Transitioning without BC'ing Support Thread

[baddison]

Hey ladies I am almost 8 months post and I feel the same about the new growth, until I start noticing that its just the shrinkage afte I got my hair straighten it was longer then I thought!! I am also seeing some curls pop and I can't wait to big chop in the next 2-3 years, lol....(It sound sooo long though, im willing to wait it out)!

I'm right there with you. Tryna go the distance with this transition too. At least 2 years. I'll be braiding it up, so I won't be tempted to focus on new growth or shrinkage. Hope it works.

 

[Cherry89]

baddison, Your going natural as well? That's great hun! Yeah I decided to try out these knock off curl-formers from Amazon to help with the transition. Haven't tried them as yet, because I did Bantu knots before the arrived.

 

[baddison]

@baddison, Your going natural as well? That's great hun! Yeah I decided to try out these knock off curl-formers from Amazon to help with the transition. Haven't tried them as yet, because I did Bantu knots before the arrived.

Yeah. made the decision to embrace my natural hair...but I'm just gonna take my time with my transition. i would like to transition for at least 2 years or so - don't want to BC at all. Just gradually clip relaxed ends as my hair continues to grow. I will be self-braiding monthly in-between henna treatments for the next year or two. this is what tonight's first set of braids look like. hoping it will last the next 3 weeks. Then I take down to henna and one week's rest, then back in braids again. Will be steady washing, deep-conditioning, and co-washing the whole time to keep the moisture up.

would love to see those bantu knots...

 

[KidneyBean86]

I really need to stop watching big chop videos on youtube. I keep getting the urge to cut.

 

[Cherry89]

Yeah. made the decision to embrace my natural hair...but I'm just gonna take my time with my transition. i would like to transition for at least 2 years or so - don't want to BC at all. Just gradually clip relaxed ends as my hair continues to grow. I will be self-braiding monthly in-between henna treatments for the next year or two. this is what tonight's first set of braids look like. hoping it will last the next 3 weeks. Then I take down to henna and one week's rest, then back in braids again. Will be steady washing, deep-conditioning, and co-washing the whole time to keep the moisture up.

would love to see those bantu knots...

That regimen sounds great! and your hair looks thick and healthy girl. baddison
I'm glad you are choosing to go natural as well
2- 3 years is a long time, but i believe it is doable. I don't want to BC at all ethier. (Head too big, lol) I was also looking on amazon to buy some henna, as I stay in Columbus, GA now and its hard to get your hands on some stuff. So I have to order a lot on line, or when I take trips back to Atlanta. What Brand Henna do you use, I would enjoy some red tones in my hair and the extra benefits is comes with. Your regimen sounded just like mines, accept without the braids(Im very tender-headed now, so braids are out the questions for me) But I would have loved to use them for protective styling, as my little girl hair is benefiting from braids as well. I did take some pics of my Bantu Knots before my interview when they was fresh

 

[ScorpioLove]

Im 8.5 months post and I feel like im officially struggling. My hair looks ugly :'( my ends look even worse . I have been dealing with a crap ton of breakage.my hair is like bsb now. On top of that, i barely see much ng ( 3.5 in that shrinks to nothing).
Two more years of this mess :-(

I almost broke down and got a relaxer...

 

[Cherry89]

Im 8.5 months post and I feel like im officially struggling. My hair looks ugly :'( my ends look even worse . I have been dealing with a crap ton of breakage.my hair is like bsb now. On top of that, i barely see much ng ( 3.5 in that shrinks to nothing).
Two more years of this mess :-(

I almost broke down and got a relaxer...

ScorpioLove , believe it Or not . My hair is the same way you described yours. The only time it looks ok is after a wash and that only , probably last halve a day. Have you tried curl formers or the knock offs I'm hearing they are great for transitioning. I'm gonna use mines toNight for the first time, I also have some breakage as well, I just try to seal with castor oil and dust a little, it had helPed a bunch.

 

[naija24]

what weaves do you choose ? closed ones? no leave outs i guess? id like to start using weaves too but um... i never know what to chose. ive only woŕn 2 in my entire life ii might have to get a curly one?

coolsista-paris I got a sew in with a leave out but that was clearly a mistake. Next time I get weaves up I won't leave anything out.

 

[sharifeh]

naija24

Why was it a mistake to have a leave out?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[PlainJane]

I have a small patch of curls that I didn't know I had at the top of my head. I wonder if the honey DC I did for the first time made the curls form? I'm still waiting to see if curls will form at the back of my head. Also, I've been relying on heat way too much the past two months so after this I'm going back to bunning.

What products are you all using to get such sleek and shiny results? Even with the scarf method my hair only stays smooth a few hours.

