Thinking about trying to transition---any suggs?

[melodee]

Okay, so after years of trying to get my hair the way I want it, I am still having trouble. My hair just seems to be anemic and it breaks alot. Even with a proper diet, flax oil daily, vits at times, deep conditioners w/ protein and without, and barely any heat. I'm healthy, and I don't have anemia or thyroid problems. The only culprit I can think of is the relaxers.

I can live with relaxed hair, but I think my hair will always be breaking and weak, and I don't think it will get any longer. I mean, my hair LOOKS healthy. But when I comb it, I lose hair. I'm in a vicious cycle where my hair gets to brastrap, it starts breaking, it thins at the ends, and it has to be cut about 3 inches up. So I HAVE NOT gotten past bra stap to save my dern LIFE!

That said...If I thought that my hair simply would not grow longer I would gladly accept it, cause I love my length right now. BUT, I really think the plateau is a result of chemical damage. My hair is a soft, wispy,cottony type hair naturally and I think that too much chemical is not best for this type.

SOOOO, I wanna transition--again! I tried for a brief time before, but stopped when a stylist told me I needed to perm or all my hair would fall out and I wasn't quite ready for natural and panicked.

I'm not 100% sure it's what I am going to do. BUT Country Gal has been a real inspiration, I saw her in various stages of transition and she made it look so easy. And NOW her natural hair is banging fo sho!!!
And Black Cardinal's pix made me pause as well. Other inspirations I can think of now are Poohbear, Ayeshia, and kristina. I know there are alot more of you girls who are doing the darn thing, and I may want to join you soon.

Naturals who transitioned, do you have any pearls of wisdom to share with me. Was transitioning easy or hard. What did people say? I know Pooh's family had a hard time accepting her TWA at first. Pooh how are things now?

I am multi textured right now as I have anemic bone straight ends, texturized curly hair, texturized loose/almost completely straight all in one. I'm already 11 weeks post touch up and have some roots.

 

[melodee]

Okay so NOW I see Sweet Ambrosia's post on transitioning. I will def check this out, but I still would like personalized advice if you can give it!!!!

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Here is what I have learned:

Keep your ends and the demarcation line moisturized. I swear by the baggie method.

Know that what works on your hair at the beginning of the transition may not work 6 months into it.

Wash your hair no less than once a week.

Detangle (wet) relaxed ends with a wide tooth comb, detangle new growth with a denman or denman knock off brush.

If you feel the urge to perm, either flat iron (w/ heat protectant) or get some braids or twists done to give yourself a 'break'.

 

[beyondcute]

Realize that your texture is as unique as you are. Also realize that what works for everyone may not work for you. Its trial and error and keeping those ends moist will be your main priority. If you dont want to BC anytime soon you will have to make sure that you continue to baby your ends. Straight hair can be achieved without permanent chemicals but you must accept that our hair will return to its natural state whenever it chooses too Especialy in the prescence of water. A lil frizz never hurt anyone. And your hair may not slick back perfectly or lay down. Natural hair has its own personality. Your natural hai rmay not grow out within the first few months. You may get some hair that defies being catagorized. Its scab hair.

 

[chocolate01]

Realize that your texture is as unique as you are. Also realize that what works for everyone may not work for you. Its trial and error and keeping those ends moist will be your main priority. If you dont want to BC anytime soon you will have to make sure that you continue to baby your ends. Straight hair can be achieved without permanent chemicals but you must accept that our hair will return to its natural state whenever it chooses too Especialy in the prescence of water. A lil frizz never hurt anyone. And your hair may not slick back perfectly or lay down. Natural hair has its own personality. Your natural hai rmay not grow out within the first few months. You may get some hair that defies being catagorized. Its scab hair.

Great post! I agree with everything that was said already. I didn't have a hard time transitioning because I was very patient and took every bump as it came. Also I knew it would not be an easy road to travel when I made my decision. I wore a lot of twistouts/braidouts and flexi rod sets during my transition. Surprisingly I didn't encounter any negativity during my transition and even after I did the BC. My family and friends love my hair but most importantly I love my hair, I can't believe i've been natural for nine months already! Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Cheleigh]

Great post! I agree with everything that was said already. I didn't have a hard time transitioning because I was very patient and took every bump as it came. Also I knew it would not be an easy road to travel when I made my decision. I wore a lot of twistouts/braidouts and flexi rod sets during my transition.

