Natural Haircare Transitioning

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From: tinalhunt.com

Transitioning from permed or relaxed hair to natural hair should be an exciting time for you. It should not be a time of intimidation or of a feeling of loss. Many women face objections from boyfriends, husbands, family and even in the workplace. While we can't help you with those social and political pressures, we can give you some tips on what to expect and how to make the transition as easy as possible.

What to Expect When Transitioning to Natural Hair

People often ask us how they can make their relaxed hair "revert" back to natural hair. The true answer is you cannot. Nothing will make hair that has been chemically relaxed go back to its natural state. You have two choices, you can live with the permed hair at the end of the natural hair that is coming in or you can cut the permed hair off. Should you decide you just can't let go of that length, be prepared for some breakage. The place where the natural hair joins the permed hair is a weak point. Many people experience a lot of breakage when growing out a perm. By treating the hair gently and minimizing combing during the transitioning stage, you can minimize the breakage. How much breakage you get is dependent on your hairtype and how you treat your hair during the process.

Make the Transition to Natural Hair

There are a few basic ways to make the transition to natural hair. The simplest is to just cut off the permed hair and live with a short hair style for several months. This is the boldest way. But, takes the least amount of work and there's no worry about breakage. Cut off the relaxed hair- depending on how much new growth and your preferences you have a few styling options. You can wear a TWA (tweeny weeny afro) or twists (two strand or comb twists) pretty easily with almost any length hair. For other styling ideas, see http://www.ourhair.net or http://www.hairweb.com. Braids and/or extensions- you can have your hair braided until it grows to a length where you feel comfortable cutting off the new growth and going with other styling options. SisterlocksTM- SisterLocks can be started with one and one half inches of new growth at the scalp. They are similar to dread locks but with a look more like micro braids or very small twists. They leave you with many styling options. For more information (including pictures). If you are going to try to maintain your length while transitioning, keep these things in mind. Your hair is very is very fragile during this time. Handle it as little as possible and make sure you keep it well moisturized. Sleep with a silk cap or scarf at night to prevent friction on your pillow and to maintain moisture in your hair.

How Not to Make the Transition to Natural Hair

Transitioning to natural hair in other ways, like pressing the natural hair as it grows in underneath the relaxed hair, are going to make your hair prone to breakage and can damage the natural hair you're trying to grow in. Products that claim to revert permed hair might make it frizzy, but are not going to really make it natural. You do not want to put chemicals on top of chemicals in your hair. You will only end up damaging the hair and get even more breakage than you would experience otherwise. While transitioning, try to find a style that will accommodate the new growth coming in like twists or braids.

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