How Long to Transition from Relaxed to Natural Hair?

Posted by admin on Nov 4, 2011 in Before Your Transition to Natural | 0 comments

For How Long Should You Transition?

The only person who can decide when you are ready to cut off the remainder of your relaxed hair is you. If you have a goal length in mind, you can calculate how long it might take you to reach your goal presuming the ½ inch of hair per month average. You should be forewarned that natural hair is known to shrink, meaning it can be deceivingly short until stretched out to its full length. If you have a goal length in your mind, be sure that it is a realistic goal based on how you see your hair begin to shrink as your new growth over takes your relaxed hair.

A transition for two months (one inch of new growth) may not be the actual curl pattern of your hair once the weight of the relaxed strands are gone. It does not seem like your relaxed hair will stretch out your curls, but keeping the relaxed ends will make it hard to tell what your natural hair will truly look like for a short term transition. There is no guarantee that the curl pattern you start to see after two – four months will be your hair texture once the relaxed ends are cut away. You will need to be patient and give your new hair texture some time to grow before making the decision to cut off the relaxed ends.

You should be aware that transitioning from permed to natural hair without the big chop does not always mean you will retain your length. Proper care of all textures while transitioning to natural hair are required to successfully maintain your length.