The Positive Side Of Transitioning!

[Peachtree]

--> Sorry if this topic has been discussed already <--

Transitioning can be a time of much

&

let's not forget

, but it's also a period of

&

with sheer

.


There's numerous posts about the

side of transitioning, so I want to celebrate it...focus on the

&

side of this wonderful journey.


Do u have any

&

transitioning experiences to share?

Besides, who knows, maybe after reading of ur experience, a relaxed head may wanna join our coily society

!


I'll share 1st

-My hair is growing so fast now that I'm transitioning

-I have a no heat regimen. Despite that, my new growth is tremendously manageable... more than my relaxed hair!

-I get sooooo excited whenever I water mist & oil my hair... it gives me a reason to touch, stretch & see my coils!

-As my natural hair gets longer, I'm getting more & more comments from family & friends like "what are u doing to make ur hair grow so fast", & "I can't wait to see ur hair fully natural", etc. It used to be my length that recvd all of the attention... now it's my naptural-ness!

...& the numero uno thing that brings a

to my face is the thought that I'm 8mths closer to achieving my naptural goal than I was 8 mths ago

.... yep, I'm

that I'm on this path

....

.....

PLEASE DO SHARE!

....

....

 

[blue_flower]

Well, I'm not transitioning but I'll share a few things when I was a few years ago:

*My hair stopped shedding excessively. I think two different kinds of relaxer were used on my hair or the relaxer wasn't rinsed out completely. One of those two caused it, but my hair stopped shedding so much once I started to transition.

*The longer my hair grew, the more beautiful I saw that it was. It was so beautiful as it curled and spiralled(sp?) like a DNA strand. Lovely. Surreal.

When I was relaxed I used to find new growth annoying. But when I left it alone and let it grow, I discovered that my natural hair wasn't that bad after all.

I texturized my hair, so I'm not natural anymore. But I'm glad that my hair is still curly.

 

[Tebby1017]

Peachtree,

I don't see a NAPtural strand of hair on your head!!

Tebby

 

[pookeylou]

Wonderful thread...

I hate to be the odd girl out...but I actually LOVED transitioning...I am not kidding!

I really viewed that time as fun...I got to do my hair every few days or so...I loved experimenting with products...I loved the results of a style that worked for me...I was amazed that I found that with the right conditioning...my permed ends did not dry up and snap off of the natural hair...I was able to keep the length until I was comfortable with finally cutting it down to the natural hair...

I transitioned for 7 months...and through it all...my MIND changed more than anything...I really see my natural hair as beautiful...which I didnt before...I saw that my natural hair was manageable...which I was scared of it before...

Transitioning taught me patience and planning...(i.e. dont think you are going to wash your hair two hours before a party and then come up with a BANGING straight haired style 45 minutes later...WITH TRANSITIONING HAIR...it just wont happen!)...

By the end of the 7 months (I had planned on going a year) I was ready...ready to go natural and STAY natural...because I had taken all that time to research, experiment, learn, appreciate and pamper my hair...so when the decision came to cut it...I didnt even think about it...cause the time was right.

Transitioning doesnt have to be hard...if you condition, condition, condition...(I cannot be thankful enough to the women who said "no-poo") this causes the permed ends to remain strong...but flexible enough so that the natural hair will bend with it... but wont break it.

And if you find a style that blends the two textures...instead of trying to force the natural hair to do what the permed hair is doing...

If you do that...you can keep your permed ends until you are ready to cut them from the natural hair...and in the meantime you wont have to deal with the frustration of the two textures fighting each other.

 

[bee]

Well, transitioning hasn't been all that hard. I immediately started no-pooing, which really helped. I brought my daughter along for the ride, too. My bald spots at the nape of my neck and at my temples are filling in slowly but surely and most of all when my head itches, I can scratch it.

 

[Zgirl]

I had started transitioning in 2002 and decided to put a relaxer in my hair this year. I realized it was the worst mistake ever. so I have started again, I think transitioning thought me to love my hair, I never thought of may hair as being beautiful, now I do. I liked the fullness and thickness of my hair. I always thought I had thin hair, not realizing that relaxing is what made it thin. Iam looking forward to transitioning again, I now know that it is the best thing for my hair. It takes patience to work with it, but once you find a good regimen you can do it. I have also learned that I do not have to have my hair bone straight for it to look good. I would have to say that thanks to this board I have learned so much and my transition this time around is so much easier.

 

[Chimma]

I fell in love with my natural hair AND other people's natural hair.

The relaxer scared me girls. I would be afraid of losing all my hair when the hair washes out with the neutralizer. I was afraid of getting burnt and never having the hair grow back! I see a lot of ladies walking around whose hair looks really thin to me, and mine (even with the relaxer) was really thick and I was afraid of my hair thinning out eventually. I could see my sisters hair get thinner after she relaxed. But I always wanted to grow it out for a while, and then I would relax it again. But I didn't particularly care about the new growth, and I had no idea what to do with natural hair anyways.

Then last year around this time I got my hair relaxed and it looked great, and then I felt two tiny burnt spots near the front of my hair. No one could see them, but if I moved my hair away from them I could! That freaked me out so much that I swore never to relax again and monitored the spots for months. But I wasn't really transitioning then. I was just not relaxing and thinking my hair would look like mess.

Then I started transitioning, and I saw all the beautiful album's and I kind of fell in love with my natural hair. My favorites are http://www.picturetrail.com/dreamy7 and http://public.fotki.com/SassyTXBrat77/natural_hair_album-1/natural_hair_album/ (who is a member here). I also love this site, because it is just filled with hair knowledge that I am trying to learn.

I like that my new growth doesn't break. My relaxed ends have breakage all the time and always have, but my new growth doesn't.
I like how I've been empowered to care for my hair. Everyone always asks me: what are you going to do to your hair when you cut it off? I can do nothing and still be happy with it (rock that afro-puff or decorate with pretty scarves) or I will learn how to rock a lot of the gorgeous styles I see. (My hands WILL learn cornrows, twists, twistouts, and rollersets. Yes they will.

)

I like the fact that pretty soon my hair will be very unique and gorgeous and highly versatile. I'll be able to go from a hot stick straight look to a Pam Grier afro to a twist style.

Buns are my protective style now, but I must admit that I really don't like buns.

I'm looking forward to the time that my hair needs protective styles less, and I know how to actually do protective styles that I like more and they will stay in my head for long periods of time. (As I child, my mom always did elaborate cornrow designs in my head, and I could sport them for a month, at least, without having breakage or any problems at all!)