Re:
Hello all
Count me in
, yep, I'm officially transitioning
& soooooooooooo excited
I've read this entire thread & I'm so very inspired by each of u
Ok, let me shed some light on my hair background.... sorry if this gets kinda long
I have been permed for 18 yrs. I've done my own hair for 13 yrs (perms, trims, styles, u name it, I do it
. I even care for others hair as a "paid" hobby
)
My last touch up was April 19th. I have been airdrying in braids, twists & buns since that date (I've never air dried before). I haven't used my hooded dryer since early April, not even for deep conditioning treatments (I have been warming the conditioner b4 applying). I haven't used a curling iron, blow dryer, flat iron, etc since Sept 1.
.
I haven't had 1 single problem with relaxers. In fact, I'm very, very happy with the healthy condition of my hair. I LUV MY RELAXED HAIR. I have length, I have thickness, I have volume, I have bounce, I have luster & sheen, I have manageability, I have a perfect regime down to a science, RELAXED HAIR LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
.
So why go natural, 1 might ask? Simple. Cuz I LUV MY NATURAL TEXTURE EVEN MORE!!! To the point that I UTTERLY DESPISE the thought of putting a relaxer on top of it. I have never been able to care for my natural hair as EASILY as I am able to now. ....AND WITHOUT HEAT I MAY ADD. That's a big deal in itself!!!
However, I'm not against using heat on my natural hair... just not on my relaxed hair (hooded dryers are ok though
).
TRANSITIONAL ROUTE
I plan to trim my relaxed hair maybe 1-2" at a time as I gain growth. I have about 2-3" of new growth now. I'm about 5" from waist length. I haven't yet decided when I'll begin my trims... I'm thinking about waiting until I reach waist length then start trimming. (waist length is my hair goal). Once I'm able to achieve shoulder length natural hair, I'm thinking I'd probably be inclined to cut off the relaxed hair then. That's wayyyy down the line. Hopefully my transition will take 2 yrs max!!! (btw, I plan to track my new growth mthly by posting pics in my album. My 1st one's are there under July 2003
).
HOW I'M DOING?
So far wonderful. Oddly enough, I'm able to manage my new growth better now without heat than with heat. My biggest hurdle will be getting past 5" of new growth. Some time ago, I managed 5" of new growth without a problem & that was prior to having a regime. No, I wasn't transitioning, I was just too lazy to perm it
. So I know 5" is manageable. But more? Well, we'll see.
Another issue is tangles
. So far so good. But as the natural hair gets longer, I know that's gonna be a major issue.
What scares me the most about transitioning is breakage at the "line". My hair is very strong; breakage is not a problem for me. However, 1 yr into transitioning with the possibility of having stringy ends scares the heck out of me
, ESPECIALLY WHEN i could have left my hair relaxed & just maintained the hair health I was accustomed too.
Ok, that's enough for now. To all of u who have sent inspirational PM's, I luv each of u
. This is definitely a journey that has NEVER EVER crossed by mind b4 ....ironically enough now, going natural is all that I think about. Who knows... maybe this natural kick really isn't for me... but 1 things for sure, I certainly now have a new found appreciation for my natural hair more than I ever imagined i would.
(((( exhaling.... ahhhh, such a spiritual awakening this is becoming
)))))
BTW, I can't visit this thread too often cuz my computer is dragging waaaaay too slow here
.
For real... I'm out this time