who thinks their natural journey.....

chebaby

chebaby

Well-Known Member
was easy?
who here believes that their transition from relaxed to natural was easy???
i ask because i was reading scandalous beauty's thread about how hard it was for her and i got to thinking about my own journey. for me i dont know if it was easy or hard. i transitioned for darn near a year so that when i did the big chop i would have a good amount of hair because i had low self esteem and thought i would be ugly without my almost bsl hair. i had never had hair shorter than 2 inches past sl so having short hair scared me. but even after my long transition i still ended up with only 1-2 inches of natural hair because i had heat damage in the front. i have been natural for one month now and i love it. i dont regret it and my self esteem has evolved. when i sat in the chair to get my hair cut off i didnt cry and i didnt feel sad. so im leaning towards saying that my transition was easy mentally.
also because i am a pj i have a BUNCH of products which has allowed me to find the ones that work for me and keeps my hair healthy and growing.

so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
did you have a melt down?
did you regret it?
how long did it take you to find work works for you?
 
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My first transition (from relaxed to natural) was harder than my second transtion (locs to natural) because the first go around, I had no CLUE what I was doing with (and to!) my hair. Ignorance makes everything harder, I think.

The second time around, I didn't know any more about my natural hair (locs, while natural, don't require the same care as loose natural hair) than I did the first time, but I committed myself to learning all that I could, and truly, that has made all of the difference. Second time was a breeze, comparatively.

It took me about 6 months to figure out what my hair needed, another six months to figure out what products and routines would actually give my hair what it needed, and a third six months to finish experimenting and settle on the products that gave me the best results. Since then, it just been a matter of tweaking and growing, and learning how to handle my hair at it's different lengths.
 
So when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
I would say it was an in between kind of thing. I had more great days than bad days. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being easy) I would give a strong 7.

did you have a melt down?
Yes there were times when I wanted to set my hair on fire! But I would throw it in a bun or put in 2 strand twist and things would be okay!

Did you regret it?
The only thing i regret is not transitioning sooner!

How long did it take you to find work works for you?
I'm still finding things, but i would say about a year for the basic things that work well.
 
I didn't transition. I never thought that it would be so easy for me to just cut all of my hair off. But I did it. I didn't have an inch of hair when I bc'd 6 months ago. I am really enjoying my natural hair and I haven't had any problems with it.

Initially I was shocked because it was a drastic change. But I quickly got over it. My friends and family were very supportive of my decision and kept telling me how amazing I looked.

I don't regret it at all!

I just pretty much let my hair decide what I'm going to do with it and I keep the products to a minimum. For my hair, less is really more.
 
My transition was a piece of cake, I loved it and if I could choose I would still be transitioning.
Being natural speaks for itself; easiest thing in the world because it's natural...tadaaa!.
Relaxed hair was a huge pain for me.
 
It was easy for me, I guess because I took the easy way out. The first 4 months I was weaved up, the next 6 months I got Dominican blowouts, so the first 10 months it was a breeze. The last 2 months was pure FUN because I had just discovered LHCF and I did so much experimenting. I will admit I BC'd partly out of frustration from breakage, so I would give it about an 8.
 
i thought my transition (dealing with both textures) was sooooooooooooooooo easy because once a week i washed. deep treated, did protein and flat ironed. but once i was ready to cut it off i had heat damage in the front left side even though i always used heat protection. sometimes i used two different heat protectants at the same time so idk.
but keep 'em coming ladies.
 
It's going good so far... I'm still kinda early into it - 19 weeks...

I think the knowledge I've gained from LHCF, forums and fotkis have been very helpful.
 
I first BCed when I was 17. All I did was wash almost everyday in the shower, put in some VO5 wet gel, shake and move. The only hairstyles I knew were the puff, and some dookie braids with a head wrap. When I say my hair grew like wildfire I mean it.

Fast fwd 8 years and I'm transitioning again. I've had major breakage and dryness from doing too too too much to my hair the past 2 years, and a texlax disaster.

The simpler you are, the easier your journey.
 
Hey Girllll,

I did the Big Cut. I asked my son who did his hair. I got dressed real feminine (Sp) and walked in the Barber Shop and asked for, Mo but his name is Moose. I told I want to cut out the relaxer. My hair was freshly washed and conditioned. As he started to comb very gingerly he said, my hair was already comb. and he did his thing. He lowered and lowered, twist and turned and when he was done. He shaped the back and sides. Lovely. No gaps smooth as hell. Wow. All for $10 Bucks. He did an excellent job. I'll post this evening. I gave him a 100% tip. I've received compliments already. Wow. I even purchased some diamond studs, since I'm in the AF. As to feeling sad, Not At All. I've made a Command Decision. I prefer to maintain color in my hair and no longer need a relaxer to straighten my hair. I can always blow and flat iron to straighten. I'm Elated.

