Did you intend to long-term transition?

[missbugg21]

I'm curious to know how many of you naturals originally intended to long-term transition but decided to BC before your transitioning goals were met.

What were your original plans and how long did you make it?

What made you BC early? Impulse or something else?

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I didn't Big Chop early but wanted to a few times. I did mini chops because the tangling became a problem. I recall washing and straightening my hair twice in the same day because the first attempt was a hot mess.

I transitioned for 2 years. My only goal was not having my hair too short. I wanted to always be able to do my bun (in my avatar).

 

[Dayjoy]

My intention was to transition and maintain my hair at APL while gradually trimming away the relaxed ends. I figured it would take at least two years, perhaps three. As I grew more natural roots and detangling became more of a task while my hair broke off a little in the back, I started watching more and more YouTube videos and began desiring that big hair sooner rather than later. Also summer was coming, so six months ago I planned to chop at 18 months which was yesterday. As of now I'm a day and a half natural.

 

[VictoriousBrownFlower]

I wanted to do a long term transition but my hair had other plans. Initially I wanted to cut off 1/2 inch or so every 6 months. At around 11 months in my hair started to thin out, and I was having problems finding products that worked for my relaxed and natural hair. I also found myself wondering what my natural hair looked like etc... So I chopped it off at 11 months post. I don't really regret it. I wish my hair was longer but I know in time it will get there. I got a chance to get to know my hair early on and find techniques and products that work for my hair.

 

[Monaleezza]

I'm not transitioning but I do have 3-4 inches of natural hair having just revealed after 9months of hiding my hair.
I will relax, but I have a special event coming up; so I would like to ask those of you who are long-term transitioning; How do you style your hair with the 2 hair textures??
I don't know what options I have.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, but I wanted to take advantage of having all the transitioners in one place.

 

[VictoriousBrownFlower]

Braid outs were my go to style while transitioning.

 

[Napp]

I transitioned for 14 months and I wanted to transition for at least 2 years. I cut early because I didn't want to deal with straightening my ng in the summer. I regretted it a little at first but I found a style that suits me so now I'm pleased. I am also enjoying all of the products I couldn't use when I was transitioning.

 

[MsDee14]

I intended to transition for 2 years. The more my natural hair grew, I kept moving up my BC date(20 months then 18). But my relaxed ends looked so thin compared to my natural hair, although there wasn't much breakage, so I BC'ed at 15.5 months. Best decision I made. I loved my hair.

My go-to transitioning styles were twists, braid-n-curls and high buns

 

[Amarilles]

so I would like to ask those of you who are long-term transitioning; How do you style your hair with the 2 hair textures??
I don't know what options I have.

If not using heat, do a braidout and then style that as you normally would...buns, loose, half up, up dos, tucking. I don't moisturize my relaxed hair at all unless I want to rebraid, I use sealants to keep the hair flexible/pliable/soft instead of waterbased moisturizers/leave-ins.

 

[JaszG]

My original plan was to transition for two years. I made it 7 months, and got tired of the excessive shedding and I wasn't really able to wear it straight anymore, so I just did it. I'm glad I did it early because my texture is not what I expected at all!

 

[Dabaddest]

I didn't plan on becoming natural. I was stretching my relaxer. I started to see how versatile natural hair was so I began transitioning. I planned to wait 2 years before I bced. But one day I washed my hair out of braids and saw how pretty and thick my natural hair was and just went for it! That was a year and a half into my transition. Glad I did it! I'm seeing so much progress that I never saw before while relaxed!

 

[ChristmasCarol]

I planned on transitioning for 3 years, but decided to continue on so that my hair would be longer when I BC'd. I ended up transitioning for 3 years and 7 months. When I cut the relaxed ends, I was grazing waist length. My siggy is when I cut the remainder in January 2013.

ETA: OOPS! Totally misread the OP, sorry.

 

[geejay]

I planned to transition for 18 months. Made it to 12 months. I could have kept going. Braid and curls were perfect for my transitioning hair but I just fell in love with my natural hair and couldn't wait to set it free.

 

[missbugg21]

I transitioned for 2 years. My only goal was not having my hair too short. I wanted to always be able to do my bun (in my avatar).

I've never had extremely short hair either. It's always been at least SL. DH loves long hair on me and is fine with me going natural as long as I wait until my natural hair is a "decent length" (his words) before cutting.

Your bun is beautiful... do you have a tutorial on your YT channel?

As of now I'm a day and a half natural.

CONGRATULATIONS on your BC!!! I'm sure you are thrilled to begin this new journey! I can't wait to see all of your progress updates!

I got a chance to get to know my hair early on and find techniques and products that work for my hair.

I think about this often, too. I try examining my natural hair now and adding different products on just the roots trying to test things out. I'm sure it's not exactly the same as being fully natural, but it is a relief having a staple regimen/products already in place once you're fully natural.

How do you style your hair with the 2 hair textures??

Braidouts are my go-to style for the summer. I love them! Twistouts are a as my relaxed ends look a MESS compared to my thick natural roots. I also bun it and wear jumbo box braids occasionally.

I am also enjoying all of the products I couldn't use when I was transitioning.

