How About This...

[Poohbear]

Hello Everyone!

I'm sure most of you have seen my thread about me transitioning to natural...

But I've been thinking of an alternative method...

I have always relaxed my hair every 4-6 weeks. When I joined this forum, I waited for 2 months before my last relaxer which was April 27, 2004. I've been thinking about relaxing every 4 months until my relaxed hair reaches bra-strap length (If I can tolerate my new growth longer, I might wait until December 2004 to relax)...

After I reach my bra-strap length goal, then I will start transitioning to natural so each time I have a considerable amount of new growth, I can trim an inch or less of relaxed hair each time...

What do you guys think about this?

 

[kitchen_tician]

Hey PoohBear!
IMO, I would be very concerned about breakage by waiting for a very long period of time to relax. I think 4 months will be okay, but I don't know about 8 months. But if you can find a great way of keeping your newgrowth soft and manageable, then it may work out fine for you.

 

[Ayeshia]

if it were me (not saying this just because im a natural) i would just transition with the hair i already have, and not keep relaxing. because once you get to bra strap, it seems like you have to start all over again, with your natural hair and it will prolong your journey to being natural (if that makes any sense

).

 

[inthepink]

Hmm...I don't really get this...

Honestly, being a long-haired transitioner, I wish that my hair had been shorter when I decided to transition b/c it would have been somewhat easier and my transition wouldn't last as long.

I'd say if you really want to transition, do it now. It's so nice to look back and say "wow, I've been transitioninng for this long and have this much natural hair...only so much longer to go." Whereas...you are spreading it out even longer for yourself....especially if transtioning is what you're sure you want to do.

It sounds as if you're not really sure that you want to transition...and that is ok! You don't have to transition if you don't want to. You can change your mind and stay relaxed. You don't even have to have a plan in mind. Just take it day by day.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[kitchen_tician]

Oh yeah, let me add that I also tried the transition with hair 3 inches beyond bra strap and I was not able to deal with the two textures of hair and had to rely on a stylist. (which didn’t work out). I would get my new growth straightened with the marcel flat irons, which was fine for my new growth but damaging to my relaxed hair. She would cut about an inch on each trim to try and cut the relaxed hair out.

I know your situation is different and you probably won’t press, but I just think the longer the relaxed hair, the harder the transition. It would have been easier for me to cut more of it off, rather than deal with so much of both textures.
It's possible that it could have worked out if I had the assistance of the lhcf.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[Ayeshia]

[ QUOTE ]
hairlove said:
Hmm...I don't really get this...

Honestly, being a long-haired transitioner, I wish that my hair had been shorter when I decided to transition b/c it would have been somewhat easier and my transition wouldn't last as long.

I'd say if you really want to transition, do it now. It's so nice to look back and say "wow, I've been transitioninng for this long and have this much natural hair...only so much longer to go." Whereas...you are spreading it out even longer for yourself....especially if transtioning is what you're sure you want to do.

It sounds as if you're not really sure that you want to transition...and that is ok! You don't have to transition if you don't want to. You can change your mind and stay relaxed. You don't even have to have a plan in mind. Just take it day by day.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[/ QUOTE ]

good advice

You should know of all people cuz you are transitioning with all that hair! God Bless You

See thats why I just went ahead and cut my hair. If i didnt do that, I prolly would have relaxed again

 

[Poohbear]

Hmmmm...thank you for your responses.

kitchen_tician: I will take your advice if I decide to relax again...

ayeshia: great point, you do make sense...I should just continue transitioning like you and hairlove.

hairlove: I was just thinking of this idea because before I joined the forum, I never thought about transitioning to natural and was just concerned about achieving hair length. But you are a great example of someone transitioning with lots of relaxed hair. So I think that's is the dilemma Im dealing with right now.

Thanks for your helpful posts ladies!

 

[cocoa2122]

I think it may do more harm than help to stretch out your relaxers that long. When I was transitioning, the 4 month mark was one of the hardest. I don't know what I would have done without braids and cornrows. I found it hard to comb through the 2 textures and had more breakage than I cared for. After 6 months, I just did the BC. I think growing your hair so long will make it harder for you to let it go, but then again, it just depends from person to person. Good luck!

 

[MissMarie23]

Hmmm....do you want natural hair, or do you just want long hair?

I think that it'd be harder to transition with longer hair. Also, if your goal is natural hair, all the length that you gain between now and brastrap would eventually be cut off.

I think (if you want to transition) it'd be much easier to do it now. If you want to continue relaxing, then stretching them further than 4-6 weeks is a good idea.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do

 

[patience]

ITA with Hairlove. Only transition if this is something that you really want to do. Also, don't forget that you CAN have bra-strap length hair and beyond and STILL be natural. It just might take a little longer to get there than you initially planned.

