In my opinion transitioning is taking the more difficult road of returning to the natural state of your hair, you will be dealing with two different texture types on your head as your new growth comes in. This in itself posed all sorts of challenges for me because as I wasn't quite sure what to do with my new growth.
The most important thing I learnt very early was to MOISTURIZE my hair. I am sure your research has revealed that the Natural hair mantra is "moisture moisture moisture" I cannot stress how important this is during your transitioning stage you need to keep you hair (both textures) well moisturized and honestly I found that the best thing that worked for me was my water spritz (I felt like such a natural making it) and ORS Olive Oil Incredibly Rich Moisturizing Hair Lotion.
After shampooing my hair I would deep condition with the ORS Hair Mayonnaise then I would use the lotion I would apply it whilst my hair was still wet then tie my hair up into a bun so that it would also straighten my hair without heat. It kept my relaxed hair really moisturized and the new growth was kept very soft. I promise this is not an ORS sponsored blog but these are the products I had available to me at the time and because I had used them with success whilst relaxed I continued using them.
Washing
One thing I would change about my transitioning though, would be to introduce Co-washing, unfortunately I only got to understand co-washing once I had fully transitioned to my natural hair. Now I know that co-washing cleans the hair and doesn't strip the hair. One of my biggest mistakes whilst transitioning was I clarified my hair every-time I shampooed, for my shampoo I chose the ORS Cream Aloe Shampoo though this is one of my firm favorites for clarifying, I didn't understand that every-time I shampooed (which was every week) I was stripping everything from my hair so all the good I did of moisturizing was undone every Sunday because as great as this shampoo is it CLARIFIES your hair which means it deep cleans all the product build up and dirt out of each and every single strand of your hair. If you are not yet too sure about co-washing look for a moisturizing shampoo if you must shampoo the Curls Unleashed Sulfate Free Shampoo and the Design Essentials Almond and Avocado Shampoo are two of the best that I have found that actually moisturise whilst cleansing , the best co-washing conditioners are +III Sisters of Nature Coconut and Avocado Co-washers, there is nothing available yet that beats these two.
Deep Conditioning and Protein Treaments
When I was transitioning and being newly natural, honestly I did not know the difference between what was deep conditioner and what was protein treatment, I had read some blog that protein treatments grew your hair ( yes yes I know). For me I believed that the ORS Hair Mayonnaise would do the trick for both, for a while it worked but then I used it EVERY single WEEK and my hair decided that ENOUGH was enough and started to be dry and brittle no matter what I did. I realized that I simply overloaded my hair with protein. I stopped using the hair mayonnaise and started looking at deep conditioners I tried the food stories, Avocado, Banana's but to be honest I really really don't like food in my hair so I turned to ORS again and this time I used their ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner and this really was the turning point for my hair. After 3 deep conditioning sessions my hair started to respond positively to this conditioner and then it dawned on me "oh the other one was for protein to be used once a month".
Styling
This was the worst for me, I couldn't do those cute natural hair styles as bits of my hair were still straight and I knew nothing about natural hair styling so my hair literally lived in a protective styles for close to a year I would braid, cornrow, weave any and all protective styles I tried. My mistake here was not giving my hair a break between the protective styles (I didn't know what I know now) I would remove the braids at the salon and then straight after that put on a weave in my mind I thought I was doing my hair a favor because it would be growing right? Well of course I was wrong my hair didn't grow as fast I thought it would and it also it wasn't as strong as thought it would be. I know it is much easier to put your hair away in a protective style so you don't have to deal with it but, it is very important to give your hair a break between protective styles especially if you are transitioning I would advise at least a 10 day break.
Also, there is so many styles you can rock whilst transition like the Bantu knot out, Perm Rod/ Dry perm set, Flexi Rod set and literally hundreds of other styles don't limit your imagination like I did, use the internet for inspiration.
What would I do differently
I think I would just BIG Chop to be quite honest, I think the whole transitioning "thing" stressed me out a bit, at times I felt like relaxing my hair so that my life would be easier. I would also be a bit more adventurous with styling and products, there is nothing wrong with ORS products, when used correctly my hair thrived, but I was too scared to try anything else because I wasn't sure what had mineral oils, petroleum, parabens, sulfates oh I used to stress about every single little ingredient, I once read a blog that said if you cannot pronounce the ingredients then you shouldn't use the product, then I took this into my food and I almost stopped eating a lot of things, I think everything has to be taken in context, also understand that some things you cannot pronounce are actually not bad for you. I know sulfates are not good they strip my hair and petroleum blocks my pores so for me as long as the bad ones are not there I am not going to go through each and every single ingredient. Also I know the products I use like, Afro Botanics, Nubian Nature, +III Sisters of Nature Design Essentials (check my product junkie page) do not use the "nasties" as I call them, so I am confident when I use their products that I do not need a chemistry dictionary.
But if the big chop is not for you and you want to transition, just remember one thing, you alone have decided to go on this journey and it is a journey I know I come from the school of thought that my hair is not a political statement but something in you changes when you decide to return your hair to it's natural state.
If you forget about everything else in the post just remember one thing to ENJOY the ride. Don't get too caught up in making sure you spritz is just right and that your shampoo is coming straight from the earth, and your creams are 100% natural, believe me you will learn very quickly what your hair likes and doesn't like. The next bit of only solid advice I think any person that has transitioned will tell you would be to MOISTURIZE both in side and outside.
