Sept..It's killing me! I want to do it, then i stop myself.I know i'm going to give in,I hope i can continue the ayurvedic stop with relaxed hair,But for right now fighting it hard,because i know how much healthier myhair would be if i don't relax,not to say you cant be healthy with a relaxer.I'm confused too damnit.... lmao

 

[rahlee22]

Hey all!

Although I'm not really confused about my transition, my hair does have a lot going on right now...in 02/03 I decided to go natural, and I went about 8-11months. Then I started working for corporate American and decided to relax (but I used to wash the perm out almost immediately everytime) because my relaxed hair was so thin it wouldn't hold a cornrow properly. So, now it's years later and my hair is snitching on me, the ends are bone straight, the middle is a combination of texlax/natural, and some parts of the top is straight/natural (I haven't had a perm since October/November-ish (I think). Anywho, because my ends are so thin, and because I generally where my hair in wigs/weaves/braids (and when it's not like that, it's what I call "Happy nappy" (braid outs mostly) I figured there is no need to continue to do a perm.

I'm trying transition into being natural (I haven't been completely natural since 4th grade), and I think that I MIGHT have it a little easier because my perms did not "take" so once I cut off the bone straight (which is about 2-3inches) I'll still have enough hair for a ponytail, and the two textures are much more similar, so I SHOULD be able to blend them...

...I think my biggest issue is that I half want to bc (mini-bc) and I kinda want to see how long my hair can get relaxed ends and all.

 

[dany06]

Im not trying to scare you but I warn you take some precaution. Here are a few things you might want to think about before you take the jump and cut all your relaxed ends off.

1st be prepared to have short hair. Seeing yourself in such a short length might shock you.

2nd realize that the texture and waves you are seeing now with the relaxed end weighing and stretching you hair might not look the same once the relaxed hair is off. Those waves probably wont be waves any more but instead curls coil or even z's.

3rd also realize that just because most of the naturals you see have silky looking curls (3c or 4a) does not mean yours will. And your hair may grow and outwards instead of down.

4th the products or even the way in which you have been styling may no longer yield nice looking results. You are going to have to re-educate yourself on styling and caring for your hair.

And last but not least

5th There is no more emergency ponytail that you once had. If you are having a bad hair day or just dont feel like doing anything with your hair there will no longer be a quick and easy ponytail to fall on.

I was 8 months natural until about a week ago. I put a relaxer throughout all of my hair yesterday but I do plan on becoming natural again. But this next time I refuse to bc it so short. I had less than a inch when I grew my hair out.

My only real advice to you is grow your hair out as long as possible so you will have more styling options when you finally bc and you will still look feminine while you do it too.