Help with Transitioning

I had a reader send me an email regarding transitioning, but because there was no contact email to respond, I will quickly answer her questions here.

Readers Question (modified in my own words): She's transitioning and is 3 months post. She is currently in a weave which she had in for a little while, but wants to wear her own hair in the summer to give it some TLC.

 Her main concerns are:

caring for her weave

 hair not growing

fear of what her natural hair will look like

caring for transitioning hair

1.) Caring for a weave:

Wash and condition at least once every 2 weeks- I would suggest investing in an applicator bottle, dilute the shampoo&conditioner with water, and concentrate on the scalp to wash your hair underneath. The shampoo and conditioner will eventually run off to the weave washing that too.

Moisturize the braids/your hair underneath as needed( I would say 1-2 times a week) - You can use a braid spray, s-curl, or your favorite moisturizer diluted in an applicator bottle so it's not too thick

Oil scalp as needed

I believe the longest a weave should be kept in your hair is 3 months. Main reason why, is to avoid matting. But there have been many cases, where a weave was kept in longer than 3 months and a persons hair still thrived.

I am not a weave wearer..and when I did wear weaves it was before my hair journey. For all of those that wear weaves, feel free to chime in,

2.) Hair not growing:

As long as you are alive and your follicles aren't damaged, your hair is growing. If you were relaxed and ever needed a touch-up, your hair was growing. Retaining that growth may have been an issue.

** I will link posts to tips I offered on that soon.**

3.) Fear of what your natural hair will look like

 Don't be scared. It's the hair that God gave you and it will be nothing less than beautiful! I think many had that same fear, but when they actually chopped off the relaxed ends, they fell in love with their hair. If you are scared, a long transition is just what you need. And if your natural hair is not as expected, trust and believe you can make it work with styles such as braid-outs, twists-outs, etc.

4.) Caring for transitioning hair

 I would offer the same advice I gave for stretching relaxers which in essence is what we're doing.

Keep hair moisturized paying special attention to  the new-growth- I have a spritz that I spray on my new-growth daily.

Keep the Line of demarcation strong by doing either mild protein/moisturizing treatments with every wash or a strong protein treatment every 6-8 weeks

Do not manipulate hair too much- try not to comb too often and do styles that can last a week such as roller-sets, flexi-rods, braid-outs and so forth.

Wash hair in sections to decrease tangling

Be patient!- Lord knows I am trying

Check out this blog. She transitioned for about 17 months I believe. http://guyanesesista.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-transition-regimen-basics.html

or Curly Nikki

http://www.curlynikki.com/search/label/Transitioning%20Tips%20and%20Resources

**You can also check out my transitioning label where I go into detail about my regimen**

Hopes this helps!!