ITA. Initially, you have to find a routine that works for you (your goals, your hair, your style). It took me about 3 months to get my washing, product and styling routine down. I reviewed people's albums and routines and discovered what would work best for me.

Everyone is different, but the best thing FOR ME was to let my natural hair do its thing--I didn't try to force my natural hair to look like my relaxed hair--that way, I could start to learn about the textures and "attitudes" of my natural hair. No matter how long you transition, you will not really know what your natural hair will be like until you cut off the relaxer, but you can certainly start to get clues--and trust, the earlier the better, in my book.

For some people, it's not a mental transition (it's just another styling option) but I will tell you that if I hadn't been mentally ready (meaning that I wanted to go natural because I really didn't want to relax anymore rather than just because it was something different) I probably would have been in for a ride after my BC. My hair has more textures than I thought it would, and has much more density. I'd already mentally prepared myself though, that whether it looked like Gloria Rueben's or Grace Jones' hair, I was gonna love it and rock it. And I do!

 

[scorpian]

Realize that your texture is as unique as you are. Also realize that what works for everyone may not work for you. Its trial and error and keeping those ends moist will be your main priority. If you dont want to BC anytime soon you will have to make sure that you continue to baby your ends. Straight hair can be achieved without permanent chemicals but you must accept that our hair will return to its natural state whenever it chooses too Especialy in the prescence of water. A lil frizz never hurt anyone. And your hair may not slick back perfectly or lay down. Natural hair has its own personality. Your natural hai rmay not grow out within the first few months. You may get some hair that defies being catagorized. Its scab hair.

If you want to wear your hair straight without chemicals E'tae products can help with the transition they allow you to wear your hair straight(with blowdrying or heat use they loosen curl pattern) or natural(soften and condition without heat) and they don't have any synthetic ingredients www.etaeproducts.com I have the ingredients if you're interested I'll post them
I have read a lot of posts about the maxiglide helping with transitioning but I've never tried the maxiglide

 

[Poohbear]

Hi Melodee

The only person in my family who still gives me trouble about my hair is my dad. He still says awful things to me (I could right a whole page about him) but I just ignore him. I am not letting his negativity get me down. It's worthless. I just shut him up by saying "Why don't you put a relaxer in your hair."

Before I transitioned, I realized that my hair does not need to be relaxed anymore. Plus, I wanted to see what it was like to embrace my God-given natural hair texture. I transitioned because I still had a fear of having short hair. Transitioning was hard. I just hung in there. I wore all kinds of styles to try and blend in the two textures of my hair: rollersets, braidouts, blowdried straight, phony ponies, wigs... but after 7 months, it started taking a toil on my hair. My relaxed hair was breaking from the new growth. At this moment, I realized "I just need to go ahead and cut this damaged hair off" so that's what I did. But keep in mind that there are several ladies here who transitioned for several months or up to a couple of years before cutting their relaxed ends off... Peachtree, Hairlove, and others. But their hair was thicker than mine I believe.

While I transitioned, mainly my family and friends would poke fun at my hair saying "You need to relax that ****" or "Look at all those worms on your scalp" LOL! But I didn't give in. I was determined to have natural hair. Plus, I put getting a relaxer TOTALLY and COMPLETELY out of my mind. I did not see this as an option for my hair any longer. It was a really neat learning experience for me.

HTH! Best wishes to you and your decision to go natural!

 

[Poohbear]

And here is a helpful thread about ladies who shared their experiences with going from relaxed to natural: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=54776

 

[NewYorkgyrl]

If you want to wear your hair straight without chemicals E'tae products can help with the transition they allow you to wear your hair straight(with blowdrying or heat use they loosen curl pattern) or natural(soften and condition without heat) and they don't have any synthetic ingredients www.etaeproducts.com I have the ingredients if you're interested I'll post them
I have read a lot of posts about the maxiglide helping with transitioning but I've never tried the maxiglide

Do you use any of these products? The description sounds like they are very good products.

 

[scorpian]

Do you use any of these products? The description sounds like they are very good products.

