Transition Update: 1 Year Post Relaxer

Happy Sunday!!

Hope you all are doing well.

As some of you may know, my sister is transitioning from relaxed to natural.
What prompted her to transition was her last relaxer. The stylist (at Monica Todd Salon in Boston) overprocessed her hair SO much that it became so thin and lifeless. I put the salon out there because there is no excuse for a professional salon, that charges an extraordinary amount of money, to do that.
But this transition has made her hair the healthiest it's been for a while, so I guess MT did her a favor.

Anyway, her yearly regimen was as follows: 

September- November: Wash, deep condition, roller-set, wear hair down or in a ponytail. By the second and third month she would get her roots flat-ironed

November - February: Kinky Twists with added hair

February- June: Detangle, Wash, Deep Condition, Airdry every 2-4 weeks.
Wear hair in a bun or clipped up ( this was the hardest stage for her).

June- September- Kinky twists with added hair

She has been relaxed for about 15 years straight, no off period, so she is pretty used to straight hair and it does look good on her(not to mention it is more manageable for her while straight). So, she will most likely be a straight hair natural, well until her natural hair is a little longer.

For the remainder of her transition, which may be for about 6 months, she will get hair straightened at the salon monthly.

This is her hair at the one year mark after being heat free for 9 months:

The (Potential) Stages of a Long Term Transition

Transition from Relaxed to Natural that is.

Each of these emotions may come at different times or you may not experience them at all.

Stage 1(months 1-4) :

Excitement and Determination- I can do this! I am so happy I am transitioning and can’t wait until I’m fully natural. I’m going to research like crazy, watch tons of YT videos, subscribe to some blogs and maybe even register on a forum.  

My Top 3 Transitioning to Natural Tips

Relaxed to Natural 

Hey Everyone!

I'm trying to do a “tips” post once a week. I don’t want to drown you all in posts all about me, me, me, me. haha

For this week, because it’s fresh on my mind, I will do one on transitioning.

Snip Snip

So, after a night out with friends and a few drinks..I pulled out the scissors. I just knew I was ready to Big Chop. 

Back in Twists

This morning, after getting 3 hours of sleep(had my late b-day celebration last night and I just had to watch the Beyonce documentary afterwards at 5:30 AM lol)  , I put my hair in some twists. 

Fighting the URGE to BC

Feb 2nd


Ok, so I am a few days shy of 15 months post relaxer and the urges to BC come more often than not. I still KNOW for a fact that I am not completely ready to BC, but the thoughts keep plaguing my mind.

Transition Update: 14 Months Post Relaxer

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a great week so far!

Decided to come by and give you all an update on my transition.

So, I am officially 14 months post relaxer and things are going well.

A few things that I'm noticing:

13 Months Post Relaxer- Minor Breakage

Hey Everyone!! Hope you had a great weekend!

I just wanted to give you a brief update on my transition. Do you see those thin relaxed ends? Well that's where the breakage lies. About five of my twists look like that in the front/center of my hair. It's not too much to worry me, but enough for me to start monitoring my hair more. I did a henna treatment this weekend which immediately strengthened my hair, so now I'll just focus on keeping it moisturized. My hair will be in twists for the next 2-3 weeks, so I won't be manipulating it too much. For the most part, my hair is doing really well.. So that little section of breakage isn't discouraging me at all!

Let the transition continue!

My Long Term Transition Inspirations

I frequently watch former long term transitioners videos for inspiration. 

All of these ladies had different methods while transitioning, but the end result was beautiful natural hair. 
Hope these videos inspire some of my fellow transitioners out there! 

FusionofCultures- She is my ultimate favorite Youtuber! I believe I posted this video before,

but she transitioned for 24 months and did a great job doing so. 

xmaneeventx- She transitioned for 22 months and was left with SO much hair when she BCed. 

Transitioning to Natural: Hair Plans

As most of you know, I am 1 Year post relaxer, well 54 weeks post to be exact. 

I'm still in the Preservation stage of my transition where my hair will remain in protective and low maintenance styles. 

This will go on for the next 6 months then in the last 6 months of my transition, I will wear my hair out to just enjoy it and experiment with more "natural" hair-styles. 

As I have said before, I plan my hair styles about 4-6 months in advance. It sometimes changes here and there, but for the most part I stick to the schedule(I'm a huge "list" person)

In case anyone is interested, here are my plans:

2 weeks 11.26-12.7- Chunky Twists

2 weeks 12.9-12.22- Flat twists and two strand twist style  This never happened!

1 week 12.22.12-31- Braid n curl (or twist n curl)- It's the Holiday week, so my hair is going to be out. 

3 weeks 1.1-1.18- medium sized twists

1 week 1.18-1.25- chunky twists or wear my hair out

2 weeks 1.25-2.8- Trying a flat twists up-do

1 week 2.8-2.16- I plan to wear my hair out since its my Birthday week 

6 weeks 2.16-3.29- Single braids with extensions 

I of course will blog each style I do. 

