How to Transition to Natural Hair

Posted by admin on May 14, 2012 in Protective Hairstyles, Random | 0 comments

There are so many options once you decide to transition to natural hair.  Of course, I decided to grow out my relaxed hair over the course of 2 years and I kept my hair straight for months into my transition.  You do have options.

You can protective style by keeping your hair in braids, weaves or wigs for the duration of your transition.  I tried cornrows (in a bun style) as well as two strand twists on a cornrow base.  I was able to keep the cornrow style in for 4 weeks and the crochet braided style for 9 weeks.  I still protective style although I am fully natural.  My natural hair is currently in Senegalese twists that have been in for 8 weeks.  After a touch up at the front hair line to give me a fresh look, I plan to keep this style in for another month.

You can also keep your natural hair straight as you grow out your hair.  You should be careful with this option though as it can result in heat damage (meaning straight strands of hair that have been burned straight).  Heat damage cannot be cured. Roller sets and wrap styles (no direct heat) worked best for me in the beginning of my transition.  I also decided to get a few blowouts at the salon to keep my hair straight at the roots.  If you want to keep curly hair (which some people don’t) then you will need to cut off the heat damaged sections of try to blend them in with the curls using rods.

You can try out curly hair right away with braid outs, twists outs, bantu knots, rod sets on your relaxed hair.  When my hair was still relaxed at the ends, I tried braid outs and used perm rods to curl the ends.  It worked too!

There are so many options with natural hair.  Try out a few options and most importantly, have fun with it.  There are no rules.

 

Senegalese Twists

Curly two strand twists on a cornrow base