 

[Karonica]

To be honest, I think the shorter the hair, the easier the transition as the case with my mom. Also, since my hair is shorter, I have no problems stretching out my perms now as opposed to last year when my hair was a good 5 inches longer.

 

[Poohbear]

This is the idea I had in mind...

Grow my shoulder-length hair to bra-strap length with it being relaxed (relax every 3-4 months)...

Then once I reach bra-strap (my goal is mid-2005), I will start to transition...

As my hair grows during transition, I will just trim my relaxed hair off each month or every other month until I have shoulder-length natural hair....

I know that stretching out the relaxer can be difficult but Ive seen a lot of examples on this LHCF who have done it and I do not plan on combing my hair all the time. And I see how transitioning with shorter hair would be easier but I'm going to try it with longer hair anyway like hairlove is doing...

Does this make more sense or sound like a better idea???

 

[patience]

Not really...but hey, whatever works. Just be prepared to give it extra loving care and to deal with the different hair textures.

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
patience said:
Not really...but hey, whatever works. Just be prepared to give it extra loving care and to deal with the different hair textures.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I have a lotta new growth right now and Im dealing with it quite fine. Ive never had any problems with breakage but if I start experiencing breakage, I'll just change my plans.

 

[Tai]

Jessica,
You could do this but I think what people are trying to say is that it would be easier for you if you know you're going to transition to do it now when your hair is shorter than it would be to do it when your hair is longer.
You can grow your hair out to bra strap length while transitioning. It might not take much longer than it would take to grow it out while relaxed. Basically the longer your hair is, the more difficult it will be to transition.
If you know you're going to transition, you might consider starting the process now.
Have you ever transitioned before?

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Tai said:
Jessica,
You could do this but I think what people are trying to say is that it would be easier for you if you know you're going to transition to do it now when your hair is shorter than it would be to do it when your hair is longer.
You can grow your hair out to bra strap length while transitioning. It might not take much longer than it would take to grow it out while relaxed. Basically the longer your hair is, the more difficult it will be to transition.
If you know you're going to transition, you might consider starting the process now.
Have you ever transitioned before?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking about growing my hair out to bra strap length while transitioning...

No, I have never transitioned before...

My new growth has been pretty straight and its not hard to comb through. So it might be okay for me to grow without a relaxer...

Transitioning to natural now does seem like the best route. Thanks everyone for your encouraging responses...just letting y'all know of an idea that came across my mind and just wanted to see what y'all thought of it

 

[Karonica]

[ QUOTE ]
Poohbear said:

I was thinking about growing my hair out to bra strap length while transitioning...


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm confused. So is this going to be your new plan?

 

[patience]

So, are you trying to transition or not? What are you trying to do? Honestly, what IS your ultimate goal?

 

[Poohbear]

Ultimate goal...

long healthy natural hair

 

[patience]

[ QUOTE ]
Poohbear said:
Ultimate goal...

long healthy natural hair

[/ QUOTE ]

So why not just start now? At least starting now will give a you a better idea of what it will take to take care of your hair. However, you won't really get the true effect until all of the relaxed ends are gone.

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Poohbear said:
[ QUOTE ]
Tai said:
Jessica,
You could do this but I think what people are trying to say is that it would be easier for you if you know you're going to transition to do it now when your hair is shorter than it would be to do it when your hair is longer.
You can grow your hair out to bra strap length while transitioning. It might not take much longer than it would take to grow it out while relaxed. Basically the longer your hair is, the more difficult it will be to transition.
If you know you're going to transition, you might consider starting the process now.
Have you ever transitioned before?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking about growing my hair out to bra strap length while transitioning...

No, I have never transitioned before...

My new growth has been pretty straight and its not hard to comb through. So it might be okay for me to grow without a relaxer...

Transitioning to natural now does seem like the best route. Thanks everyone for your encouraging responses...just letting y'all know of an idea that came across my mind and just wanted to see what y'all thought of it

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[inthepink]

Still doesn't really make sense to me, Poohbear. But it really only matter to you.

Yes, I'm transitioning with long hair but my hair was already long (even longer than it is now). I guess I just don't see why you'd "plan" to transition starting a year from now. But again, it's what YOU want to do and it doesn't really matter if other people "get" it or not.

My point is still the same as before...if you were to start transitioning now, just think of how much natural hair you could have a year from now. That is not pressure b/c it doesn't matter to ME what you do with YOUR hair. Just a making a point...that's all.

Good luck again!

 

[Bobbie]

Poohbear,
Do you want to continue relaxing until you reach your hair goal, and then start transitioning? If hair length is important for you, you can still reach your hair goals while transitioning. Once you reach it, gradually trim off your relaxed ends.

I agree with everyone else. If you want to do a long transition eventually, it's best to start now while you have a good amount of new growth to start with.