Poll: Naturals, how did you get through the awkward stage?

[DarkVictory]

Many ladies find the hard part of going natural is the stage where hair is too long to be a TWA, too short to put in a bun or puff.

How did you get through the awkward stage of being natural? Did you change your regime as well as the style? What motivated you to "hang in there"?

You can vote for more than one choice in the poll.

 

[DreadlockedLady0171]

Actually, I'm still there
I can't wait 4 the day when I can pull it all back into a ponytail puff but for now, the best I can do is what is in my pic.
I know that it will grow out someday and that I will have more options then.
It's just a part of being a nappy natural

 

[nappity]

It was the easiest way for me to transition. Just braid it up get it washed and re braided and washed and re twisted until my BC December 1999

 

[glamazon386]

I just added hair to create the styles I wanted. I don't have enough hair to bun now, but I add a piece of hair and it works for me. I used to wear a phony puff before I could do a puff with my own hair. I used to wear a lot of weaves but now I don't feel like being bothered. I wear a lot of wigs too.

 

[Duchesse]

Luckily I was still in college during the awkard "middle-school tweener" months. I wore my hair cornrowed with hats and scarfs approx. 24/7...shoot, I was protective styling before I even heard of the term. Def helped a lot, because I was so tempted to relax again or shave it all off.

Now, it's a bit better, but I plan on wearing braid exts. and wigs until summertime when I can really get my Angela Davis on!

 

[luv04]

by having the crown cornrowed and wearing a huge puff on the top of my head. but in not time it grew! that was a tricky time but i hung in there and now am reaping the benefits of natural hair

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I transitioned my way through the awkward length. It was extreme, but I wore a bun for 14 months until I BC'ed.

 

[natstar]

I would wear twists and twist outs and use scarf/headbands to make it cute. I would also use bobby pins and create styles that way. I still utilize scarves and bobby pins. They make a lot of styles look more finished.

 

[tinkat]

I wore sewins.

 

[scarcity21]

kinky twists but mostly micros.....hang in there gurl....its definitely worth it
OT but Jcoily, ur hair is off da chain...nice progress...what is ur regimen???

 

[Mortons]

Avoided it

Just trim little by little, not BCing but still getting rid of some relaxed ends as I go

 

[EMJazzy]

I'm washing and go'ing my way thru this awkward stage. erplexed So far so good.

 

[Affinity07]

i wore twists and short, curly twistouts.

 

[DarkVictory]

Actually, I'm still there
I can't wait 4 the day when I can pull it all back into a ponytail puff but for now, the best I can do is what is in my pic.

The style in your pic is cute!

 

[Evolving78]

i wore twists and short, curly twistouts.

This what I'm doing now and I wash n go doing my little afro puff. I wonder how long is the awkward stage?

 

[DreadlockedLady0171]

The style in your pic is cute!

Thank U!

 

[mscocoface]

I did weaves, twists with hair, half wigs from transition to APL.

And still doing the twists and half wigs. Just working on length now unstretched......Man is that a test in patience or what?!

 

[Dee Raven]

Before I could get my hair in a ponytail I would pull it up into a high puff, which I think is really cute, stylish and professional looking. Or I would cheat and pull what hair I could get into a ponytail, and bobby pin and scarfed the rest.

Right now I'm in the second part of the awkward phase, which is the can't quite make a true bun. And since it's been cold it's really been bothering me because my ends have been suffering. So I've just been pulling my hair into a ponytail and tucking the ends under as much as possible. Also I've started bagging the ends at night. Hopefully that will help.

 

[JustKiya]

I'm flat-twisting/two strand twisting my way through. And the occasional pulled back puff - not a full ponytail, but more a puff crown....

 

[DarkVictory]

I wonder how long is the awkward stage?

I've been natural for years, so I've been through more than one. There was the "Florida Evans" stage when I couldn't do a puff or twists. It lasted a few months. I wore a lot of hats and head wraps at that time, though sometimes I just put on a headband and some great earrings. Then there was the "Sideshow Bob" stage when the puff grew out of shape but I couldn't do a ponytail or bun yet. Now I wear an updo, roll (like my avatar), or high bun as my everyday style. I'm sure there's some other "now what?' awkward stage off in the future.

There's a "stay natural in '08" challenge. So many LHCFers write, "I want to be natural but I'm frustrated." I thought it might be interesting to know exactly what everybody did to get through it.

 

[Bigghair]

I transitioned for eleven months. When I did the bc I had enough hair to do 2 short puffs, so I wore those while I practiced doing flat twists and 2 strands.

 

[donewit-it]

I'm washing and go'ing my way thru this awkward stage. erplexed So far so good.

Same here

 

[TinyT]

I wore twists with or without extensions depending on what I could afford.

 

[Hair Iam]

washing and go's , puffs, twits and twist outs were my staples, that's has I survived my awkward stages. It gets easier with length. All part of the process

 

[fivetimestwo]

I got through the in-between stage with braids. About 7 months after my BC I got extensions and this helped me get over the hump. By the time I took them out, I was able to do twists on my own hair. I really helped because I was growing out a twa and couldn't do buns/ponytails and it just didn't look good as a fro

 

[Gryphyn]

I mainly did twists with my own hair and roller sets. I had twist extensions for a short while as well.

 

[PanamasOwn]

im wearing my hair cornrowed underneath a wig...I plan to do this until I feel like getting braids..or until I reach APL....2008 BOOTCAMP!!!

 

[miss Congeniality]

My favorite thing to do while I was in college was to wear scarves and kufies.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Well I'm trying it all to get through this awkward stage. I do twist outs, braid outs, wash n gos. I've had extension braids & will probably do that again next year. I did a sew-in weave but only kept it in for like 8 hours. I may try that again next year, too. I was wearing a wig until my hubby threw it away. He hates fake hair. I've been seeing nice half wig styles so I'm tempted to try that, too. Oh, I just remembered. I have a phony pony that I've worn once or twice. Lastly, I rollerset & flat iron my hair as well. Slowly but surely I'm coming out of this phase & looking forward to the day when I can do a true "protective style."

 

[sonce]

I wore Wash 'n Gos at that time b/c I didn't know the first thing about doing my hair.

I think that it is best to learn how to work with natural hair through all its phases than it is to avoid dealing with it until it is longer (by covering it up with weaves and extensions) and then find that you don't know how to style, detangle or handle it.