Simone:bdance:
 
not really..I am 13 weeks post and its not that hard. I just co wash for the first time last week and it made a huge difference. My ng is so soft and easy to work with. Next week I plan on getting braids and keeping my hair braided for the next 4 mths then BCing..The first time I went natural I BC at 2 mths, but this time I have decided to go a little longer so I will have some hair..
 
so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard? Easy. I rarely got relaxers anyways, so I just stopped all together one day. Once I made the decision, I really didn't think too much about it again.
did you have a melt down? No melt downs.

did you regret it? Never. I don't know why I ever attempted getting a relaxer in the first place. All those stinky chemicals with not much pay off for me. I like the look and texture of my natural hair much more.
how long did it take you to find work works for you?
Well, I kind of ignored my hair for a long time. Meaning, I would just throw it in a bun and not even bother moisturizing, etc.
Once I started focusing on healthier, longer hair, it took me a couple of months.
 
so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
The first time it was hard, i had alot of breakage. I got up to 4 months and i relaxed on my 4th month.

The 2nd attempt was great and easy. I used braids and weaves throughout the whole time. When i would wear my hair out with wigs i would cowashed alot.


did you have a melt down?
No i didnt because i didnt do a big chop i just grew my hair out from the relaxer. It may have had some parts that broke off without me knowing but i kept my hair in protective styles so much that i never noticed it happening. The only frustrating part is wanting it to be longer and wanting to be able to do the natural styles that others are with the length they have.

did you regret it?
Nope no regrets. My hair was breaking and i relied on going to stylist and salons so much it was too costly, yes having weaves can be costly but if i go for about every 6 to 8 weeks with a weave compared to me running to a salon every week or every two weeks it adds up and plus with the growth i get.

how long did it take you to find work works for you?
I still dont have a regimen. I just know about doing cowashing but i dont plan on doing that all the time. I know that I love moisturizing shampoos and conditioners. For awhile there i was using Aphogee products, before i started weaving. For the summer i want to wear my own hair so by this weekend i may take out my weave and then see how it works for awhile. I want to wear more natural hair and give myself a break on weaves with it being the summer and get some growth.
 
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so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
It was OK. Not easy, not hard. I kept my hair in buns, ponies, and sew-ins during the transition.

did you have a melt down?
Yes. I did. The day after the BC, shrinkage took over and I felt like I should've waited longer. I started crying a little because I missed my long hair. But then I told my myself that it was for the best and that it's just hair.

did you regret it?
For a brief moment, yes, but I got over it and accepted my short, natural hair. Now I love it.

how long did it take you to find work works for you?
Not too long. My hair loves moisture so I bought more moisturizing products and oil-based pomades.
 
It was pretty easy for me. I chopped my hair off once it was about an inch long and wore braids for 6 months. After that I started wearing twists and comb coils as my main styles. I've always done my own hair so I knew what to expect from my hair and how to style it.
 
so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard? I thought mine was pretty easy.

did you have a melt down? No.

did you regret it? Nope.

how long did it take you to find work works for you? I didn't wear my hair out at first but once I started wearing it out, a few months of experimentation led me to a good regimen. I continued with a lot of the products and techniques I used on my relaxed hair though. If it aint broke, why fix it?
 
I've done 3 transitions and I thought they were all easy. 2 I transitioned with brading styles and 1 I big chopped with just a few weeks growth of hair.
 
chebaby said:
was easy?

so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
did you have a melt down?
did you regret it?
how long did it take you to find work works for you?
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your story!

My first transition was about 6 months - i was planning on going a year because I too had never had hair shorter than APL and usually kept my hair at BSL. The transition was really easy for me because I usually got my texlax touched up every 4 months, so the 2 extra months were like nothing.

I cut and was happy with it until there was this inbetween stage where my hair kinda hung in this ugly sad mushroom cloud shape... not cute. So, it wasn't hard, no melt down, only regreted it on mushroom cloud days, but i learned to twist it to get thru that rough patch.

This transition is a long one and it's going so well!!! After I cut i know i wont regret it, and i'll just be happier!
 
My transition was easy. I transitioned in braids that I did myself and redid one-at-a-time over the course of a year, trimming a little every time I redid a braid. I didn't have a meltdown because I was transitioning so I could prove to my stylist that my hair, if relaxed properly from scratch, can take a relaxer very well. I was on a mission, y'all :giggle: ...but my transition was never done to stay natural. I didn't regret it at all. In fact, I fell in love with my natural hair and never even wanted the relaxer after all! I already had a no-product regimen when I started to transition but sort of got side-tracked by 19879473987 suggestions on the forum and almost became a PJ. But I was quick to catch on that my hair preferred the no-product route. So I guess it took 4 months after my transition for me to realize that I didn't need to change my regimen: July 2003 when I joined the forum to November 2003 when I realized my KISS regimen worked just fine and that all the add-ons were not really working for me.
 
