So you have decided to go back Natural?

So you have decided to go back Natural?

Yes I said BACK Natural, you were born this way, remember

Well there are 2 ways to go back natural, Big Chop or Transition

BC (Big chop)

This is the easiest way to transition if you are comfortable with wearing short hair. Most women are very leery about cutting off all of their hair for numerous reasons. Some women ask themselves, ‘is my head odd shaped,’ ‘will men be attractive to me,’ etc. Other women look at doing a BC as a liberating experience, one that allows a sort of ‘rebirth.’ To address those previous questions, only you know your own head but most likely it’s a normal shape, men have preferences just like us, some like short hair others like long, but all will agree that confidence goes a long way. So if you are considering doing a Big Chop, do it proudly, your face is now the center of the attention so always wear a beautiful smile. Take this opportunity to play with makeup a little, and wear those beautiful earrings that are in your jewelry box.

Transition

Transitioning can be a little more difficult but better for those who don’t want the dramatics of a BC.

Transitioning involves 2 basic steps

• Stop getting relaxers and your hair will begin to get more wavy at the root (what you call new growth) Your hair is no longer being manipulated by the chemical process of relaxing. However the hair that is already relaxed will remain straight.
• As your hair grows begin cutting off your relaxed ends. If you want to maintain your current length and your hair grows at the average rate of 1/2 an inch per month, trim off 1/2 inch per month. If you don’t mind short hair you can trim off more, it’s up to you.

Here are some things to be aware of if you decide to Transition

During a transition many people experience breakage. The reason for this breakage can be a number of things, applying too much heat, doing a lot of manual manipulation to your hair, not conditioning your hair as much as needed, etc. Near the line where the natural curl pattern ends and the relaxed hair starts is where most people see the breakage occurring. Some combat this with protein treatments but you really have to try it for your self to find out if it will help you.

While transitioning a more popular Hairstyle choice is wearing braids Micro braids or Box braids. The reason for this is because the hair is braided you don’t have to deal with the 2 different textures the relaxed and the natural hair.

Here are some more important things to remember as you begin your journey back to Natural Hair

• No two curl patterns are the same. Don’t expect your hair to look exactly like someone else’s. It’s easy to say ‘I like Jasmine’s hair, I want mine like that’ but when it doesn’t turn out like hers we get ‘curl envy.’ Remember that you are uniquely beautiful and so is your hair, embrace it.

• You don’t know how well a product will work for you until you try it. I personally have tried products that my friends hated, but it worked wonders for me. Just like no 2 curls are exactly alike, different hair doesn’t react the same to the same products.

• Be patient with your hair, if all else fails you can put a relaxer in if you chose to, but the transition back to natural is a tedious process but well worth it. Remember AVERAGE hair growth rate is 1/2 an inch per month, but yours may grow quicker or slower.

My Hair Story

I was natural up until about the age of 20. I allowed a friend/co-worker to put a Just for me relaxer in my head. I thought it was cute for about 5 minutes, but I quickly missed the versatility of my curly hair. So I transitioned for about 6 months, during that time I experienced breakage, I was also pressing my hair as well. When you press/flatiron hair that has already been relaxed, it’s called ‘double processing’ which is probably why I had so much breakage. After those 6 months I went to the beauty salon and instructed the stylist to cut off all the relaxed hair, which left me with a little under 3 inches. I cried as I sat in the chair and watched my hair fall to the floor, but I knew it was for a good reason. I never had my hair that short in all my adult life, so I was one of those women questioning myself about my head shape/size and whether I would be able to get a date afterwards. Shortly thereafter, I began loving the ease of my new short hair and the journey began to grow it long again.

• really bad breakage while transitioning for 5 months
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• 1/2 inch hair for box braids
• 2 1/2 months of bc natural hair
• 2inch natural black hair
• can i get micros on short damaged permed black hair
• cute short transitional styles for black women
• exactly how much hair will fall out if you\re going natural from relaxed hair
• going back 2 natural