The Rules To Transitioning Part Two
Transitioning from Relaxed to Natural
More ladies are making the transition from relaxed to natural every day but are not sure on how to do so. It may or may not be as easy as it seems, especially when a lot of black women relax their hair in the first place for more "manageable" hair.
There are two ways to transition when going natural. That's the BC (Big Chop) where you chop off all the relaxed portions of your hair and start over or you gradually cut the relaxed ends off to retain a certain length.
THE BIG CHOP
It can be a big shock to some systems to chop all their hair off and rock a TWA (teeny weeny afro) For most people, this is the easiest way to transition. Start off with a fresh head of hair!
Some wait until they have at least two inches of natural hair before chopping their hair off to avoid wearing the TWA. It's all a matter of preference. I know a lot of ladies that just want enough hair to be able to braid so that they can rock sew ins and other protective styles until their hair gets enough length.
RETAINING LENGTH AND TRANSITIONING.
This is where it gets tricky. The line of demarcation (where the relaxed hair and natural hair meets) is very weak. If you don't take proper care of your hair, the relaxed portion of your hair WILL break off. No if, ands, or buts about it.
Natural hair needs moisture while relaxed hair needs more protein. I must stress that it is very important to keep your protein and moisture balance in check when trying to hold on to those relaxed ends.
Low manipulation styles will serve you best when trying to make the transition. You must remember that those relaxed ends must eventually be cut off. I know some ladies that cut off an inch at a time as their natural hair grows.
When going natural, your hair needs constant moisture to maintain or else it will get dry and break.
I must also state that if you are making the decision to go natural but you are addicted to straight hair, you are looking for a setback to happen.
In order to succeed in making the natural transition is the acceptance of natural hair. A lot of ladies fall into the trap of always rocking straight hair and getting used to that look. They constantly use heat to maintain that look and have setback after setback.
There is nothing wrong with using heat or rocking straight hair from time to time but one must embrace her natural curls and be comfortable rocking your hair in its natural state.
Still want to rock straight hair and be natural? Go for a full sew in or a cute wig. There are a lot of naturals that are "heat trained" which means they use heat to maintain their hair to keep it straight (not bone straight). This method will eventually loosen the curl pattern in your hair which is really slight heat damage.
Some naturals swear by this method and don't mind loosing their natural curl pattern to get rid of single strand knots that are the devil for most naturals.
Kudos to all the women out there that are learning to embrace their natural curls.
More ladies are making the transition from relaxed to natural every day but are not sure on how to do so. It may or may not be as easy as it seems, especially when a lot of black women relax their hair in the first place for more "manageable" hair.
There are two ways to transition when going natural. That's the BC (Big Chop) where you chop off all the relaxed portions of your hair and start over or you gradually cut the relaxed ends off to retain a certain length.
THE BIG CHOP
It can be a big shock to some systems to chop all their hair off and rock a TWA (teeny weeny afro) For most people, this is the easiest way to transition. Start off with a fresh head of hair!
Some wait until they have at least two inches of natural hair before chopping their hair off to avoid wearing the TWA. It's all a matter of preference. I know a lot of ladies that just want enough hair to be able to braid so that they can rock sew ins and other protective styles until their hair gets enough length.
RETAINING LENGTH AND TRANSITIONING.
This is where it gets tricky. The line of demarcation (where the relaxed hair and natural hair meets) is very weak. If you don't take proper care of your hair, the relaxed portion of your hair WILL break off. No if, ands, or buts about it.
Natural hair needs moisture while relaxed hair needs more protein. I must stress that it is very important to keep your protein and moisture balance in check when trying to hold on to those relaxed ends.
Low manipulation styles will serve you best when trying to make the transition. You must remember that those relaxed ends must eventually be cut off. I know some ladies that cut off an inch at a time as their natural hair grows.
When going natural, your hair needs constant moisture to maintain or else it will get dry and break.
I must also state that if you are making the decision to go natural but you are addicted to straight hair, you are looking for a setback to happen.
In order to succeed in making the natural transition is the acceptance of natural hair. A lot of ladies fall into the trap of always rocking straight hair and getting used to that look. They constantly use heat to maintain that look and have setback after setback.
There is nothing wrong with using heat or rocking straight hair from time to time but one must embrace her natural curls and be comfortable rocking your hair in its natural state.
Still want to rock straight hair and be natural? Go for a full sew in or a cute wig. There are a lot of naturals that are "heat trained" which means they use heat to maintain their hair to keep it straight (not bone straight). This method will eventually loosen the curl pattern in your hair which is really slight heat damage.
Some naturals swear by this method and don't mind loosing their natural curl pattern to get rid of single strand knots that are the devil for most naturals.
Kudos to all the women out there that are learning to embrace their natural curls.
thank you very much for this article
ReplyDeleteyour blog is amazing and your hair is awesome
i really like itm i'm writting my blog but is in spanish. :) congrats for the blog