THIS IS SO STRESSFUL

[SugarPie]

i cant believe i have been thinking about this for so long.. going natural. I have literally been tossing and turning in my sleep dreaming about the future of my hair. (Not the future of my college education/career/health...but my hair lol) I am currently relaxed and have really been considering going natural.. not because of any spiritual journey, im just interested in how it would look/what i can achieve with a full head of natural hair. The thing is that i started LHCF in order to grow my relaxed hair and after coming across so many beautiful naturals its seems like i may be changing course but I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO.....ARGGHHHH. I wish i would just wake up and know but its actually really stressing me out,

i am 14 weeks post relaxing and im about to go back to school at the end of this week and i dont know if i should keep stretching or just relax it. Although i dont really have a problem with relaxers, i just feel like im giving in/or giving up the fight of embracing my natural hair or that im abandoning my original goal?

the thing is that id try the natural thing if i could transition while retaining length and appearance. ive read thread after thread about transitioning and i cant seem to find an answer. i figured if i can transition by flat ironing my newgrowth or rollersetting every 2 weeks or so, then i can at least get to 6 months of natural new growth and see from them...the issues that i found are
1) possible heat damage of my new growth from flat ironing hair---whats the point of going natural if my hair will be jacked from the jump
2) if i do stretch for 6 months and decide to just go back relaxed, i was told that id have to cut off the relaxed hair because i waited too long to relax. is that true. OMG there is soooo much to consider.

i would really appreciate ANYTHING...literally ANY tips, suggestions, food for thought etc that can make this decision easier. do you think transitioning by flat ironing is legit?

i know its longwinded and i feel really vain for thinking about this so intensely but i actually cant help it. youd think i was making the biggest decision of my life. HELP ME...what is wrong with me

 

[1god1]

Just my opinion...I am not an expert.....

2) if i do stretch for 6 months and decide to just go back relaxed, i was told that id have to cut off the relaxed hair because i waited too long to relax. is that true. OMG there is soooo much to consider.
--From what I have learned, you don't have to cut off the relaxed part. There are women who stretch for months at a time and not cut off the permed part.

maybe if you put your hair into twists or some sort of braid, it will make it easier for you to transition.....and, you won't have to really use heat.

 

[SouthernStunner]

Why would you have to cut the ALREADY RELAXED hair? That doesn't sound right to me.

 

[tiffers]

You don't have to cut off your relaxed hair! What's the reasoning behind that? It makes no sense. Who on earth told you that craziness?

My advice would be to keep stretching until you figure out what you want. You can always relax if you decide to

I don't see anything wrong with flatironing just your newgrowth. Natural hair is stronger and can take a lot more than relaxed hair can. PinkSkates straightens her natural hair regularly and her hair is gorgeous.

Please try not to stress about it, you'll figure out what you want soon enough

 

[msa]

Whoever told you that you had to cut off your relaxed hair after stretching for a long time lied to you. There are people here that stretch for 6-12 months. Look at sylver2, she's stretching for a year.

I don't see anything wrong with flatironing just your newgrowth. Natural hair is stronger and can take a lot more than relaxed hair can. PinkSkates straightens her natural hair regularly and her hair is gorgeous.

As far as the bolded, that's not true. Natural hair is not automatically stronger than relaxed hair, it's just not chemically damaged (as long as it's not dyed).

OP, flat ironing can damage your natural hair if you're not careful. Pinkskates presses regularly but she does a lot of work (from the inside out) to make sure that her hair stays healthy.

Personally, I think your real worry if you flat iron should be whether or not your hair is being permanently loosened by the heat. Some people's natural hair can take a lot of heat and bounce right back and others end up with permanently straight pieces from using low heat once.

I think you should continue stretching until you figure out what you want to do. You can rollerset, get braids/weave, or do styles that will blend both textures like braidouts/twistouts/bantu knot outs/straw sets/rod sets etc. etc. There are a lot of choices out there...but don't relax until your sure. Because if you decide you do want to be natural then you have to start all over again.

