I transitioned from 2009-2011. I can say that transitioning was very hard for me. At the time, I had no idea how to do my hair at all. The two textures were like night and day, and I was frustrated with my tresses. While transitioning, I chose to visit my hair stylist every two weeks to have her take care of my hair simply because I didn’t know what to do with it. At that time I wore my hair mostly straight. I continued visit my stylist and she cut the relaxed ends little by little. I continued this until one day I just couldn’t take it anymore and I let her know that I was ready to cut the rest of my relaxed ends. I had become confident enough that my hair was at a length I could work with.
Make sure you are choosing the right styles for your hair
One of the biggest challenges for transitioners is which hairstyles to try. The best hairstyles to try are Twist and Curls, Braid and Curls and rod sets (flexi rod and perm rods”>– they help hide the two textures and are easy to manage. You should try to experiment with different styles that work best for you. There are a TON of YouTube videos on how to do your hair in just about every style you ever thought of.
Set realistic expectations
Don’t expect to have hair like CurlyNikki, MahagonyCurls, or that girl on YouTube. Your hair is yours and differs from those women. Take time to learn your hair and what it likes and doesn’t like. It will take time for your hair to achieve the length and looks you desire. It’s a trial and error process. You will have to play around with different styles in order to figure out what works for your hair. If you don’t have realistic expectations you will be upset every time.
Take your time with your tresses
Good hair care is the best hair care. Make sure that you are moisturizing and deep conditioning your tresses. Don’t be overly rough when detangling your hair. Try to finger detangle most of the time (if you can”>. Pay most attention to the invisible line where your natural hair and relaxed ends meet, because you can have major breakage at this point. Too much heat styling can be bad (just a FYI”>, but the damaged can be minimized if it’s done right.
Be Patient
I know that you are like, ‘ugh my hair is so not growing’, but actually it is. It can be very frustrating to try to deal with two different textures, but you can stick it out. If you’re really serious about this process of transitioning, some patience will be required. Remember you can always cut the relaxed ends off when you are ready. My advice is to do it on your time. Don’t feel rushed or pressured if you are not ready to say goodbye to your ends. You can also wear your hair in protective styles to help you through your transition (like Marley twists or box braids”>.
Remember that patience is key, whether you BC or decide to transition, you have to be patient. I know it’s hard, but you can do it. Don’t give up!
Happy Transitioning!
This article was written by Michelle Thames of HappilyEverNatural and published on CurlyNikki.
