Transitioning w/o the Big Chop

Have you made the decision to grow out your relaxer?

Well, I will be the first to tell you that growing out your relaxer, or transitioning from relaxed to natural, is much easier said than done. 

Here are some tips to help you with your transition:

• as a way to transition, use braids!  Not only are braids the BEST protective style, but briads will give you a break from your multi-textured hair and you can grow out your relaxer without even really noticing the change(s) your hair is going through
• do not slack on your moisture!  You will have to be extra excessive with your moisturizing routine because it's true that when you start to grow out your relaxer, your hair is more prone to breakage - that's because your fragile line of demarcation (the point at which your new growth meets your relaxed ends) is "exposed." To minimize breakage, maintain a consistent moisture and deep conditioning schedule - THIS IS IMPERATIVE TO LIMIT DAMAGE AND BREAKAGE CAUSED BY TRANSITIONING
• stay encouraged!  Find yourself a transitioning buddy.  Transitioning will undoubtedly be difficult and it will help if you can find someone to keep you encouraged and focused while you make this journey
• hide your hair!  Hiding your hair in buns or with wigs and phony ponies is a good idea
• trim as you grow...this is a critical step in the transitioning process...if you trim a little as you grow, you will find that it will be a much "gentler" journey; freshly cut ends also make detangling easier
• find yourself a good detangler and comb your hair out in sections...the more sections you have, the easier the detangling session will be 
• understand that you WILL NOT know what your natural texture is or what it looks like until ALL the relaxed ends are gone...the relaxed ends sorta "weigh" your hair down and you won't know what your TRUE texture is until all the relaxer is cut off; if you are curious to know, cut the relaxed ends off of a small, hidden section in the back of your hair
• learn to LOVE your transitioning hair!  Know that your transitioning hair will NOT behave like your relaxed hair - for example, your edges won't lay down like you're used to...amongst other things 
• be prepared...transitioning takes TIME - not only the time it will take to actually grow out your relaxer, but the time it will take to CARE for your transitioning hair. 
• if all else fails and you are COMMITTED to your journey to natural, don't be afraid to BIG CHOP.  You will find that once your hair is one texture throughout, that it is much easier to manage!

Good luck!!!

Here is my transitioning hair...I attempted to transition from January 2007 until July-ish 2008.  Click here for my hair stats.

 

Comments

[L.Nicole]

WHAT!!!???? UMMM WHY WASNT I INFORMED?? So I am assuming we will be seeing some pics soon right???

And you have ALOT of new growth! Very beautiful!!!!

LHDC: Hi, L.Nicole!!! No, I haven't relaxed...these pics are from my transition attempte from March 2007 until July-ish 2008...

[BIA No Mo]

Take a drink everytime I said anyway in my last comment lol, are you feeling light headed *giggles*

BIA No Mo

[BIA No Mo]

Your hair looks wonderful! I am currently transitioning without the BC. I want Length before natural, honestly I don't know what my obsession with being natural is, maybe it is because I only relax twice a year and my hair is not bone straight anyway. My hair looks a mess all the time anyway (not refined), why relax if I'm wearing my hair wet daily anyway... AND with my new MAXIGLIDE (THANKS LHDC) I can have bone straight hair at the ready!

I need to work on my deep conditioning practices. I sound like a broken record!

BIA No Mo

[MoM]

LHDC...your hair is ALL THAT and some good parents!!!lol You make me want to go natural...baby steps!!!!

Now back to me not wanting to cut...My Grandmother was a beautician, and she always said to "keep them "fishhooks" trimmed". So I have trimmed my hair and it looks WONDERFUL! My Grandmother and Wanakee have the right idea..

[Whimsy]

Good article and tips.
I'm transitioning (since 2007) without a BC and am not hiding my hair or using braids. It was tough but now I'm used to dealing with the two textures

LHDC: Hi, Whimsy!!! And your hair is BEAUTIFUL! You've done a great job with your transition. I just coulnd't hang...Thanks for stopping by, sis!

[Lavendar]

You have some really thick hair in it's natural state. I love the texture. What made you decide to end your transition?

LHDC: Hi, Lavendar!!! Thanks for the compliment!!! I ended it because of the time that it took to do my hair....I went from a 60+ minute detangling session to a less than 15 minutes after I relaxed again. I know that part of that was due to me hanging on to those relaxed ends which is why I advise to trim as you grow. In the end, I was more comitted to having long hair than to having natural hair. When I finally make the FULL commitment to becoming natural I know that I will have to BC after about 18 months of transitioning...