Hi everyone

[Caramel Jewel]

I'm new here. I've lurked and I've posted here and I kind of like it... A few months ago I decided to grow out my perm and I'm really excited about my decision. I know a lot of people shave their heads, but that's not me, I don't mind dealing with the excess hair breakage... I have about an inch all around and in a few more weeks I'm going to place large box braids in it and keep those in for a while... I've had a perm in my hair for over 20 years and I honestly don't know what my natural hair looks like, I hope I like it... One big concern I have is how will my hair be styled when I'm finished with the braids... Not many hair magazine showoff many natural hair syles, I do see a lot of dreads but that's not what I want to see...

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

Welcome! We have lots of transitioning threads and I'm sure you will be able to learn from them. Others will chime in with advice I'm sure

 

[ScarletPhoenix]

Welcome! there are a ton of fotki's here that will show you the glories of being natural. I personally was natural for a year and decided to texlax my hair and I am loving it. There is so much great advice here for naturals, transitioners, relaxed heads, texlaxers that where ever your journey leads you, you will always find support here at LHCF....Welcome!

 

[Pheonixx]

Hey girl.

I'm a long-term transitioner as well.

You can always snip the ends as you grow the relaxer out.
As for styles....wash n go's., twist-outs, puffs,etc...
Well I stalk fotki's for product and style ideas. My personal faves are LAUREN450, MWEDZI, JENTEEL and a few others but I don't know if I can post their fotki links---but I have a few links which could prove useful.

This is from Miss Jessie Curl website. There are how-tos which tell you how to do shingles, twist-outs etc... Look in the top.
http://www.missjessies.com/products.htm

This is from MOTOWNGIRL. You'll find some ideas here
http://www.motowngirl.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=6

A thread on WSL and BSL naturals. Your bound to find ideas in here.
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=110737

Another thread on Naturals with fotkis.
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=112975

This is a GREAT site. Full of naturals with fotki's (lol)
http://www.happycurls.com/v2/smf/index.php

This is a nice 'natural' blog.
http://www.nappydelphia.com/

 

[Toy]

welcome

 

[Caramel Jewel]

What is 'fotki' I see a lot of hyphened words here I'm not familiar with, I guess i've have a lot of silly questions to ask

 

[Highly Favored8]

Hi and Welcome!

 

[SoSweet08]

Welcome!!!

 

[Pheonixx]

Also transitioning for a long time gives you the time to plan out your styles, get your products together and get to know your hair.

It ain't hard but the point is:

If ppl can rock a twa more power to them but you have to get into the 'natural hair' mindset.

Better to be a long-term transitioner and learn as your hair grows than to hack all your hair off and not know what to do with it....only to end up relaxing it again.

 

[Pheonixx]

What is 'fotki' I see a lot of hyphened words here I'm not familiar with, I guess i've have a lot of silly questions to ask

Oh...LOL
sorry for the jargon.
It's an online hair journal basically. The name of the site is Fotki.

 

[soonergirl]

Welcome missy!!! Patience is truly a virtue as we have all learned here...Just sit back and relax and watch your hair evolve!!!

 

[Eisani]

Welcome lady! Subs. so I can add to my faves when I get home.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Welcome Caramel Jewel, I, too, had relaxed my hair for 20 years before I decided to go natural, not know what my natural hair looked like. It's been an exciting, enjoyable journey, and I haven't looked back. I wish you the best in achieving your hair goals!!

 

[BrooklynSouth]

What is 'fotki' I see a lot of hyphened words here I'm not familiar with, I guess i've have a lot of silly questions to ask

Welcome to the forums, Caramel Jewel..there are so many caramels here..wow!!! I'm new to transisitioning so cannot give good styling advice to you, yet. FOTKI.COM is a place on line for posting and sharing photographs-many of us here use it to track hair progress...you can have a free account or a paid account.

 

[Eclass215]

Welcome! Now I was one who cut all my hair off from scratch and started there (I don't have any pics though) but beleive me I've tried just about every style you could imagine. Here are some:

Twisted, twist out, even a Fro - that was Halloween, and ponytail.

 

[LiberianGirl]

Welcome CJ!!! Wanting to see my natural hair texture was one of main reasons I went natural. Good luck on your hair journey!

 

[Mestiza]

 

[danigurl18]

Welcome!!! You can check out my fotki since I just did the BC and I transitioned for 10 months... HTH!

 

[chokolate miss]

just also saying "welcome". i have gone natural twice. this time is my last time, because i plan on sticking with it. like the others have said definitely look at people's fotki accounts and see what they have done with their hair. you won't know how your hair will behave until you are fully natural and even then it make take some time to take shape. so i say look at people who have all different types of hair.
depending on where you are in life one method of going natural may be easier for you. the first time i just chopped off all of my hair. but i was in college and was a bit more brave! the second time i grew my hair out with braid and kinki twists for a year. i am style challenged so doing transitioning styles myself was not going to happen!

i say all of this because if you find that one method of becoming natural is not working for you switch it up. get some lip gloss and some cute earings. your confidence may be tested. i hope you have a strong support system at home. heck, you have one here so whatevs!!good luck!!
boy that was a little long winded...

 

[TLC1020]

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