 

[naija24]

naija24

Why was it a mistake to have a leave out?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

\

sharifeh, I think if you're planning to transition, it's just easier to have all your hair covered. Unless your real hair is pretty long already, leave outs look silly to me. My crown is clearly a diff color than the rest of my weave and it's so much shorter. Maybe others don't notice it but I do and it's annoying.

I think when I take this out I'm gonna get a full closure.

 

[coolsista-paris]

coolsista-paris I got a sew in with a leave out but that was clearly a mistake. Next time I get weaves up I won't leave anything out.

oh! i was thinking of a leave out but i will then try a closed one.
i dont know when though. i dont even know what to choose. i need something professionnal for work. seems hard to choose with a curly style.

 

[coolsista-paris]

I have a small patch of curls that I didn't know I had at the top of my head. I wonder if the honey DC I did for the first time made the curls form? I'm still waiting to see if curls will form at the back of my head. Also, I've been relying on heat way too much the past two months so after this I'm going back to bunning. What products are you all using to get such sleek and shiny results? Even with the scarf method my hair only stays smooth a few hours.

back when i was newly natural i put s curl gel, a tiny bit of oil, scarf on for 30 minutes and = sleek shiny hair With waves at the front. it was cute and neat!

 

[coolsista-paris]

error. double post

 

[Honey Bee]

I forgot to tell y'all, smoothing conditioners.

I think using them has cut down on a lot of frizz and drama. Where do they fit in on wash day? Sometimes I mix them into my dc. Other times, I mix up some smoothing conditioner and one of the Ion brand conditioners meant to close the cuticles of color treated hair, rinse out my dc, apply blend, and leave it for about 10 min.

HTH!

 

[Honey Bee]

I took a picture of my coilies a while back.


I'm thinking 4a, does that sound right? (Don't ask me about that mess hanging by my ear cuz I don't know. )

 

[KidneyBean86]

I took a picture of my coilies a while back.


I'm thinking 4a, does that sound right? (Don't ask me about that mess hanging by my ear cuz I don't know. )

Your coilies almost look like mine(hair cousins maybe) I would say it looks like a 4a. But then again I don't know crap about hair typing for real.

 

[Mische]

Honey_Bee I'm terrible at hair typing, so I won't even pretend to guess. Looks pretty though! My hair looks similar when wet in some areas... but kinks up into straight nothingness/no real pattern once dry.

 

[trclemons]

Does anyone else feel like they have no growth?? Judging by my leave out I feel like I'm 2 months post not 8 months I hate how long it's gonna take before I see length
This shrinkage thing is gonna be a real test

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

sharifeh I know exactly what you mean about feeling like your hair isn't growing and I am 16 months post. I fell into the trap of comparing my growth with some of the ladies I've seen on YouTube and I had to stop because it was discouraging me.

I will straighten my hair at the 24 month mark for a length check and I'm hoping to have the surprise that Cherry89 experienced with hair that is longer than I imagined.

 

[sweetpea7]

Honey_Bee I'm terrible at hair typing, so I won't even pretend to guess. Looks pretty though! My hair looks similar when wet in some areas... but kinks up into straight nothingness/no real pattern once dry.

Same here! Some places have a curl pattern like the picture posted and some places have like wavy/undefined chunks.

Wash day was a hit! No trouble detangling. Hopefully this braidout will turn out well.
I'm 29 weeks post with 3-4 inches of new growth

 

[divachyk]

I pop in this thread from time to time to gain stretching tips and hair inspiration. Every time I'm due for a touch up, I get the urge to stretch longer to see what my natural hair looks like but tend to cave in the end. I just don't have what it takes to manage varying textures.

I have some random questions:
-Is there any truth that relaxed ends weigh down the ng and make it look a little more elongated?
-Anyone find their natural texture differed after removing relaxed ends?
-I was talking with a stylist that said, ng is dry and/or feels dry when relaxed hair is present but it softens up tremendously after the relaxed hair is removed. Is that true? Why do you think that is?

 

[sharifeh]

divachyk
If you can stretch you can do this

I can definitely speak to your last question
My NG felt horrible when I was relaxing just really tight and rough
It's crazy how much it's softening up as it grows out
It's getting much much softer I have no idea why
It's so weird , the hair really does get softer As it grows out

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[SuchaLady]

divachyk If you can stretch you can do this I can definitely speak to your last question My NG felt horrible when I was relaxing just really tight and rough It's crazy how much it's softening up as it grows out It's getting much much softer I have no idea why It's so weird , the hair really does get softer As it grows out Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

Very true! I remember telling you via PM that my hair last year vs now is totally different. You couldn't tell me last year that I didn't have grass for hair.