I tend to buy products and treat my entire head as if I'm fully natural. Sometimes my relaxed hair HATES what I use on my natural hair (i.e. Shea Moisture line), but that hair is eventually going to get cut anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.

I kept moving up my BC date(20 months then 18).

I think this may happen to me. Right now, my plan is to transition for at least 2 years (maybe longer), but I don't know how I will feel about those straggly ends by that time!

I'm seeing so much progress that I never saw before while relaxed!

Isn't it amazing how, for some of us, our natural hair thrives so much more than relaxed hair? When I was relaxing, I stayed pretty much at SL because I had to trim so often due to dead/frayed ends; I could never retain length. I look forward to growing a long, thick, lucious head of healthy hair!

I planned on transitioning for 3 years, but decided to continue on so that my hair would be longer when I BC'd. I ended up transitioning for 3 years and 7 months. When I cut the relaxed ends, I was grazing waist length. My siggy is when I cut the remainder in January 2013.

Your hair is so beautiful!! I really hope to be able to be an extremely long transitioner like you were! Grazing WL would definitely be a "decent length!"

3 years and 7 months is incredible!! Were you not trimming often? How did you maintain your relaxed ends while you were transitioning? Mine seem to split often so I need a trim every few months.

I have 14 inches of hair right now and about 9 of it is relaxed. I can't imagine that I will not have trimmed 9 inches over the next 3 years.... How did you do it?

 

[missbugg21]

I planned to transition for 18 months. Made it to 12 months. I could have kept going. Braid and curls were perfect for my transitioning hair but I just fell in love with my natural hair and couldn't wait to set it free.

Your hair looks to be a similar texture to mine. You have a lot of growth so far! Beautiful!!

 

[Mskraizy]

I tried to do a at least a one year transition, but I cut at my 6-month mark mostly due to impulse, but partly because my hair was starting to break at the line of demarcation.

Yeah I guess my natural hair was like "if SHE ain't gone cut off these raggedy ends, I'll just break'em off!"

 

[ChristmasCarol]

missbugg21

Thanks!

I trimmed a few inches each year, so I only had a few inches left to cut when I finishished transitioning.

I didn't experience breakage at the line of demarcation, so I just wore styles that didn't show the visual difference and hung on to the length. The following styles look like all-natural hair, but my relaxed ends are simply tucked out of sight:

Or, if I wanted it down, I wore a braid-out:

I mostly straightened or blow-dried the first year. I did wear buns 90% of the time, though. I wanted to be sure to protective style so my relaxed hair didn't didn't brush against clothing, etc. I knew it had to survive for a few years!

Anywho, if you want to do a long transition, wear protective styles so that the thinner ends can be hidden. The extra length will make updos/buns much, much easier.

Good Luck and don't give up!

 

[geejay]

Your hair looks to be a similar texture to mine. You have a lot of growth so far! Beautiful!!

missbugg21 Thanks for the compliment. It can be a handful, but it's definitely longer than it's ever been.

 

[missbugg21]

I tried to do a at least a one year transition, but I cut at my 6-month mark mostly due to impulse, but partly because my hair was starting to break at the line of demarcation.

Yeah I guess my natural hair was like "if SHE ain't gone cut off these raggedy ends, I'll just break'em off!"

Thankfully, I haven't had too many problems with breakage. I'm still recovering from post-partum shedding but that's about it....for now.

@missbugg21

Thanks!

I trimmed a few inches each year, so I only had a few inches left to cut when I finishished transitioning.

I didn't experience breakage at the line of demarcation, so I just wore styles that didn't show the visual difference and hung on to the length. The following styles look like all-natural hair, but my relaxed ends are simply tucked out of sight:

Or, if I wanted it down, I wore a braid-out:

I mostly straightened or blow-dried the first year. I did wear buns 90% of the time, though. I wanted to be sure to protective style so my relaxed hair didn't didn't brush against clothing, etc. I knew it had to survive for a few years!

Anywho, if you want to do a long transition, wear protective styles so that the thinner ends can be hidden. The extra length will make updos/buns much, much easier.

Good Luck and don't give up!

Very nice! Thank you so much for the advice and for sharing your pictures with me! I tend to neglect my relaxed ends a bit, but I know I'll last a lot longer in this transition if I tuck them away more.

 

[YaniraNaturally]

I wanted to transition for an even 26 months, which would have put me at about 2 weeks post-grad. I made to about 5 days post-grad (technically 25 months and change) I just couldn't deal any longer.

 

[Fenaxa]

I figured that if I had transitioned for about 2 years, I could be really close to approaching the farther reaching lengths of near classic.. Which was the plan.. But.. The more new growth I had, the more I realized how unmanageable my relaxed hair was compared to my natural hair which was a shock to me.. Not to mention that I don't have too much patience to deal with both..
So, after about 7 months, I ended up cutting some relaxed ends off starting with my bangs. I was relieved but wasn't sure how short I was supposed to cut (new growth is like 4" all over), so instead, I just shaved it off to start from scratch.
I knew that I wouldn't know how to take care of it or have real love for it until I was there to grow it back every step of the way. I'm 14 almost 15 months natural and counting.