Tips for transitioning

I did a flat twist twist out on my hair Saturday.  Sunday morning the results came out very nice.  The twist out elongated my hair a bit and I liked the length.  I bobbi-pinned the front back.  I do not like hair in my face.  To achieve this look I co-washed Saturday with Aubrey's Honeysuckle Rose and flat twisted with Shea butter.  Sunday morning I removed the twists and off I went to church.

Hey there lovelies~

A friend recently shared with me that she is making the big jump into the world of natural.  After learning this terrific news I felt inspired to share a few of my personal tips on transitioning.  Different people of course have their own opinion on the best way to transition.  Overall, there are two ways to transition:  one can either just start from scratch and immediately do the BC ("big chop") or one can transition slowly in order to gain more length before cutting her hair.  For those who are comfortable enough to just do a BC, I say GO for it.  If I had to do all over again I would have done the BC.  Doing a BC allows you to get familiar with your hair much more quickly and saves you the stress of dealing with two drastically different hair textures.  

For those of us who are bit less brave, here are a few of my thoughts/tips on transitioning.  I transitioned for about 10 months (this means that there was a 10 month period between my last relaxer and me getting all of the relaxed ends cut off of my hair so that my hair was completely relaxer free).  The length of your transition is very personal.  I have heard of people transitioning anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.  Obviously, the longer you transition the longer your hair will be when you get the relaxed ends cut.  However long you decide is best for you to transition be sure that when you do cut you are ready to cut.  Once you cut you can't put the hair back on (well, not your own hair, but there are always weaves).  Do realize that your natural hair texture will be different when you have relaxed ends still attached than once you have been completely relaxer free for several months. So, if you choose to do a long (in my opinion longer than 6 months) transition because you feel as though it allows you to better get used to your hair texture, note that the texture you are dealing with is probably different than your true natural texture.  

While transitioning there are several ways to approach the upkeep of your hair.  During my transition I mostly wore my hair straight.  Toward the end of my transition I wore twist outs as well.  Keeping two textures of hair (natural and relaxed) blended is a difficult task.  In order to keep my hair straight during the early transition period required me to "touch up" the roots about every other day or so.  While keeping my hair straight allowed me to work with my hair in a state that I was more familiar with, I was definitely not preserving the health of my newly grown hair.  I do not recommend keeping your hair straight during transitioning for longer than about 1-2 inches of new growth.  I recommend keeping your hair in protective styles while transitioning, or doing styles that mimic what you will do with your hair once it is natural.  For example, I recommend braids (but not too tight!), a sew-in, twist outs, braid outs, twists etc.  As you get closer to your decided time of chopping I highly recommend doing your hair in styles that you will also do once you are natural.  The quicker you begin learning how to manage your newly natural hair the better off you will be.  

Last, but definitely not least, do research while you transition!  As you are transitioning begin looking at youtube videos, blogs, websites, magazines, books...whatever you can find to get inspiration.  You will need inspiration to continue on your natural hair journey as well as education on what in the world to do with your hair once you have transitioned.  Some of my favorite resources are Naptural85 on youtube and blog and Mop Top Maven's blog (apparently she is a con-artist, but she still has good info on her blog, just don't purchase anything from her).  However, there are a TON of resources out there so use them!

So, my top 10 transitioning tips would be:

1. Choose the transition method that best fits you
2. Be sure to keep your hair moisturized (true once you are natural too)
3. Use products that YOU like-don't get caught up in what other people say, simply use other people's recommendations as a guide (also true once you are natural too)
4. Don't get caught up in understanding hair textures, this will change with time
5. Focus on keeping your hair healthy...growth will come (also true once you are natural too)
6. Learn as much as you can during your journey-learn from other people's experiences as well as from your own hair
7. Keep a journal-be sure to include pictures and to write down what worked well for you and what did not
8. Do styles that are more natural as often as possible
9. Develop a routine (also true once you are natural too)
10. Be patient!!!!
11. Bonus- Have fun!

Well, that's all I have for now.  Get going on your journey and be sure to share your experiences in the comment section along the way!

Tootles for now!