Going Natural.

[keisha31]

I have decided to go natural, I am scared but I want to see what would happen. Ladies can you share your experience if you had relaxed hair and decided to go natural. If so what products did you use during this process and how long did it take?

Thank you bunches.....
Keisha31

 

[lilsparkle825]

check out the transitioners' threads. why are you scared?

 

[keisha31]

Thanks Lil Sparkle.

I am scared because I think I won't be able to manage the texture once the perm finally grows out. I don't even know what styles to put it in. I have been looking at styles in the magazines. I'm thinking about the two strand twist but it will be hard to do because all of the perm on the ends.

Thanks again
Keisha31

 

[delray712000]

it takes time so you should just take it one day at a time. don't worry you will find what works for you, be it relaxed hair or natural

 

[TemiLnd]

So far so good for me.
I have been using braids but I just took my hair out. Its been 8/9 months since my last relaxer and wash day today was great. I used my jibere comb and denman brush -plus my new find - Cantu Shea leave in. FANTASTIC!!!

Trying to leave my hair out for the next month. I have about 3-4 inches of new growth....

Good luck, you will be fine

 

[zioninspiresme]

Keisha, dont be afraid darling...if you're afraid to deal with and learn your own texture, you wont have fun on your journey. Trust me I know first hand. When I transition I did straw sets the whole time. I only transitioned for three months, so I didnt really deal with the '2 textures thing' for too long.
Just give it a try, if you dont like it, you can always go back. Do what makes you happy hun.
And if you're worried about styles, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtoUF891rLo There are many, many style ideas for natural hair. Dont just settle for a plain ole fro, when you really want fab hair! LOL Have fun with your hair.

 

[danigurl18]

I transitioned for 10 months before I did the BC.. I used braids and cornrows to keep my hands out of my hair... Conditioner is your new best friend!

 

[Millahdoowop]

Well when I first transitioned from natural, I did so because I was fed up with my relaxed hair. I wasn't scared or nervous about my texture. I just knew that it was something that had to be done. I wore braids all summer to transition once I had my hair chopped off. My hair chopped off wasn't my bc, just to clarify.

 

[keisha31]

zion,

Thank yo so much for the you tube video and all the other information you gave. Will let you know how it comes along.
keisha

 

[keisha31]

dani gurl,

May I ask what kind of conditioner you use?

Thanks
Keisha

 

[keisha31]

Thanks Temilnd, Your hair looks healthy. I will let you know what the out come is.

 

[TCatt86]

When I first transitioned I made the mistake of trying to get my natural hair to match my relaxed hair. I say mistake because I didn't learn how to style my natural hair. But once I started doing twistouts and my ever faithful flexirod set, it became alot easier. I also wore half wigs which helped ALOT!!! I have some transition styles in my fotki. And I transitioned for about 14 months.

 

[BostonMaria]

Thanks Lil Sparkle.

I am scared because I think I won't be able to manage the texture once the perm finally grows out. I don't even know what styles to put it in. I have been looking at styles in the magazines. I'm thinking about the two strand twist but it will be hard to do because all of the perm on the ends.

Thanks again
Keisha31

Don't be scared! Take it one day at a time. I transitioned for 10 months and I had no idea what my hair was going to look like either. I just focused on taking care of my hair and during the transition I rollerset my hair. I also did ponytails. The first thing I did was cut a few inches off to avoid breakage (it helped) and every 4 weeks I did an Aphogee treatment.

It helps to seek online support so I would recommend the Transitioners thread.

 

[danigurl18]

I use Garnier shine and curl, herbal essence twists and turns, and Organix Tea Tree Mint and my fave DC are NTM Recovery Mask and ORS Mayo

 

[redecouvert]

no need to worry girl
There are so many resources about transitioning..just relax and everything will be alright
i transitioned for a month and a half with braids. I didn't use any particular products, just the ones that i had. You should definitely check out Nikki's blog
She has a series on transitioning from relaxers to naturals and at least 27. She also published my story

 

[lovinglength]

I went natural in my senior year of HS and have never looked back. Since being natural, my hair is way thicker, healthier and is reaching longer length... and I have way more styling options. Good luck on your natural hair care journey.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

Today makes 46 weeks with no relaxer.

I have 3 different textures and it has NOT been easy. In fact, my transition has been VERY difficult. I have about 4 inches of new growth (I do not get the average .5 inch per month), I have about 3 inches of texlaxed hair (12/30/07 texlax after an 18 week stretch) and then about 6 inches of relaxed hair.

I am in month 11 and have decided on a phony pony and full wigs to transition. I have sections of my hair that are not as wavy as other when I pull it back into the phony pony, but gel helps with that.
http://public.fotki.com/RegsWife/experimenting-with-/modu-invisilace--fu/
http://public.fotki.com/RegsWife/playing-around-with/

As the months dragged on, I found that products that had worked on my relaxed hair did not work at all on my new growth and texlaxed hair. I have collected so much product that DH says we have a beauty supply store in the bathroom.
http://public.fotki.com/RegsWife/some-of-my-product-/

I have a bag of product packed up right now (Giovanni 50:50 poo & condish, Suave Humectant condish, Garnier Sleek & Shine conditioner) to take to my coworker. She uses anything that is on sale.....and to think I have spent the better part of this year looking for products that work well on my hair. I have been tempted to cut off everything past the line of demarcation.....but I made a deal with my husband that I would only cut my hair once I hit BSL and even then only anything past BSL. On the days that I spend an hour or more detangling, I have reached for the scissors.

I even tried tree braids but they did not come out like I had hoped and they were too heavy. As of today I am in cornrows and using a full wig when I leave the house. I am very particular about my hair and if a style does not look right on me, I have to try something else. I so want to have a twist out or two strand twists but with my 3 textures, they look like crap on me. Braid outs have worked for me and I may do one again soon.
http://public.fotki.com/RegsWife/experimenting-with-/my-new-wig/

I am convinced that when I do finally chop off the relaxed and texlaxed hair that it will be easier to find products that work for the one texture.

For now, full wigs are my friend. I started with half wigs but trying to blend the textures became too much of a hassle.

 

[cocoaluv]

no need to worry girl
There are so many resources about transitioning..just relax and everything will be alright
i transitioned for a month and a half with braids. I didn't use any particular products, just the ones that i had. You should definitely check out Nikki's blog
She has a series on transitioning from relaxers to naturals and at least 27. She also published my story

Hey thanks so much for these links. I just bookmarked them and will look into it more when i come back from the library .

I am gonna do my transition with braids and weaves. I dont plan on cutting for a long time just in case I chicken out and decide to relax again.

 

[keisha31]

tcatt86, thank you so much, i love the rod set. Your hair is so healthy. Thank you for the links to your pics too, I happen to read the blogs and Oct 11th post which is something I'm going through too. Learning to love yourself first.

Thanks again

 

[keisha31]

Reg's wife, it might took a lot of work but you did 46 weeks....That's wonderful, you had the patience to work with 3 different textures. Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[keisha31]

redecouverte, thank so much!! I made the decision to go natural after last month a perm didn't take, and then I tried again and it still didn't take, Thank God my hair didn't break off bad but But let's just say my scalp needs some tlc

 

[keisha31]

Boston Maria,

I was scared thinking how I would look too, I will take a look at the Thread.. Thanks K