Transitioning to Natural Hair

Thinking about going natural? If you are you’ve probably heard about the “Big Chop” but did you know you also have the option to transition to natural hair? I didn’t know that there was such a process until I did my research. Before embarking on this journey I actually believed that I could somehow magically get my relaxed ends to go back to being natural again. As a young kid I used to get relaxers because I thought that it was the only way to make my hair look presentable. I didn’t understand what the chemicals were actually doing to my hair or that a relaxer was permanent! I remember asking a hair stylist what I would have to do to go natural, and she told me I’d have to chop it all off!  Short hair! I’m not gonna lie. I have four sisters and growing up we really cared about our length. As my hair grew longer even with a relaxer I got so many compliments and somewhere along the line I began to equate long hair with being beautiful.  It is obvious to me that the way I perceived beauty had been molded by what the media portrayed as beautiful. I think that played a big role in why I was scared to chop all my hair off.  I was afraid of not being seen as beautiful. If you are someone who relates to the way I felt then you need to come to the realization as I did that beauty isn’t about short or long hair its about self love and confidence!  If you love yourself you won’t let anyone else make you feel ugly or inadequate.  It’s time to take your power back! The only opinion that matters is yours! Don’t let anyone put you down so that they can feel better about themselves. Love yourself and be confident! Ok, so I decided the Big Chop wasn’t for me and after watching youtube videos and learning more about the transitioning process I decided take that route. You can transition to natural hair or you can do the big chop. The choice is yours! No matter which one you choose you are about to embark on a journey of self love and confidence!  There are tons of videos on youtube that show transitioning styles and tips. I am also going to list some here for you guys but if you want more there is so much information out there on you tube.

Relaxers can Damage the Scalp?

Ok so up until this point you’ve been getting relaxers which is a process that not only permanently straightens your hair but damages the hair follicles internally which can cause your hair to feel dry and brittle.  The first thing that you’ll need to understand is how your hair works. Our scalps produce its own oils called sebum from the sebaceous gland. Straight hair allows sebum to travel easily down the hair shaft while curly/coily hair slows down the process due to the fact that the oils have to travel around the length of the curls/coils. This is why straight hair has the tendency to become oily and curly hair dry. After you relax your hair it is straight and the oils are able to flow freely down the hair shaft just as in people with naturally straight hair. However,  What if the relaxer causes damage to the sebaceous glands? After doing some research I found that the relaxing process is known to cause; lack of hair growth, scalp irritation, hair breakage, scalp damage, and hair loss. Relaxers actually strip the hair of its natural oils and can irritate and damage the scalp. The chemical from the relaxer is not actually supposed to touch your scalp so whenever you feel a burning sensation, that means that the chemical is on your scalp and is affecting it.  The effects need to be studied more so that we can understand how the relaxer when in contact with the skin on our scalps can cause damage. I’ve had a lot of issues with dandruff during my relaxed  days and when I decided to go natural, my dandruff problems went away.

What products should I use while transitioning?

Now that you know a little bit about how relaxers affect the scalp and hair lets get into the current state of your hair. Even though you’ve stopped relaxing your hair there are still some things you need to change in order to make sure that you are giving your hair the moisture that it needs.  Many of the commercial shampoos that you find in your local Rite- Aid and Kmart have sulfates, alcohol and many other drying agents in them. What you need is a shampoo that cleans your hair but one that doesn’t strip it of its natural oils.  Going with shampoos that are organic is the best way to go! Try to find ingredients that you can actually pronounce.  You’ll also need a great conditioner, and leave in conditioner especially once your new growth starts coming in.  You’ll find that your damaged hair and natural hair will react differently to certain products.  For example when I started transitioning I went out and brought better products for my hair. However in the beginning I found that my relaxed ends were extremely dry even after I moisturized my ends. My new growth however loved the moisture!  I hadn’t realized how damaged my relaxed ends were because I was constantly straightening them. I thought that if it looked shiny and straight then it must be healthy. So I actually had to nurse my relaxed ends back to a somewhat healthy state, even though I knew that they’d always be damaged. So understand that once you start transitioning, you’ll have to take care of both textures until you are ready to chop off those damaged ends. The products you use may work great on your new growth but not so great on your relaxed ends and vice versa. Don’t become a product junky but test out a couple different products to find what works best on your hair. Here are some things you should also know:

-Products from the Chinese hair stores don’t really do anything for African hair.

-Grease does not moisturize your hair; it sits right on top of your hair follicles and scalps and actually stops moisture from getting in. It contains mineral oil; mineral oil actually suffocates the pores and should not be used on hair or skin. (Vaseline, Grease, etc.) Try oils like jojoba oil, castor oil, or carrot oil. These are all great for your hair and body!

-Conditioner Wash: Co-washing the hair is basically washing your hair with conditioner. Co-washing is great because you are  not stripping the hair which can happen when you shampoo your hair too frequently. You only need to wash the buildup off of your scalp once a week or even fewer times than that.

-Deep Condition: Every week to 2 weeks deep condition your hair with a hot oil treatment or one of your favorite deep conditioners. I found a homemade recipe online using avocado and mayonnaise that works great! However I usually use the olive oil packs from rite aid when I’m lazy and it works really well.

-Leave-in Conditioner: You will need a great leave in and detangler because once your new growth grows in you will need to be gentle when combing through your hair. A great leave in will make your hair easy to detangle and will help prevent breakage. I am using Kinky Curly Knot Today! I love it! You can buy it at your local whole foods or on KinkyCurly.com

Transitioning Styles

There are many styles that you can try while transitioning to natural! I’ll list and describe the ones I’ve tried below:

Two Strand Twist-twist out

———————————————————————————————————————————– Two strand twist-out and rod set out: Took out the rods, unraveled twists and pinned hair to the side.

———————————————————————————————————————————— Twist out with rod Set: I took out the rods and pinned it up into a ponytail. My favorite style!

———————————————————————————————————————————— Twist out and rod set on front hair, the rest is a half- wig

.———————————————————————————————————————————— Afro

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Check out these sites as well for styles and tips!

www.Napturality.com

www.Naturalhairgrows.com