 

[havilland]

I pop in this thread from time to time to gain stretching tips and hair inspiration. Every time I'm due for a touch up, I get the urge to stretch longer to see what my natural hair looks like but tend to cave in the end. I just don't have what it takes to manage varying textures. I have some random questions: -Is there any truth that relaxed ends weigh down the ng and make it look a little more elongated? -Anyone find their natural texture differed after removing relaxed ends? -I was talking with a stylist that said, ng is dry and/or feels dry when relaxed hair is present but it softens up tremendously after the relaxed hair is removed. Is that true? Why do you think that is?

As someone who transitioned for two years and 3 months...I can try to help. Relaxed ends do weigh ur hair down and make ur hair texture more elongated. My natural texture was tighter after the relaxer was gone. Again, it was the weight of the relaxed ends. The main difference was length overall. My new growth softened up after I spend a year deep conditioning twice a week. I have no idea why except that as more of the hair strand was exposed (ie longer) the more hair was available to conditions and moisturize and treat with care.

Edited to add pic of my hair in translation with texlaxed ends and my hair now. Same length fully natural.

 

[divachyk]

Thanks ladies. I'm always brainstorming my next move. I get tons of breakage when stretching. It's like a catch 22 -- it either breaks because of too much manipulation (washing twice weekly) or dryness (not washing twice weekly). My hair hates protein so giving it a shot of protein doesn't cure the breakage. It actually makes it worse. I am determined to find the key to making my stretch work beyond 10 weeks. I just haven't found the missing link to smooth out this bumpy ride.

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

-Is there any truth that relaxed ends weigh down the ng and make it look a little more elongated?
YES! I'm a solid type 4 and with my relaxed ends it makes my kinks look like curls.

-Anyone find their natural texture differed after removing relaxed ends?

My nape is completely natural and its the softest, most resilient and grow quite nicely.

-I was talking with a stylist that said, ng is dry and/or feels dry when relaxed hair is present but it softens up tremendously after the relaxed hair is removed. Is that true? Why do you think that is?

My new growth was never dry so to speak. But it was really coarse and tight and it was up until the time that i started doing long stretches. Now that I'm transitioning my ends are the driest. My NG is the softest, especially when stretched (which it is 100% of the time).

Hope this helps divachyk

 

[coolsista-paris]

Thanks ladies. I'm always brainstorming my next move. I get tons of breakage when stretching. It's like a catch 22 -- it either breaks because of too much manipulation (washing twice weekly) or dryness (not washing twice weekly). My hair hates protein so giving it a shot of protein doesn't cure the breakage. It actually makes it worse. I am determined to find the key to making my stretch work beyond 10 weeks. I just haven't found the missing link to smooth out this bumpy ride.

ive been streching since virgin relaxer in november. im now 5 months post. i dont how i made it this long (back years ago i used to relax every 6 weeks, no wonder my fine hair stayed short)

anyway to answer: my ng is dry when i dont oil rinse. i oil rinsed last with and applied serum it is soft and stayed moisturized for days ( the ends too)!!

when i bc my hair was more curly /kinky. but still soft ( i used to dc weekly and moisturize very well).

i had nice soft natural 4 type hair.

only bad thing i did when i was a new natural is where my hair out too much.

 

[Honey Bee]

Thanks ladies. I'm always brainstorming my next move. I get tons of breakage when stretching. It's like a catch 22 -- it either breaks because of too much manipulation (washing twice weekly) or dryness (not washing twice weekly). My hair hates protein so giving it a shot of protein doesn't cure the breakage. It actually makes it worse. I am determined to find the key to making my stretch work beyond 10 weeks. I just haven't found the missing link to smooth out this bumpy ride.

divachyk, Moisture pre-poos. I can use half a bottle so I've been using cheapies or buying big bottles from Sally's. I save the good stuff for dc's.

 

[Britt]

-Anyone find their natural texture differed after removing relaxed ends?
-I was talking with a stylist that said, ng is dry and/or feels dry when relaxed hair is present but it softens up tremendously after the relaxed hair is removed. Is that true? Why do you think that is?

I totally agree with this. southerncitygirl and I were talking about this and it's been my observation from those who've gone natural. I don't know the 'science' behind it but I believe this. I most definitely see this when I look at naturals who big chopped as opposed to long term transitioners. For example, looking at a natural who bc early on -- by the time they are say close to 2 years w/o a relaxer and you take a transitioner that's just cutting at 2 years... the hair looks different imo. I don't think holding on to relaxed ends for a realllly long time helps anything. I think natural hair seems to flourish more after the relaxed ends are removed. I can see why some big chop earlier on and then wear braids or something until they get their desired length.

 

[divachyk]

Thank you ladies! You all rock.