Is it easier to transition from relaxed/texlaxed to natural at a certain length?

[Luprisi]

I'm currently 21 weeks post and I love my new growth however I'm at shoulder length and I want to have longer hair, for those of you that have transitioned without a BC, did you wait until you were at a certain length before transitioning? Just to clarify, I'm not ready to take that step now but I think that if my hair was way longer I'd feel more comfortable transitioning.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I think it depends on whether you're going to be straightening your hair when you're natural.

I transitioned twice. The first time I started at neck length and the second time at bsl. There was a point at about 7ish months post that I would seriously start looking at the scissors everyday. My first transition lasted a year and 2 months because my goal was to have enough hair to pull into a ponytail/puff. The second time around I had the same goal but ended up cutting before I planned (10 months) because the two textures were killing me.

It seems like it would be easier to work with longer hair but 4 inches of shrunken afro with 14 inches of straight ends is not for the faint of heart on wash day.

 

[Luprisi]

I think it depends on whether you're going to be straightening your hair when you're natural.

I transitioned twice. The first time I started at neck length and the second time at bsl. There was a point at about 7ish months post that I would seriously start looking at the scissors everyday. My first transition lasted a year and 2 months because my goal was to have enough hair to pull into a ponytail/puff. The second time around I had the same goal but ended up cutting before I planned (10 months) because the two textures were killing me.

It seems like it would be easier to work with longer hair but 4 inches of shrunken afro with 14 inches of straight ends is not for the faint of heart on wash day.

I see. Thanks for responding. I seems that dealing with both textures is the hardest thing. I guess is one of those things that you have to go thru to see if you can deal with it.
Anyone else?

 

[Amarilles]

For me personally it wouldn't make much of a difference. I'm currently 16 months transitioning and I was APL when I started, and I'm probably APL now or a bit longer, but I don't length check. Your relaxed hair will get trimmed and will be gone eventually anyway. I think it'll only hold you back if you wait to have longer hair to transition, knowing that all that's in this hair's future is cuts and trims.

The only difference I see is that longer hair can encourage a long transition whereas shorter hair not as much. But either of those can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on you and your goals.

 

[havilland]

I'm currently 21 weeks post and I love my new growth however I'm at shoulder length and I want to have longer hair, for those of you that have transitioned without a BC, did you wait until you were at a certain length before transitioning? Just to clarify, I'm not ready to take that step now but I think that if my hair was way longer I'd feel more comfortable transitioning.

I would say no. The longer your chemically treated hair is the more you end up having to cut off. I wish I had done it at shoulder length vs BSL. Just think, in two years (I transitioned for two years) I cut ALL MY GROWTH OFF.

(It is possible to keep your ends but very few women can do that. The difference in texture is usually too great. Natural hair is usually so much stronger than chemically treated hair it overpowers the old hair.)

Two years ago I was grazing BSL. Now I'm The exact same length. I basically cut everything I grew. And I have to tell you, not a day went by that I didn't wish I had started at a shorter length. Imagine if I had been able to keep all that growth????!!! Omg....let me fan myself and calm down......

Also, the longer your hair is, the more potential for tangles as your new growth comes in.

I will tell u what DID make it easier on me than some other women I have seen. I had texlaxed hair.

I transitioned to texlaxed hair from bonelaxed hair in 2007. (I was shoulder length at the time.). So when I decided to go natural in 2011, I had some experience with curly hair and methods and products etc. and that helped me alot.

Bone straight hair and new growth don't blend so I personally feel that stark difference in texture makes it harder to transition long term.

If I could give you one piece of advice I would say, if you are thinking about transitioning, give yourself a deadline of a few months, think about it and decide. Don't wait 4 years into your journey like I did and then end up slowly cutting away all your progress.

 

[havilland]

One more thing. If you start your transition now, you can be at shoulder length with your natural hair one year from now or darn near it......

Just food for thought.


Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[Luprisi]

havilland

Thanks for your reply. I truly enjoyed reading your posts, I appreciate every piece of advise you gave me and even though I am not considering transitioning now but you made me think about it for a minute. I just started my journey and I'm learning to know what works for my hair. Thanks again!