Are you transitioning? What have been your experiences? Are you enjoying your journey so far?
XXX
Isabel
The most important thing I learnt very early was to MOISTURIZE my hair. I am sure your research has revealed that the Natural hair mantra is "moisture moisture moisture" I cannot stress how important this is during your transitioning stage you need to keep you hair (both textures) well moisturized and honestly I found that the best thing that worked for me was my water spritz (I felt like such a natural making it) and ORS Olive Oil Incredibly Rich Moisturizing Hair Lotion.
After shampooing my hair I would deep condition with the ORS Hair Mayonnaise then I would use the lotion I would apply it whilst my hair was still wet then tie my hair up into a bun so that it would also straighten my hair without heat. It kept my relaxed hair really moisturized and the new growth was kept very soft. I promise this is not an ORS sponsored blog but these are the products I had available to me at the time and because I had used them with success whilst relaxed I continued using them.
Washing
One thing I would change about my transitioning though, would be to introduce Co-washing, unfortunately I only got to understand co-washing once I had fully transitioned to my natural hair. Now I know that co-washing cleans the hair and doesn't strip the hair. One of my biggest mistakes whilst transitioning was I clarified my hair every-time I shampooed, for my shampoo I chose the ORS Cream Aloe Shampoo though this is one of my firm favorites for clarifying, I didn't understand that every-time I shampooed (which was every week) I was stripping everything from my hair so all the good I did of moisturizing was undone every Sunday because as great as this shampoo is it CLARIFIES your hair which means it deep cleans all the product build up and dirt out of each and every single strand of your hair. If you are not yet too sure about co-washing look for a moisturizing shampoo if you must shampoo the Curls Unleashed Sulfate Free Shampoo and the Design Essentials Almond and Avocado Shampoo are two of the best that I have found that actually moisturise whilst cleansing , the best co-washing conditioners are +III Sisters of Nature Coconut and Avocado Co-washers, there is nothing available yet that beats these two.
Deep Conditioning and Protein Treaments
When I was transitioning and being newly natural, honestly I did not know the difference between what was deep conditioner and what was protein treatment, I had read some blog that protein treatments grew your hair ( yes yes I know). For me I believed that the ORS Hair Mayonnaise would do the trick for both, for a while it worked but then I used it EVERY single WEEK and my hair decided that ENOUGH was enough and started to be dry and brittle no matter what I did. I realized that I simply overloaded my hair with protein. I stopped using the hair mayonnaise and started looking at deep conditioners I tried the food stories, Avocado, Banana's but to be honest I really really don't like food in my hair so I turned to ORS again and this time I used their ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner and this really was the turning point for my hair. After 3 deep conditioning sessions my hair started to respond positively to this conditioner and then it dawned on me "oh the other one was for protein to be used once a month".
Styling
This was the worst for me, I couldn't do those cute natural hair styles as bits of my hair were still straight and I knew nothing about natural hair styling so my hair literally lived in a protective styles for close to a year I would braid, cornrow, weave any and all protective styles I tried. My mistake here was not giving my hair a break between the protective styles (I didn't know what I know now) I would remove the braids at the salon and then straight after that put on a weave in my mind I thought I was doing my hair a favor because it would be growing right? Well of course I was wrong my hair didn't grow as fast I thought it would and it also it wasn't as strong as thought it would be. I know it is much easier to put your hair away in a protective style so you don't have to deal with it but, it is very important to give your hair a break between protective styles especially if you are transitioning I would advise at least a 10 day break.
Also, there is so many styles you can rock whilst transition like the Bantu knot out, Perm Rod/ Dry perm set, Flexi Rod set and literally hundreds of other styles don't limit your imagination like I did, use the internet for inspiration.
What would I do differently
I think I would just BIG Chop to be quite honest, I think the whole transitioning "thing" stressed me out a bit, at times I felt like relaxing my hair so that my life would be easier. I would also be a bit more adventurous with styling and products, there is nothing wrong with ORS products, when used correctly my hair thrived, but I was too scared to try anything else because I wasn't sure what had mineral oils, petroleum, parabens, sulfates oh I used to stress about every single little ingredient, I once read a blog that said if you cannot pronounce the ingredients then you shouldn't use the product, then I took this into my food and I almost stopped eating a lot of things, I think everything has to be taken in context, also understand that some things you cannot pronounce are actually not bad for you. I know sulfates are not good they strip my hair and petroleum blocks my pores so for me as long as the bad ones are not there I am not going to go through each and every single ingredient. Also I know the products I use like, Afro Botanics, Nubian Nature, +III Sisters of Nature Design Essentials (check my product junkie page) do not use the "nasties" as I call them, so I am confident when I use their products that I do not need a chemistry dictionary.
But if the big chop is not for you and you want to transition, just remember one thing, you alone have decided to go on this journey and it is a journey I know I come from the school of thought that my hair is not a political statement but something in you changes when you decide to return your hair to it's natural state.
If you forget about everything else in the post just remember one thing to ENJOY the ride. Don't get too caught up in making sure you spritz is just right and that your shampoo is coming straight from the earth, and your creams are 100% natural, believe me you will learn very quickly what your hair likes and doesn't like. The next bit of only solid advice I think any person that has transitioned will tell you would be to MOISTURIZE both in side and outside.
Are you transitioning? What have been your experiences? Are you enjoying your journey so far?
XXX
Isabel
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