To transition or not??? Help?

[LamLove121]

I had natural thick curly hair that i used to press and i have a had a relaxer for the past year and my hair has really thinned out so now i am faced with the delimma of growing it off or not. So ladies who have transitioned how hard was it and was the texture of your new natural hair different than your natural hair before the relaxer?

 

[Daughter]

I transitioned for 11 months. My natural texture was completely different from the relaxed part, which was really straight and I suppose my hair is a type 4.

I mainly wore my hair in single braid extensions or canerows (my own hair when it started to grow out) and as I kept my hair quite moisturised and handled it as little as possible I ddin't get any serious breakage. I did trim a bit of the hair every couple of months. One day I just got too impatient and wanted to see me with 100% natural hair and cut off about 4" in one go!

I did get "scab" hair, my hair's condition improved after a while and is even better since I joined hair care boards and realised that my hair CAN be dried without heat and it actually feels moisturised, not dry all the time as it used to get. Darned hair dryer!!!!

 

[CharUK]

I say go for it!!!

I had really thick natural hair, and my hair thinned out badly with perms, not to mention the damage I got (although mostly self inflicted)

I don't really remember the natural texture of my hair, all I can say is, it was THICK and after transitioning for 8 months, my thick hair is back in FULL EFFECT

I BC'd in January, but am not very comfortable with super short hair, so will be wearing braids till at least October then see how I feel.

Good luck with whatever you decide

xx

 

[Enchantmt]

I dont really remember my natural hair before my relaxer so I dont know if its the same or different. I think I am better off now because I'm not trying to handle it like its supposed to be straight. I was fine transitioning the first 6 months or so then it got too difficult for me to manage both textures. I was ok for everyday styling but when it came to something I had to be dressier for I kept trying to revert to a straight look and my new growth just wasnt having it. I ended up transitioning 8 months and I BC'd last week. I know I currently have heat damage from trying to straighten my newgrowth while transitioning so after I get all the damaged parts removed I'm going to be very happy with the health and texture of my hair. I had forgotten how thick it is.

I suppose it depends on your length and how damaged your hair is currently as to what you want to do. If your hair is thinning you may be happier transitioning back but if you want to continue relaxing seek the advice of the wonderful women on this board. They will help you stretch your relaxers and keep it in protective styling so that you can maintain what you have and as your hair continues to grow you can gradually trim off the damaged parts. I'm sure you can nurse it back to health. There is a learning curve going from relaxed to natural and vis versa if you arent familiar with that type of hair or if its been a while since you've handled it. You may just need a good regimen and time to learn how to handle your hair in its new state. Good luck whatever you decide!!

 

[Tai]

I'm in my 11th month of transitioning and I really haven't had any major problems transitioning. My natural hair is thick and a mixture of curls and waves and my texturized texture is very similar. I've rarely used heat during my transition. My last blowout was in December and I don't plan to get another until May or June. It helps to have a plan for what you're going to do with your hair if you're thinking about doing a long-term transition. I knew that I was not going to use heat regularly and stick to doing wet buns and using the baggie method 90% of the time. It will probably be another year before I do the BC.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Poohbear]

Did you like having natural hair?
What prompt your to get a relaxer in the first place?
Do you think it's the relaxer causing your hair to thin? How often are you getting it relaxed?

If you liked your natural thick hair before you relaxed it, I would say transition to natural too! If you would like to keep your relaxed hair, you should stretch your touch-up times to every 4-6 months so your hair grows out thick so a relaxer will less likely thin out your hair, and you'll be applying chemicals to your hair less times during the year.

HTH!

 

[sweetpineapple]

My natural hair is really thick curly/wavy texture(3c/4a). When I relaxed my hair did not get bone striaght but enough for there to be a difference. My relaxed hair is thick too but not like my natural hair. The first couple of months were easy for me. I went from buns-ocasiaonal flatironing-braidouts-cornrows w/ a wig- then to rollersetting. For me it got harder past three months or whenever new growth really came in but with the help of low maintenace styles, deep conditioning and lots of MOISTURE, its gets better to handle. I don't know if that helped but GOOD LUCK, on the decision.

 

[TigerLily]

Transitioning wasn't really hard for me. You just have to keep your hair moisturized. My hair texture was different for me. When I was natural before, My hair type was like a 4a, now it's a 4z!!!

I say go ahead and transition! If you don't like it or if it's too much for you to deal with you can always go back!

 

[kristina]

I didn't really transition in the normal sense. I just left my hair in braids all the time and didn't see any point in adding a chemical if it wasn't going to change my appearance anyway. I remember when I was relaxed in high school and although my hair was thick then it is much thicker and softer now. The longer I stay natural, the more I appreciate the benefits of it. But like everything it's a give and take situation- natural hair especially our type is challenging to deal with. I think if you only want your hair to be straight, I'd stick to relaxing because pressing on a biweekly basis can be really, really damaging (plus its limiting because you always feel bad about sweating out the press) and I think the mechanical damage would surpass the chemical damage. However, if you like buns and natural styles as well, I think transitioning is a good idea because you can get a professional look, a funky look relatively easier and when you do occasionally straighten, natural hair looks really luscious as well. Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[chocolate01]

I think if you love your natural hair then I say transition especially if you think the relaxer is the culprit that's causing your hair to thin. But I think Kristina also made a good point, you also want to think about if you are going to wear your hair straight mostly or not. I have not had a realxer since August and honestly the past 7 months have not been that hard. The key is really patience. I trim my ends every now and then and that really helps in keeping my hair manageble. I have been wearing rollersets for most of the time but I think im going to swith to more braidout and cornrows for the next couple of week. I wash 2x a week (one poo, one no-poo) and moisturize everyday and stay away from heat. When I was wearing rollersets I would sit under the dryer for about an hour and that was it. The only "direct heat" i've had on my hair is when I got my blowout a couple weeks ago. As far as my natural texture before I really don't know. I was natural for a time in high school but I would always blowdry and flat iron my hair and when I was younger my mom would press my hair sometimes.

 

[Peachtree]

I'll also say GO AHEAD & TRANSITION!

I don't remember my hair texture prior to relaxing (relaxing has clouded my memory ). Transitioning was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined it to be. Mths 6-8 were the hardest for me cuz I had never gone that long withuot touching up.... but after mth 8, it was SMOOOOOOTH SAILING!!! .... (( kinda easy really ))

I transitioned 18 mths by 1) keeping both textures very moisturized daily (water & oil mix); 2) protective styling (kept breakage at a minimum); 3) combed/detangled ONLY when drenched in conditioner & with a wide tooth shower comb; 4) ALWAYS slept with satin/silk covering; 5) AIR DRY, AIR DRY, AIR DRY! Oh yeah, did I mention that I AIR DRIED! (( I had an absolutely no heat regimen )).