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

I agree with MSA, I'm relaxed and get that natural bug too, but then I'm not sure what I want to do, but yea you don't have to cut off already relaxed hair.....just don't let it stress you out....you decision will come to light......only you can decide.....I really can't offer tips cuz I try not to go beyond 4 months on relaxers.....But relax or natural i'm either or would look beautiful on u.....

 

[Dak]

Sugarpie, yes, you can transition without the big cut. To keep your relaxed hair healthy, I'd suggest deep conditioning with heat, roller setting and finding a low manipulative style that you like. I lived in french braids and pony tails. As you get to learn your texture you can decide what you want to do next.

 

[SugarPie]

thanks ladies..i really appreciate it. being natural is def not an easy go especially when you dont have the patience to work with it. i feel like my wanting to go natural may be a bug ir a fad that i may be in because everyone in college seems to be making the transition. but if im not dedicated to taking care of my natural hair, i might be worse off as a natural... ill keep thinking about it. its def. something i shouldnt rush for the heck of it

 

[GoingNatural]

Sylver2 stretched for a month. Her goal wasn't to go natural, but to gain length. Either way her fotki may help you if you want to do a long transition.

 

[Andy1979]

I transitioned for 17 months by flatironing my roots. I did not incur heat damage because I deep conditioned weekly and used heat protectant.

 

[Highly Favored8]

I am now 26 weeks post and I am relaxing this Saturday.
I am stretching for lenght.
When I had my hair flat ironed my hair adjusted very easily.
My hair is very wavy and nice and I love the feel.
I enjoyed doing this in the fall and winter months so much that 1/3 of my hair is natural. So when I relax I should have a little over 1/3 of new growth.
No, you do not have to big chop when you go natural unless you want to B/C.
Now after this relaxer I am going to go 30 weeks without relaxing should gain a lot of growth b/c of the summer months. I only do this to gain growth. Then in 2010 possibly grow my hair out to natural. It is all about the choices you set for your hair.
Styler2 is a wonderful example of this.

 

[Solitude]

You can stretch until you figure out what you want to do. I was having the similar thoughts about transitioning. At 4 months post & counting, I don't want to transition anymore, just cut back on relaxing so often. But, you have to try it to figure out what will work for you.

6 months is NOT too long to go without a relaxer. At that point you can decide if you want to go ahead and relax/ do a long term transition/ or BC. I would think that the flat ironing throughout your transition would not be a good idea, though. I was flat ironing the hair left out of my sew-in and that ish did not stay straight for more than a day at a time. In Houston humidity over Spring Break, it puffed right back up. I don't know how other people do it....

I already purchased my Phytorelaxer & I am patiently waiting to put it in when I'm ready. The "should I transition" jitters may subside after a long stretch. Good luck!!

 

[cutiebe2]

support SugarPie..support!!!

you don't have to BC after six months...I hope you don't think I told you that

 

[starfish79]

I think you should just keep stretching until you decide. There's no pressure to make a decision right away.

 

[classylayd]

I'm doing a 6 month stretch and whoever told you that you had to cut the permed ends is wrong. Basically that would mean you would be all natural after the cut.

What helped me is wet bunning, no heat and low manupulation.

Hope that helps and good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[xyra]

I'm currently 7 months post and am also trying to decide whether or not I want to transition to natural as well. I plan on shampooing and deep conditioning weekly, as well as doing the rollerset/saran wrap method, and then touch up my roots with a flat iron every now and then (hopefully not too often though). I'm also going to experiment with my new growth and texlaxed hair to see if I can attempt a version of a wash and go style or braidout.

You don't have to decide right this moment if you want to become natural or not. You can continue to stretch your relaxer and wait until you have a good amount of new growth to figure out if you're ready to take care of you natural hair. That's what I plan to do, and I'll eventually start doing minichops to slowly trim off my relaxed ends if all goes well. Good luck with whatever you decide