Long-term transitioners especially: what are your 'hair stepping-stones'?

[melissa-bee]

Well i figured that since i'm transitioning there is not much point of measuring inches when i'm not really gonna see the length because of shrinkage
Anyway, yesterday, after my hair reverted a bit, i noticed that if i were to big chop now, my new growth would be enough to 'catch' if i tried to canerow it. This is a stepping stone for me, i know it may sound silly but i feel like i've passed a level.
What are your 'hair stepping-stones'? anyone can answer if you track your progress other than numerical measuring?

 

[Grand Prix]

Well i figured that since i'm transitioning there is not much point of measuring inches when i'm not really gonna see the length because of shrinkage
Anyway, yesterday, after my hair reverted a bit, i noticed that if i were to big chop now, my new growth would be enough to 'catch' if i tried to canerow it. This is a stepping stone for me, i know it may sound silly but i feel like i've passed a level.
What are your 'hair stepping-stones'? anyone can answer if you track your progress other than numerical measuring?

What are you bursting my bubble for! Lol, I actually never even think of that.

I do measure because I keep keep keep (14 months, but I'll keep and keep) hoping that my growth rate will go up. It hasn't.

Right now, my non-numerical progress tracker is my ponytail. I was sooo happy when I felt my first bit of natural hair come out the other end of my scrunchie. Now the more ng is part of my ponytail, the happier I am. I keep feeling it and comment to myself how thick it s.
When all of my ng fits into a ponytail, I'll know I'll be able to pull it back if I were to BC.

 

[Khaiya]

A major milestone for me will be when i can hold my hair in my fingers to detangle it and the demarcation line is below my fingers instead of above (like right against my scalp) does that make sense? I think it will be easier to detangle when it grows out that far. Next will be when i can make a ponytail! I still measure cause i'm not chopping anything, just small trims. I'll also be a straight haired natural so length checks are still relevant to me.

 

[Uniqzoe]

I'm not really measuring either, however I am more or less measuring by % of NG versus relaxed hair. I'm waiting for the day that I'm at least half n half, currently I'm about 20/80.

Good luck!

 

[Bun Mistress]

Agree with Uniqzoe. I'm not mini chopping or even trimming if it's not needed. Just trying to maintain healthy hair and grow. I guess my ultimate stepping stone is when I reach MBL and actual start to maintain this length.
I do have other goals though. Try to completely fill in my hair line (see albums for damage)
MBL
NO BREAKAGE.
That's all I got.

 

[melissa-bee]

Thank for your answers. When i air dry i put my hair in to about 6 plaits. My next stepping stone is when my actual natural hair is able to form part of the actual twisting part of the braid.
I plan to be heat straightened like 80% of the time, but i thought it would be nice to actually measure without having it bone straight or stretched 100%.

 

[Khaiya]

^Yeah that makes sense, i've been in twists just a week and i'm dying to take them down and see if i've made any progress. Lol, i badly wanna cut a piece of my hair just to track my NG in that section but we'll see.

 

[blksndrlla]

- As someone stated earlier...when my NG started to enter my ponytail
- Also, the thickness of my braids. They didn't used to stay b/c I was relaxed bone straight, but the more NG i get...the more they stay

 

[kvic]

I have been doing twistouts on my hair for the past few weeks and I have definitely noticed how much of my natural hair is in the twists. I think this is how I'm going to track my growth.

 

[lolascurls]

^^^I'm planning on using twists to track my growth as well.....how thick they are to the ends. tThe ends are relaxed bone-straight at the moment. The middle (majority) is texlaxed!
Not planning on big chopping anytime soon! Hope to make it through a 2 year transition!
Thanks for this thread, hon.

 

[ceebee3]

I track the length of my braids when I put my hair in 4 to airdry. I do notice that they hang a bit longer.

My new growth isn't long enough to fit into my ponytail yet, but I think that's a good idea to track it like that.

 

[Skiggle]

Well, I trimmed off the relaxer
in a small front portion
off to measure my NG.
It comes a little below my nose,* when stretched*
if I retain a good amount of length this
year I would hope that when I stretch
the NG it would be at my chin or a little pass
my chin.

 

[melissa-bee]

I'm mostly 4b but i have some pretty well very defined curls/coils in my crown area. So to track my growth i'm also gonna count how many full turns there are in the curls. So far in some places there are 3 and some places 4. I can't wait intill there are like 10.

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

I never really thought about stepping stones. I'm almost a year post and to my knowledge i still have about 60% of relaxed hair(i think). The only real thing i've been looking forward to is no more relaxed hair

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Mine is when I am just able to pull it all back in a puff, that is all I ever wanted to do but always got frustrated with a Twa for so long, so I texlaxed, so it seems to be easier for me since I can pull it back now!

 

[♦K.O♦]

When all of the natural hair fits in to a low ponytail.

 

[Mook's hair]

My transition is over but I'll chime in with what I experienced when I transitioned.
I didn't have stepping stones that I set, but I did notice reaching certain stages. Like it was big when all of the natural new growth reached a pony tail.
I was a trim as it grows transitioner so I was not trying to hit lengths. Since ultimately all of the relaxed hair would be eliminated.

I remember hitting the stage when my braid outs no longer looked right because the difference between the natural roots and the relaxed ends was too drastic and very noticeable.

Ladies enjoy the journey and lean on each other for support.

OP congrats on reaching noticeable mark.

 

[Ltown]

I have been transitioning since Oct 08 and will end it next week. I started at CL and will end it at slightly SL. Throughout my transition I trim the relax ends off enough to keep a pony tail. I fully natural in the back and will trim off 1-2 inches in the front. The hardest stepping stone for me is to get a good twist/braidout, and I actually came to term that I was not use to the style and have already had a good one. Good luck in your transition!

 

[Chromia]

For me it was being able to make a ponytail with my natural hair and having what I felt was a good-sized puff.

 

[Caychica]

As said.. when the new growth can go in a pony tail & when its long enough to make clearing out easier.

Right now I just do straightened length checks.

 

[*closer*2*my*dreams*]

when I can do a wash & go and it not look like shriveled up and dried out.... other than that, I don't have any other milestones outside of numerical/length tracking...