lnmcreativechic: The Troubles of a Transitioner.

Hey those that pay attention to this blog. The reason that I wanted to do this post is because I recently had a discussion with my aunt (who is also a transitioner 4 months ahead of me) and hair came up. She asked me how I've been doing with it and I said that I was doing well. My hair has been in single braids for 2weeks today, so my hands are out of it. My hair has been growing freely without little intervention and manipulation. When I asked her how her hair was she told me that she was ready to give up. She had her hair in single braids as well and recently took them out. She told me that she was having a lot of difficulty styling the two textures of hair and was frustrated to the point where she is actually contemplating going back to perming her hair. When she told me this I gave her my opinion as well as a couple words of wisdom. I told her to not give up. There is no doubt that there have been times when I thought about going back. My hair naturally is in a state where I can't really do much with it by itself. Because I have decided to no do the big chop as of yet, My hair is not only two textures but different lengths all over. The permed parts in the middle broke off significantly making it really short, my front is long and my sides are at a medium length. I really don't know what to do with my natural hair at the moment which is why I braid it. If i didn't braid it I can admitt that I would be so frustrated that I would be tempted to perm it. This is something that a lot of naturals go through, being in a state of limbo where you want to perm it but you don't want to at the same time. I told her that it is so easy to give up and give into something that you have been familiar with for so long. When you've been living with a certain texture for so long ( majority of your life or a series of years) it's hard to deal with a hair texture that is "foreign" to you. I told her why I personally havn't given up.

1. Giving my natural hair a chance.
Like I said, it's so easy to give into something that you havn't been familiar with for so long. I've had permed hair for 10 years. I don't even remember what it is like to run my fingers through my natural kinky coily hair. I wanted to really give my natural hair a chance, as a more educated, older and wiser woman. Now that I know what my natural hair needs to thrive and be healthy, I know that it will be easier and a worth while experience.

2. It's actually a little exciting!
The thought of going natural has actually been exciting to me. After looking at varioius pictures of natural hair and hair styles and viewing videos of ladies transitioning from relaxed to natural hair like me, I am really excited and curious to see how my hair is going to turn out once I finally cut off the relaxed parts, and see my natural curl pattern. This is one of the main reasons that keeps me motivated to continue my natuaral hair journey and not give up so easily. It's like being reaquanted with something that you havn't seen in so long.

3. The cute styles you can rock with it
There are so many ways that you can style natural hair, contrary to popular belief. Growing up it was believed that natural hair is not versatile and is difficult to style and manage. But if you're constantly trying to manuver your hair to do things that it was just not meant to do (such as combing extremely curly hair with a fine tooth comb that is ususally more suited for straight hair) you are going to get frustrated. If you took the time to get to know what your specific hair type needs and worked with it instead of against it you would realize that there are plenty of styles that you can rock with natural hair. You can rock it straight by finding a straightening iron

4. The cool products that you can use
In terms of the basic shampoo, conditioner and leave - in - conditioner you can use it no matter what hair type you have, but now there are so many organic products out on the market that are truly better for your hair. Products with out sulfutes, parabens, mineral oil , petrolatum and other "evils". Back in the day you either had to make your own concoctions ( which you can still do, but it can be time consuming and strenuous sometimes) or settle for products that wern't for your hair type. Now there are so many products to choose from and try out to see what works for your hair and what will make taking care of it and styling it easy. Product lines such as Carol's Daughter, Darcy Botanicals, Kinky Curly, Qhemet Biologics, Oyin Handmade as well as others.

My tips to other transitioners out there other than myself is to not give in so easily. Try your best to keep yourself motivated as much as possible. Look up videos on youtube so that you will get a sense of what other transitioners have been through, and how they style and take care of their hair. Look up images on google of natural hair styles and celebrities ( dead or alive) with natural hair styles ( My favourites are Solange Knowles, Marsha Hunt, Chaka Khan, and Janelle Monae). The key to transitioning and going natural is patience. Remember that your hair isn't just going to grow to the length that you want overnight so continue to be patient and focus on your goal. 4 full months have already gone by since my last perm and even though I'll know I've made official progress once I meet the 6 months mark I am still proud of the progress that I've made and happy about how my hair is growing. Natural hair is not a trend in my opinion but it should be a movement for those that have lived with permed hair for so long. Many are deciding to say goodbye to the creamy crack and hello to making peace with their natural god given hair.