Sixteen going on natural

Dont worry about making it straight. I am transitioning right now as we speak. I have not had a relaxer since aug 2003 and it is rather managable. I wear braids all of the time, even when i wore my relaxed hair , so that was nothing hard for me to do. you can do twist outs, cornrows in the front to camoflauge the "naps mixed wit the straight" cornrows that arent too tight. Im enjoying transitioning and i know that i will love my nappy hair when i cut it so have fun, its just hair!

Do you mean you won't be able to manage your hair when it is completely natural or while you are transitioning. If you are talking about transitioning, I understand where you're coming from because the relaxed portion of your hair may tend to get rebellious, dry, and brittle and break. For the easiest transition you may want to either big chop or go with braid extensions to keep hair manipulation to a minimum.

But if you mean that you don't know about your natural hair being managable, I wouldn't worry about too. I too used to be under the impression that natural hair was impossible to comb and dry and brittle and ugly. Wow was I wrong. If you comb your hair while wet and with conditioner, there should be no problem at all. You will find that your natural hair is soft once you find the right products.
As far as wearing your hair straight, I would first say be aware of the risks because our hair is fragile and some people cannot use a hot comb, flat iron, or blow dryer really at all without it damaging their hair and it not reverting. There are OH SO MANY cases of naps that have not reverted back and the person ends up chopping all over again to grow a healthy head of hair. I thought that straight hair would be my main style when I first started thinking about transitioning, but that is because I was unaware of how many other styling options i had and after I found out, I really have no desire to straighten it out at all! which is very surprising to me. If you insist of straightening, I would try a rollerset to see if that works or if it still isn't how you like try rollersetting and then flat ironing on low heat breifly over each section or blow drying breifly. But other styling options include:
free form fros
braid outs
flat twist outs
2 strand twists
2 strand twist outs
cornrows
flat twists
afro puffs (or any kind of puff you want, like a twist out puff. etc...)
bantu knots
roller sets
you can add flat twists or cornrows to the front with a beatiful healthy mass of coils or curls in the back
if you wanted to make a commitment, locs

and that's just what i can think of off the top of my head. have fun and experiment with the most versatile hair on the planet!

first of all i have to say it's great to have a namesake in the house... *L*

back to the question at hand... i just discovered this website www.hairfoodforthought.com that chronicles this womens journey to natural hair. it's very informative and funny at times; with alot of product and haircare suggestions. check it out

the creator of hairfoodforthought used to be a member here.

Congrats on deciding to go natural.

Instead of just "brush and go", try a "wash and go" (if you decide to bc).
If you want to transitional for a longer period of time, try extension braids and "braid outs".

When do you plan on straightening your hair? You may want to consider holding off on doing that until you develop a good transitioning routine and know you can manage two textures (if you choose long-term transitioning).

I think what has helped a lot of transitioning ladies is low manipulation and moisture, moisture, moisture.

Good Luck and Congrats again

hi there, congrats to going natural.

I honpe carolinafro doesn't mind but take a look at her pics for insprition also her picws are hot.

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hotshot said:
the creator of hairfoodforthought used to be a member here.

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*L* she sounds like one of us...

thanks for all of your advice guys. I had about 2 inches of new growth, but i went for a wedding in DC and for the bridal train , she talked me into relaxing so that my updo would look good . I can believe I let her do that! I ended up with scabs all over my scalp from the burning relaxer! NEVER AGAIN! I am going natural from this day fourth! I am going to put my hair in braids and cornrows for the rest of my senior year and if I have at least a good sized afro puff by the end of senior year, ill do my big chop. Man, aint learning your lesson a ******

Hey Sylvia
I'm going natural just like you and i'm 15 and i've been through the same stuff. It takes a lot of patience while your transitioning. YOu might have a lot of bad hair days (i know i do) just stick in there. I'm probably can't help you as much because i have type 2c hair thats very coarse and thick and frizzy. But if you need help feel free to pm me.

Congrats on considering your natural hair. I wish I had been smart enough to embrace my natural curls when I was 16! You shouldn't worry about it looking "good" because your natural hair is what God gave you and you will definately look good in it no matter what. Good Luck to you and God Bless you and your hair!

congradulations. i know some of the ladies here said when you transition you won't go back. i'm the exception lol. i found it hard honestly and i gave in, ( i'm not trying to make you changa your mind at all ) btu i'm just deciding with myself, on what i want to do, but when i do transition. i plan to do a long transition, but i congradulate you and good luck. you'll be happy. i just got tired of waiting, but i did go to being natural, ( i really was after doing relaxers ) i just gave in peer pressure also did a lot to me . but good luck!

thanks for all of your support gals.