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Nonie said:
My transition was easy. I transitioned in braids that I did myself and redid one-at-a-time over the course of a year, trimming a little every time I redid a braid. I didn't have a meltdown because I was transitioning so I could prove to my stylist that my hair, if relaxed properly from scratch, can take a relaxer very well. I was on a mission, y'all :giggle: ...but my transition was never done to stay natural. I didn't regret it at all. In fact, I fell in love with my natural hair and never even wanted the relaxer after all! I already had a no-product regimen when I started to transition but sort of got side-tracked by 19879473987 suggestions on the forum and almost became a PJ. But I was quick to catch on that my hair preferred the no-product route. So I guess it took 4 months after my transition for me to realize that I didn't need to change my regimen: July 2003 when I joined the forum to November 2003 when I realized my KISS regimen worked just fine and that all the add-ons were not really working for me.
Click to expand...
hi nonie,
what do you mean by no-products regi??
 
I never transitioned. I BC'ed about a month or two after I decided I wanted to go natural. I did not know how to take care of natural hair at first, which led me to relax my hair twice in my 4 year natural journey. But once I learned what I was doing, it was a piece of cake.

The problems I have with my hair have less to do with the fact that I am natural and more to do with me still learning the best way to keep my hair in tip-top shape.
 
My transition was way harder than my relaxed OR natural hair. I generally just kept it straight because I didn't want to deal with the two textures. Wash days sucked, flat ironing sucked, trying to keep it from reverting sucked...overall, it sucked. :lol:

I don't regret it, though. It got me here, and that's what matters.
 
chebaby said:
hi nonie,
what do you mean by no-products regi??
Click to expand...

It's a bit of an exaggeration. I really should've said no "after wash" products, as in no leave ins, moisturizers, styling products. I only use products to wash my hair when wearing my hair in braids and twists. Now if I have to comb my hair out, then I do use a product to provide slip for my comb to glide (S Curl) . But since I rarely do that, I can go a whole year without using anything on my hair except the products I use during my wash, namely shampoo, conditioner and ACV.
 
Im finding it to be bit hard dealing with the two textures. I think I have heat damaged a part in the back of my head. Right now I am in braids and that sould take me through a few weeks. I am falling in love with co washing. I am really tempted to end my transition and bc in july or august...but we'll see.
 
chebaby said:
was easy?
who here believes that their transition from relaxed to natural was easy???
i ask because i was reading scandalous beauty's thread about how hard it was for her and i got to thinking about my own journey. for me i dont know if it was easy or hard. i transitioned for darn near a year so that when i did the big chop i would have a good amount of hair because i had low self esteem and thought i would be ugly without my almost bsl hair. i had never had hair shorter than 2 inches past sl so having short hair scared me. but even after my long transition i still ended up with only 1-2 inches of natural hair because i had heat damage in the front. i have been natural for one month now and i love it. i dont regret it and my self esteem has evolved. when i sat in the chair to get my hair cut off i didnt cry and i didnt feel sad. so im leaning towards saying that my transition was easy mentally.
also because i am a pj i have a BUNCH of products which has allowed me to find the ones that work for me and keeps my hair healthy and growing.

so when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
did you have a melt down?
did you regret it?
how long did it take you to find work works for you?
Click to expand...

First few months were easy as pie.
Next few months were frustrating and full of doubt.
Melt down..NEVER..I was/AM determined to be rid of the relaxer cycle.
Regret. Not at all.
I found what worked for me along the way...still learning.
Still on the see-saw about THE CHOP..thoroughly tired of the relaxed ends.
 
So when you made the transition from relaxed to natural was it easy or hard?
I would say it would depend on which day you asked. Some days I was freaking out and questioning my decision to transition so long.
Other days I was happy with the soft thickness that was blossoming. Transitioning was harder than just being relaxed or just being natural. The 2 textures together do not play nice.

did you have a melt down?
There were some days when I almost decided to go back to relaxing especially when I started thinking about how long my hair would have been if I hadn't been trimming off the relaxer gradually.But I had a great support system.

Did you regret it?
No.

How long did it take you to find work works for you?
Well, I've always known that cornrows and twists work for me so that was immediate! And 2 weeks after my big chop I discovered the joy of the Afro-Puff **WOOT**
But as far as products and a real routine...I'm still finding things.
 
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