Natural People: Has anyone transitioned for a year
- Thread starter DDHair
- Start date
NubianQueen
Member
My last perm was in July 2001. I did not do the big chop and last year when I had a press and curl, I could tell the two different textures. I have been wearing braids most of the time, so I didn't 'deal' with the differing textures. At any rate, either my hair has only grown about two inches since then or it broke off because it's not much longer than a year ago. When I recently tried (UNSUCCESSFULLY) to flat iron my hair, I could not see a demarcation line any more. It looks as if my hair is completely natural now.
So, hopefully with distilled water, some detangling solution (need to find a really GOOD one because my hair is constantly a mess of tangles) and a good vitamin routine, I will start to grow.
HTH
So, hopefully with distilled water, some detangling solution (need to find a really GOOD one because my hair is constantly a mess of tangles) and a good vitamin routine, I will start to grow.
HTH
ComfortablyNumb
New Member
I transitioned for over a year when I did it. My hair started out at shoulder length and it was shoulder length when I cut the remaining permed ends. I did press and curl very often because my hair looked crazy any other way until I was completely natural.
deborah11
Well-Known Member
i have been transitioning for 10 months and i have 4-5 inches of new growth. i plan on transitioning until i have at least 8 inches. i have been gradually cutting off the relaxed hair, i still have about 6-7 inches of relaxed ends. hair breakage was minimal until month 7-8 when hair really started to tangle. months 9-10 have been a lot easier with minimal breakage. biolage detangler also helps with this. i wear my hair in a fake curly pony tail for last few months. sometimes, i style my bangs to hang long in the front . also french roll my hair sometimes. i don't wear it curly because i want to put littlw stress on my hair because of two textures and i really want the new growth to be healthy.
Zoe
New Member
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Do you guys ever wear it in a coily or curly state?
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The only time I wore it coily or curly was when I went to Afrigenix in Manhattan and they twisted my hair and once it dried unraveled it...
It was cute the first day..but after that..yikes... Iguess I didn't know how to maintain it..
Do you guys ever wear it in a coily or curly state?
[/ QUOTE ]
The only time I wore it coily or curly was when I went to Afrigenix in Manhattan and they twisted my hair and once it dried unraveled it...
It was cute the first day..but after that..yikes... Iguess I didn't know how to maintain it..
Daughter
UK Blak
I transitioned for 11 months - close enough to a year! I had what looked about 8" of hair (including permed ends) and cut it down to about 4". Best thing I ever did for my hair
I usually had it in cornrows (own hair) or individual braids (extensions) in that time, except in month 4 when I had it out in a braid-out style couldn't believe how my hair grew back then.
I usually had it in cornrows (own hair) or individual braids (extensions) in that time, except in month 4 when I had it out in a braid-out style couldn't believe how my hair grew back then.
I transitioned for a year, it wasn't really on purpose though. I didnt want to go through the people of trying to find a good hair stylist, next thing you know a fourth of my head is natural, 3 fourths straight... yes i did look a hot mess, except for those rare occasions I straightened the new growth. But eventually I cut off the permed hair. When I did that my hair was about chin length. the front was about ear length(straightened).
BronzeBrown
New Member
Hey DD, I transitioned for over a year. I started off with..maybe 8" of relaxed hair and by the time I felt I had enough natural hair to cut the relaxed hair off, most of the relaxed portions had already broken off (I had about 5" of natural hair - enough for a cute puff
). Transition as long as you feel you need to. The only thing I'd suggest is using this time to really investigate which products you want to use on your natural hair and more importantly, what your expectations of caring for non-relaxed hair are. Ask yourself if they're realistic - that's something that I wished I had asked myself.~ Good luck
.
WaterMoccasin
Well-Known Member
I transitioned for a year- my last relaxer was in December 2000, and I cut off all remaining relaxed hair in December 2001. In the transition period I simply pressed the new growth (I was growing out of a short haircut at the same time anyway. But pressing as often and carelessly as I did wreaked havoc on my hair!)But, I had about 4-5 inches of natural hair once I cut off the relaxed parts.
I definitely wore it curly/coily every now and then although I mostly wore it pulled back in one.
I definitely wore it curly/coily every now and then although I mostly wore it pulled back in one.
DDHair
New Member
I think that is so cool that your hairstyles can be versatile as in long or short with natural hair. However, I do realize that straightening too much can be hard on the hair. Does it seem that natural hair grows faster to you guys in the long run? Because there are more proteins in natural hair and relaxers rid hair of the proteins, it seems that hair would and should grow faster than when relaxed.
I tend to think that natural hair would grow a bit faster...and the reason I think this is when I used to get my touch-ups, it seemed that I'd go through a period where I wouldn't really notice new growth until a month later. I guess my thought is that the chemical would traumatize my scalp or something. Whether there's any truth to this, I'm not sure - maybe I just didn't "notice" the growth.
pookeylou
New Member
@ DDhair...great, professional photos.
I plan on transitioning for a while...last retouch in April, 2003. I want at least 8 to 10 inches of natural hair before I cut off the rest of the permed ends.
