How To Go Natural

So you've been on YouTube and marveled at the beautiful naturals there. You've seen your friends go natural with great results. Maybe you've been relaxed your whole life and want to experience what God gave you for once.
Or maybe you've had one too many bad experiences with relaxers and stylists. So you've made up your mind. You want to go natural. But what you really want to know is...

How do you go natural?

My back story: I was natural most of my life. I had like 2 relaxers in my childhood. Then a Jerry Curl as a preteen. I chose on my own to go natural when I was 14.

When I was 19 I went to cosmetology school and learned how to properly relax. When I was 22 I texlaxed for the first time. At 23 I relaxed bone straight.

While in college I got neglectful so I cut my hair one week before graduation to SL. Then I grew my hair past APL. A few years later I had not one, but three major setbacks. Figured out what went wrong, grew my hair to BSL, decided to cut it and transition to very lightly texlaxed. Then suddenly decided not to texlax at all.

Fast forward to 2012, and I'm 1 year and 6 months chemical free. Currently very close to waist length. I will begin to cut away texlaxed ends in July of 2013. Update: I'm now currently just touching waist length. I plan on transitioning for another year if all goes well. I have about 5 inches of texlaxed hair still left. The plan is to at least grow 6 more inches then cut it.

Now there are three ways to go natural. Yes 3, contrary to popular belief. They all require strength (mental) and determination.


THE BIG CHOP!

The big chop is simply not relaxing your hair for a few months then cutting off your relaxed ends. This should be tested first if you've never been natural before.

How?

Take a small piece of your hair in a less noticeable place on your head like the nape. Cut it! Then experiment with that natural hair. What I mean is, see what the hair there likes and dislikes. See what moisturizes that hair best. See what oil that hair likes.

This is important because your relaxed hair and your natural hair may like different things. Where you would normally like light oils on your relaxed hair, your natural hair may prefer heavier oils. Where your relaxed hair liked that leave-in, your natural hair may not.

The point is, don't jump head first into the big chop without knowing your hair. That's the first rule of the hair bible:

Know Thy Hair!

Once you have figured out all the things that experimental piece of natural hair likes then proceed to big chop.


THE MINI-CHOP

So you don't have long hair but you've never had big chop short hair either and don't want to go there. Understood. There is another way.

Hair grows an average of 6 inches a year when left undisturbed. That is just an average. Hair can grow a little faster or slower than that. So what you want to do is find out your rate of growth.

How do you do that?

Easy, just take a small section of hair and color or relax it. Then measure the growth after 30 days (I suggest doing this with the thickest part of your hair as thinner parts tend to grow slower.).

So okay, you did that and found out your hair grew 1/2 an inch in 30 days. Now what?

You measure the length of your hair. You can do this by measuring from the front hairline back or from the top of the skull down.

So lets do some math!

So you measured from the top of your head to the ends and found out it's 8 inches long. Well, you know that your hair grows 1/2 inch a month.

1/2 inch per month + 12 months= 6 inches
to grow 2 more inches would take 4 more months.

So it will take you 1 year and 4 months (or 16 months) to grow what you now have on your head. So you can mark that date on your calender as the day you cut off your relaxed ends thus mini-chopping!

But what to do with your hair for 16 months?

Low manipulation, moisturize, condition, seal, and check for protein! Before I expalain I need to tell you a secret.

Are you listening?

Are you ready for this?

Your natural hair will not break off even if your relaxed hair does. The problem in stretching lies in line of demarcation: the point where your natural hair ends and your relaxed hair begins. This is the point where only the strong survive.

Relaxed hair by it's very nature is weaker than natural hair due to the protein bonds being broken. Because of this relaxed hair tends to break off while the natural hair remains right at that line.

How do you prevent this?

• A monthly strand test. You should always know where your relaxed hair stands with moisture and protein because your natural hair is growing in with an advange. Learn it, know it, and fight it. Lack of moisture = need more water/water based products. Lack of protein = need a protein treatment (note: always follow protein with a moisturizing treatment).
• Detangle with care. Don't tackle your hair all at once. Work in 4 - 8 sections. Finger comb.  Comb hair under running water. Comb hair with conditioner in it. You can even use plain old conditioner as a leave-in either watered down or full strength.
• Reduce your manipulation. Try shampooing in 4-8 braids and air drying 75% (in those braids) before combing. Wear hair styles that reduce manipulation like braids, 2 strand twists, buns, cornrows, half wigs, etc. The less you manipulate the better.
• Moisturize, condition, and seal. A couple of times a week make sure you go through these steps: 1) Moisturize hair. 2) Apply conditioner or leave-in conditioner 3) Apply oil to seal it all in. (note: this can be done in braids and twists just add a teaspoon on oil to your spray leave-in.)

THE LONG TERM TRANSITION

This is the same thing as the mini-chop but you just have to do the steps for much, much, muuuuuuch longer. I've seen people do it for 3 years. I'm doing it for well over 2. Just follow the same steps outlined above and stick with it.

SOLUTIONS FOR TRANSITIONING ISSUES
Itchy scalp - use peppermint diluted in water or oil. Use a peppermint based shampoo. Use a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar as a rinse. Clean scalp 2x a week to keep roots clear. Don't apply heavy oils or grease to scalp. Jojoba, coconut, and olive are light enough if necessary.

Dry hair - Replace your shampoo with co-washing/co-rinsing: washing scalp and hair or just hair with conditioner. Use a 50/50 mixture of castor oil and any oil of your choice (try jojoba and coconut of jojoba and olive oil) as a sealant to damp hair. Apply lanolin to damp hair as it holds in over 70% of moisture. Try deep conditioning at least once a week. Spray hair with leave-in spray 3-4x a week, and seal with oil.

How to cleans scalp in braids/twists - try a cloth and witch hazel. Try rinsing with 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts water to kill bacteria and break up dirt.

These roots are thiiiiick - Try using a thick conditioner like Motions Moisture Plus to smooth them down, and seal with oil. Apply to edges then add a scarf for at least 20 mins. Try doing braid-outs, and flat twist outs. Try using aloe gel (natural or Proclaim brand). Try LaBella, Eco Styler Olive Oil, or any alcohol  free, non-flaking gel after moisturizing and sealing. Again use a satin or silk scarf to set gelled hair for at least 20 mins.

TRANSITIONING STYLE OPTIONS

The easiest way to transition for a novice is to do a long transition by using low manipulation hairstyles. The most popular one is to wear braids or twists. Braids and twists redone every 2-4 weeks can really help get over the first hurdle. That first 4 months of growth, dryness, and itch. And the the great thing about braids and twists is that they can be rinsed, oiled, and bunned.

If you'd like to experiment with styles that are gentle on your two textures you can try one these below.

Bantu Knots/Zulu Knots

Box Braids

Senegalese Twists

Creative Cornrows

Textured Half Wig (HZ 7067 viewed above)

A full wig (Jina pictured above)