NATURALS Help a Newbie

[AudraChanell]

NATURALS:
How did you transition?
Did you big chop?
Wash and set?
Wear a weave? (don't plan to do this)
Did your relaxed hair break off at the demarcation line?
What was your wash/condition schedule and what did you use?

Have you MASTERED styling your real hair and if so how so you wear it?

PLEASE TAG ME. I DONT CHECK OFTEN

 

[AudraChanell]

Bump for help

 

[*Frisky*]

AudraChanell


I transitioned for about 8 months and BC'd because I was tired of dealing with 2 different textures. I wore wigs and a few weaves for the first 8 or 9 months cause I didn't really know what to do with my hair. Once it got longer, I started doing twist outs, wash and go's etc. You just have to figure out what works best for your hair and it can take awhile. I did the wash and go thing for the summer but I will probably go back to twist outs here shortly. I don't use heat on my hair and really have no desire to. If I don't feel like dealing with it, I will wear a bun since it is long enough now. I am doing the Curly Girl method so I don't use sulfates, cons, mineral oil, etc. I wouldn't say I have mastered my hair but I know what type of products work best for me.

 

[virtuenow]

I went natural on a whim and just chopped. If I was a person who planned things like this, then I would do a transition and chop slowly; or wait 'til I got to a comfy length and bc. Here's a good tip on transitioning & natural tips: http://www.komazahaircare.com/faqs.html

 

[NaturalEnigma]

How did you transition?
I transitioned for 6 months. I wore my hair up in a clip the whole time I transitioned. I washed my hair every week and only detangled my hair with a comb on wash day. On the other days I finger detangled. I didn't use any heat. I just air dried my freshly washed hair. Here is the air drying method I learned from Sunshyne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2pj4tm5GG0&feature=channel&list=UL

Did you big chop?
Yes. My hair was about 2-3 inches after my big chop. I had a hair stylist cut my hair.

Wash and set?
For the first 6 weeks of my transition I did roller set, but after awhile my new growth made it difficult smooth over my rollers so I stopped.

Wear a weave? (don't plan to do this)
Nope

Did your relaxed hair break off at the demarcation line?
I don't think it did. I was very gentle with my hair. I make sure I incorporated protein into my regimen so that my hair wouldn't break.

What was your wash/condition schedule and what did you use?
When I transitioned I used Abba's Pure moisture shampoo, Motions CPR and Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose conditioner.

Have you MASTERED styling your real hair and if so how so you wear it?
I wouldn't say I've mastered my hair, but I'm really good at doing different styles now. I'm 2 years post BC and my hair is finally long enough now that I can do fun and cute styles with it.

 

[NappyNelle]

How did you transition?
I transitioned for 15 months by wearing my hair in buns, a faux pony puff, half-cornrow styles, and extension braids.

Did you big chop?
I chopped most of the remaining relaxed ends on Thanksgiving 2006. I had chopped some hair before then, and allowed the relaxed ends to break off because I didn't care about wearing my hair straight.

Wash and set?
No... I'm not big on straight hair.

Wear a weave? (don't plan to do this)
Never tried wigs or weaves, but I'm sure this works for the majority of transitioners.

Did your relaxed hair break off at the demarcation line?
Yes, because I only wanted to take care of my new growth. (I don't advise this only you are 100% sure that you want to be natural and are not planning on wearing straight hair.)

What was your wash/condition schedule and what did you use?
I washed and conditioned when I wanted to; I remember using the old CON green label shampoo, and a variety of Dominican deep conditioners. For moisture, I used S-Curl for a long time.


Have you MASTERED styling your real hair and if so how so you wear it?
Yes. I wear my hair in twists, braid/twists and other -out styles, buns, french rolls, etc. In the future, I would like to try a ponytail roller set, and a (bootleg) Curlformer set.

AudraChanell Hopefully my answers will help someone... although I did not care for my my relaxed ends.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

NATURALS:
How did you transition? I wore braidouts.

Did you big chop? Yes. Transitioned for 11 mo.

Wear a weave? (don't plan to do this). I had a sew in once with micros in the front. That was my only weave. Kept it for 2-3 weeks.

Did your relaxed hair break off at the demarcation line? No

What was your wash/condition schedule and what did you use? Wash/DC weekly or bi-weekly with Suave coconut shampoo/conditioner. Added olive oil to shampoo to make it less drying. Added olive oil & honey to conditioner for DCs. Used plain conditioner to detangle.

Have you MASTERED styling your real hair and if so how so you wear it? Buns, flexi rod sets, twists, braids. Sometimes straight.

Sent from my HTC Evo

 

[Nonie]

@AudraChanell my answers below:

NATURALS:
How did you transition?

In braid extensions which I did myself and wore for a year and just redid one at a time as they got messy

Did you big chop?

No. I had started a regular dusting regimen of trimming off a 1/4 inch every 6-8 weeks so that's what I did. At trim time, I'd just start from the back and undo a braid, trim off the end, rebraid. This allowed me both to remove shed hair, which meant no tangles during the takedown, and it also allowed me to move the strain of the original starting point to the new growth. I had only 1 inch of new growth when I put in my braids in August 2001. I was fully natural with about 5-6 inches hair length by August 2002.

Wash and set?

No, braids.

Wear a weave? (don't plan to do this)

No, braids.

Did your relaxed hair break off at the demarcation line?

In the past that's what I used to let it do. I'd braid it and just let it break off on its own. It didn't do so this time. I suppose my haircare regimen was already good coz I was following that of Brenda of www.blackwomenrejoice.com I suppose the low mani do helped too.

What was your wash/condition schedule and what did you use?

I was following a regimen of using nothing on my hair as a leave in and washing with shampoo then conditioning whenever my hair felt dry. I got my moisture from washing. Sometimes I'd just do a CW--all things I learned from Brenda. I wasn't picky about shampoo or conditioner but I made sure whatever I used said it's for dry hair. In the beginning Pantene line was my staple.

Have you MASTERED styling your real hair and if so how so you wear it?

I have been natural for more years of my life than relaxed so my real hair was never a problem. When I first took my braids out and had full SL hair, I was at a loss on what else to do with it, besides puffs and braid-outs. I went to a stylist to get new ideas but she chopped my hair down to a TWA. I was mad but I think that helped me get to play with my hair and thus find out what products work for it when loose. I'm lazy so I live in twists or braids and style those coz it takes minutes to do and I never have to worry about tangles. I love puffs and so that's my to-go to style.

 

[mscocopuff]

I transitioned for about two months. I just couldn't take the two different textures so I BC'd after this.

I did a lot of braid outs, then transitioned to sew ins for low manipulation.

Kept up on Dusting and even educated myself on hair products.

This has helped a great deal. Oh yeah, and learning to not play in my hair a lot.

Sent from Mrs. Coleman's iPhone using LHCF

 

[AudraChanell]

Thanks ladies!
I plan to still steam straighten my hair, I just dont want a relax with the hopes of it growing longer.