I have visited her salon and used her products on myself and my daughter
My hair was a wreck before I visited her shop I had put all kinds of permanent color,relaxer and rinses in my hair(my stupidity)Everyone in her shop including her has healthy beautiful natural hair
her products work best if you don't use a lot of other stuff in your hair(I was using a bunch of junk so I never got the full benefit) that coat the hair and don't allow her products to penetrate
When I used them on my daughter she was getting her hair blow dried then braided and it made her hair so straight (her products combined with blowdrying) the braids kept sliding out and the barettes would fall off it looked like she had a relaxer it was getting so soft and straight no braid style would hold and she's too young too wear her hair out(I like her natural curl pattern)I stopped using her products not realizing that if I would've airdried then braided my daughters hair she would've retained her tight curl but kept the softness even though her product info does tell you this)Since joining this forum I no longer use a blow dryer on my little girl and her hair is much better
I have gone back to using these products

Her products consist of a reconstructor,oil gloss,and nutrient which is a hair or scalp treatment I have all three. she also has some natural shampoo bars that she makes that are sold only in her salon not on the site

 

[melodee]

Scorpian, the products sound good. Thanks for the 411!!!

 

[onepraying]

If you want to wear your hair straight without chemicals E'tae products can help with the transition they allow you to wear your hair straight(with blowdrying or heat use they loosen curl pattern) or natural(soften and condition without heat) and they don't have any synthetic ingredients www.etaeproducts.com I have the ingredients if you're interested I'll post them
I have read a lot of posts about the maxiglide helping with transitioning but I've never tried the maxiglide

Thanks for posting this scorpian.

Congrats Melodee on making the brave move toward 'goin' natural' Just to voice it, for some, is a huge step; it was for me.

Like Jcoily said, it's not a mind transtion for some but for the majority it is. You're talking about two totally different textures here that can very well alter your appearance. You are going from smooth controlled hair to, puffy, frizzy, I-don't-care-what-YOU-do-imma-do-what-I-want hair. You have to surpass what others think, your own thoughts and embrace what has been given you. I had to totally fall in love with textured styles and big hair.

Patience, prayer and gentle hands is all I can recommend.

 

[Carlie]

The only thing I can suggest is to just be patient w. your hair while transitioning and consider it as a learning stage. Take it one day at a time. Good luck to you!

 

[kristina]

Hey I just noticed this- thanks for the mention, Mel. And of course you can PM me if you have any specific questions on anything.

Your natural hair texture sounds alot like mine- super fine, dry, wispy and cottony. And not to discourage you from going natural but I have to be real, this hair type (my type) breaks with manipulation, relaxer or not. From the start the hairs are delicate; matters only deteriorate as the hairs get older. In fact, I feel similarly frustrated because it always seems like I hover between armpit and brastrap (I know, I know). But I want to be waist length, darn it! I think the only real way to deal is the low manipulation. That said, my hair is longer now that it was when I relaxed. And I love my natural hair- it's so much fun to me. Just don't want you to think that issue will be right as rain once you go natural. Whether relaxed or natural, getting our hair type to grow really long takes great care.
Anywho, as far as transitioning, I didn't really transition on purpose- it just happened by default since I was a braid addict. When I grew out the chemical, I wasn't really into hair so I just stayed in braids all the time. Seriously, I'd be out of braids maybe two weeks to a month a year. So since I didn't care about hair, it was super easy because I wasn't monitoring my length or dealing with different textures. The only thing bad about this is that my hair was so dry from my neglect and the fake extension hair.
I think there are already good posts regarding the mental transitioning required in order to go natural so just to echo, you have to give consideration to how you want your hair on a daily basis. If you must have straight hair all the time, going natural will be frustrating. Over time, my preferences have changed so that they are more compatible with my hair- I love big hair and texture in general. And yes, I know so people press every week but my experience is that my hair couldn't take that without thinning over time.
Oh, and my mom wanted me to get a relaxer at first and would always ask me what I would do with my hair natural. And I seriously did consider relaxing when I first got out of braids because I was so clueless. Now though, she's more accepting- especially since I'm better at styling my hair. HTH!

 

[Jaydensmommy]

hi, im new here and this is my first post. i am also starting my transitioning journey. i need a little help with breakage at the line of demarcation. i am currently deployed to the desert and i have approximately 3 months left before i leave country and we wash with well water. i have tried everything to help stop the breakage. i DC, mild protein and moisture poo on fridays, co-wash every other day or every 2 days if we are busy, baggie 2x a week, moisturize everynight(alternating between a protein moisturizer and non protien moisturizer) and seal with hairveda's vatika frosting and i also spray my hair twice a day with a mixture of water, oil, and conditioner. I have no idea what else i can do.

Also i am having a hard time determining my hair type. help please Thank you


also my last relaxer attempt was approximately 4 weeks ago

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Hi Jadensmommy and welcome, they have a 2010 transitioning thread on here, I will find it and bump it up for you Ok!!!