If you’ve been thinking of starting your natural hair journey but feel overwhelmed by the commitment, worry not. You’re not alone. Learning to wear your hair natural and love it after years of relaxers and constant blow outs isn’t easy. If shaving off your hair for a fresh start scares you, why not try transitioning?
Transitioning simply means letting your hair grow out until the point that all the relaxed & damaged strands are replaced by healthy hair. This comes with its own challenges.
First up is dealing with two textures: your natural hair and the relaxed. If your hair has a naturally tight coil/ curl, it will be harder to comb through than the straight relaxed section. To pull through the transitioning phase, you need lots of patience, be gentle with your hair and remember your ultimate goal (healthy natural hair).
Keeping your hair tucked away will help you keep your mind off of the challenges. You might want to try styles popular in the natural hair community, such as updos. Start with simple ones and gauge if your hair is strong enough to handle them. If not, opt for protective styles (braids, cornrows, wigs) to give your hair time to grow uninterrupted.
In contrast to your relaxer days, you’ll need to wash your hair more often. Do it once a week and use products with moisturizing formulas. Natural hair needs lots of moisture to keep it supple thus manageable.
In between washes your hair still needs moisture. Spray it with a leave-in conditioner or an oil & water spritz. Well moisturized hair stays soft and is less likely to break- an important point to note if you’re trying to grow your hair long.
The switch from straight to curly/ coily hair isn’t easy. Many times you’ll be tempted to reach for the blowdryer or flat iron, but don’t. The whole point of transitioning is to embrace your hair in its natural state. Keep your strands stretched using twists, braids, African threading, etc and watch your hair flourish.
As your natural texture begins to show, get regular trims to get rid of the relaxed ends. Letting the relaxed bits break off on their own is detrimental to your healthy hair journey.
