Paging Naturals - Need Help

[deborah11]

I have been transitioning for 10.5 months with 4-5 inches new growth (4a/b texture, thick, wavy, cottony that frizzes easily). I would like to continue this natural jouney but i don't want to wear tranditional natural styles like braid, bantu knots, or braid outs. I would like to wet set my hair and wear it up or in a bun or french braid, french roll 80% of the time. 20% of the time, i want to wear it straight by pressing it. since all of the styles that i like involvve heat of some sort-- should i continue to transition to natural or just get another relaxer. i am so confused about this issue. i hear so much about the heat damaging your natural hair that i a almost as afraid of it as i am of the chemicals. thanks for your responses.

 

[shebababy]

Hi Deborah

I'm a natural head. Although I only straighten my natural hair every blue moon; I do roller set it and sit under the hood dryer pretty often with no damage. As for straightening, I think everyones hair has a different threshold, some hair can be straightened on the highest of setting with little damage, while others are singed on very low setting. Maybe you can go about straightening your hair like a person getting a chemical service done... take a small portion and straighten it and monitor the effects

 

[Daughter]

Don;t give up on going completely natural! I wear my hair in twists that I put in a bun, or I could put em in a french roll/chignon. With small twisits you can create a lot of different "updos".

I don't like heat - it's damaging on any hair type. If you must, you can press occasionally.

Why not check out some of the online albums here and at www.nappturality.com ? There's a wealth of styles you can achieve with natural hair.

Good luck!

 

[babyblue]

Just because u have natural hair doesnt mean you cant wear traditional styles like buns, french braids/rolls, i do it all the time and with no heat involved. Its as simple as adding gel or your favorite styling product to damp hair and slicking the hair back into these styles. if you want to lay the hair down a little more throw on a scarf for 5-10 minutes while getting dressed in the morning and your hair will be set with no frizz.

As for straight styles try to minimize the heat by using a good heat protectant and blow drying your hair with a comb attachment out on warm then switch to a cool setting for the last few minutes then straighten it further by using a warm flat iron and dont go over each section no more than twice. If you like adding curls use plastic or magnetic rollers overnight instead of a curling iron to set the curl. hope this helps

 

[dorothy]

You and I seem to be in a similar situation. Have you thought about wearing your hair in a straw set? I just found out about it recently and it seems to be one of the few styles for natural hair that doesn't cause that much damage, and from what i hear, you can do it at home yourself.
Good Luck

 

[dorothy]

One more thing, according to the author of "The Black Woman's Guide to Beautiful Hair" author Lisa Akbari... "The hair cuticle layers start to burn at about 300 degrees, depending on the condition the hair is in. To be safe, I recommend that you stay at 150 degrees." She also says that you can use an oven thermometer to test how hot your flat iron or straightening comb is. If you're that torn between a natural style and a relaxer, maybe you should look into texturizing. Hope this helps.

 

[Ipanema]

Hi, Deborah. I've been natural since January. I think you should keep transitioning until your natural hair is long enough to wear in a bun or french roll by itself. Then you can cut the relaxed ends off & continue wearing the styles that you like.

 

[Sweetyb]

All the other suggestions were great.

The only think I can think of asking is, do you have a "wrap cap"? It's a wave cap for women. Or, simply get a satin scarf.

If you want a slicked back pony tail or bun,

o comb your damp hair back with your wide-toothed comb. Your hair should already be moisturized with your choice of product.

o At the same time, you're holding your hair with one hand so that it doesn't all fluff back out, causing you to start all over. (you can use large clips to aid in this, especially if your hair is short).

o The final stage, is you have to get yourself a good GOODY brush--the one with the pink rubber under the bristles... and the bristles are white and plastic--this is the best type to use to aid in "slicking" your natural hair, causing it to lay flatter than if you were just to use the comb.

o Optional: lightly rub gel over your hair. Use one that you know won't flake up badly. Eco Styler is pretty good on my hair, whether I'm gooping it in my hair, or I'm just glazing it over to keep the fly hairs down.

o Then QUICKLY (lol) throw on your wrap cap or tie your satin scarf so that your hair dries like this. I don't like to wait too long because I don't like my hair springing out of shape.


HOpe this alternative helps. Just so you know, I've been natural since '99 and I prefer this to burning my hair with hot combs. But, although I'm also 4b, our hair may be different and ofcourse hot combs and the techniques and care in using them are different, so experiment!

 

[ngaa]

deborah i hear what u're sayin. At the mo i'm usin weaves to grow my hair out until i can have it up into a bun but until then i jus have to get used to these.