I've asked this question before myself on other boards... and I seem to come to the same conclusion. If your goal is to have natural hair...then you will acheive that...it doesnt really matter how long you keep the relaxed ends...because the ultimate end is that they are going to be cut off. In the meantime...I studied really hard on how to take care of transitioning hair...and so far I am very happy with the journey. I really have not had any of the problems that I hear many transitioners get frustrated with.
Hope your journey towards natural hair continues to go smoothly.
I plan on transitioning for a while...last retouch in April, 2003. I want at least 8 to 10 inches of natural hair before I cut off the rest of the permed ends.
I've asked this question before myself on other boards... and I seem to come to the same conclusion. If your goal is to have natural hair...then you will acheive that...it doesnt really matter how long you keep the relaxed ends...because the ultimate end is that they are going to be cut off. In the meantime...I studied really hard on how to take care of transitioning hair...and so far I am very happy with the journey. I really have not had any of the problems that I hear many transitioners get frustrated with.
Hope your journey towards natural hair continues to go smoothly.
Maestradiva77
Member
I transitioned for two and a half years. My journey to "naturaldom" was strange!! LOL. When I got my last relaxer, it was very long (see pics).
loverofnaps71
New Member
Hi!
My "big chop" anniversary was on August 19, 2002. My hair was less than an inch. I mean, I cut it ALLLLLL off!!
And let me tell you, I had long hair and everyone lost their minds...like it was THEIR hair!
After a little over a year, my hair is now anywhere between 6-8". In some places, it's grown faster and others slower. In the back, it's awesome! There's this one section of my hair at the nap of my neck that is almost past my shoulders!
My goal is to grow at least 8-10" more inches this year. I am being realistic, but I've also changed some habits. Let me share what I've been doing:
1. I am training for a marathon, so I am getting kinky twists so that my hair will be protected during the winter months.
2. After the marathon and I've changed my eating habits, I will go on a juicing diet for 14 days after the marathon. This diet will cleanse the impurities from all the junk I ate while training (when training, we can usually eat just about anything because the calories give energy). After I finish training, I'll modify my carbohydrate intake and increase my protein. Protein is excellent for hair growth.
3. I will continue to take my supplements. All the supplements I am taking below I've only been taking for about 1 month.
I plan to take a picture BEFORE I add the twists to get an idea of the current state that my hair is in. I plan on leaving the twists in for about 6 weeks at a time, hoping to get at least 1 or 1.5 growth.
I think that with all these changes stated above, I'll be able to reach my goal of having long, beautiful, naturally healthy hair! Can't wait!!
I wish all the best for you in your own personal journey to grow healthy and long natural hair.
Blessings...
My "big chop" anniversary was on August 19, 2002. My hair was less than an inch. I mean, I cut it ALLLLLL off!!
My goal is to grow at least 8-10" more inches this year. I am being realistic, but I've also changed some habits. Let me share what I've been doing:
1. I am training for a marathon, so I am getting kinky twists so that my hair will be protected during the winter months.
2. After the marathon and I've changed my eating habits, I will go on a juicing diet for 14 days after the marathon. This diet will cleanse the impurities from all the junk I ate while training (when training, we can usually eat just about anything because the calories give energy). After I finish training, I'll modify my carbohydrate intake and increase my protein. Protein is excellent for hair growth.
3. I will continue to take my supplements. All the supplements I am taking below I've only been taking for about 1 month.
I plan to take a picture BEFORE I add the twists to get an idea of the current state that my hair is in. I plan on leaving the twists in for about 6 weeks at a time, hoping to get at least 1 or 1.5 growth.
I think that with all these changes stated above, I'll be able to reach my goal of having long, beautiful, naturally healthy hair! Can't wait!!
I wish all the best for you in your own personal journey to grow healthy and long natural hair.
Blessings...
I never did the big chop. I transitioned over maybe 2-3 years by blowing out my roots and pressing. I also cornrowed my hair and wore twist outs to disguise the texture. i also trimmed every 2-3 months. Eventually all the relaxed hair either broke off or got trimmed out.
If you choose to transition over chopping make sure you condition the hell out of your hair, keep the new growth moisturized and only comb hair when wet with product slowly from ends to roots. Wear protective styles and try not to manipulate your hair too much. If i had to do it over again i would stay away from the hot combs and blow driers because they can damage your natural texture
If you choose to transition over chopping make sure you condition the hell out of your hair, keep the new growth moisturized and only comb hair when wet with product slowly from ends to roots. Wear protective styles and try not to manipulate your hair too much. If i had to do it over again i would stay away from the hot combs and blow driers because they can damage your natural texture
DDHair
New Member
All you guys have interesting journeys, which makes me love this site even more, because everyone has experienced something different. Thanks on the pictures pookeylou. I think your regimen is great and good luck on the marathon loverofnaps71. I am about to look at your pictures now Maestradiva77. Do you guys ever look at www.nappurality.com?
Maestradiva77
Member
I am an active member of nappturality.com, but the site is down right now.
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