As for my hair now: 

I had my hair in a set of chunky twists last week, but they looked a hot mess and lowered my self-esteem by the second. So you know I had to take them bad boys out. 

Because I didn't want to spend too much time on my hair, I did another set of chunky twists. 

This time, I brushed my hair back and up as if I were doing a "puff", tied a scarf to hold that down, then twisted the center. 

I have about 15 twists in my hair right now. During the week, I will just switch up the hair scarf and pin the twists back. 

excuse the crappy photo quality. 

Transition Update: 1 YEAR POST RELAXER

52 weeks post relaxer

It has been exactly 1 year since I relaxed my hair!!! Can you believe it? It feels like yesterday...YEAH RIGHT! I have been waiting for this day since I announced I was transitioning, but I guess it did go by kind of fast. 

On to my update:

• I honestly feel like this transition has been fairly easy and plan on transitioning for at LEAST one more year. 
• My natural hair is VERY tightly coiled, thick and dense..so keeping it stretched and moisturized has been the key to my success..with the addition of finger detangling, low manipulation and protective styling. 
• My hair is still past Arm Pit Length and I plan to maintain this length until I big-chop. I am actually hoping for APL natural hair by the time I BC as well. Yes,I am long hair obsessed and proud of it! 
• Shrinkage is CRAZY, but I accept it in all it's glory. 

46 weeks post relaxer - The nape is the shortest part of my relaxed hair due to weird underprocessing  in the past, but it's pretty healthy now. 

• I haven't had ONE thought about relaxing my hair. Those days are long gone. 
• I am really enjoying this transitioning process. My new favorite hair style is the high bun 

• Glycerin mixed with water and some oils is my naturals hair best friend! Although my relaxed hair hates glycerin so I make sure not to spray the mix on it. 
• I haven't used heat AT ALL this year. I don't plan on straightening my hair during this transition. 
• I plan my hair styles and hair treatments 4 months out which helps me resist the urge to BC
• I haven't worn any extensions since my last relaxer. I plan on doing single braids sometime in February, but I want to get to know my natural hair before doing so.

That's it for now. I may do a length check at the end of the year, but I need to figure out how to do so without heat. 

Thanks for all the support!! Here's to one more year! 

Air-drying and Styling my Transitioning Hair

Happy Sunday!!! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend :-) 

This is a continuation of my last post. 

Now, if  I plan to wear my hair loose(i.e not in twists), I air-dry in braids or twists to stretch out the natural portion of my hair. 

Braids usually can get the job done, but I feel like braiding can be too much manipulation so I opt for twists. 

Because twists don't stretch the hair out completely, I band the top port of the twists(where my natural hair is) using glue-less and metal-less scrunchies. 

Before banding, I lightly misted my hair then added my Shea-Butter mix to each section. 

I have approx. 12 twists in my hair and I let it air-dry for about 2 hours. 

Don't worry, I did not leave the house like this. I could just imagine getting this look all day long if I did. 

Anyway...

My hair didn't dry with-in those 2 hours, so I grabbed my blow-dryer(which I haven't used in SO long) to finish the job.

I just pulled each twist taut and proceeded to blow-dry on high heat for about 30 seconds. Then on cool air for about 10 seconds. 

My hair looked like this after taking out the twists and bands. 

11 Months Post Relaxer!

My hair last night at 11 months post

Earlier this week I made 11 months post relaxer! 

I still have more relaxed ends than natural hair. 

I have been dusting my ends, but haven't done any big trims. So in February I will cut off about 2-3 inches.

One thing I must say is that transitioning get's easier the further along you get. 

Oh and I LOVE my hair!! 

I will give a more detailed update once I hit one year post. 

46 Weeks Post Relaxer: Twist Out

I have done exactly ONE twist-out since the start of my HHJ. I always liked braid-outs better, but I decided to try a twist out last night. Well..it's more of a twist-n-curl. This was one of the styles on my list :-)

So..last night I:

• washed the twists I installed 2 weeks ago with WEN
• Airdried the twists for about 30 minutes so my hair was still very damp
• Took the twists out in sections
• Once each section was taken out, I finger combed it
• Then applied a mix of Aloe Vera Gel and EVOO/Coconut Oil
• Twisted the section
• Bobby Pinned the roots down 
• Then curled with small flexi-rods
• Let the set sit overnight and removed in the morning

****I did a total of 11 twists. Now, if I planned on keeping my hair out longer, I may have done more..but my hair is going back in twists on Monday.

I ran out of small flexi-rods, so I used a larger one to secure two twists. 

Because of that larger flexi-rod..that side came out JANKY!

5 Things I MUST Do While Transitioning

I sometimes wonder if I am qualified to give transitioning tips since I haven't completed my transition yet. So, I will list things that I (emphasis on I) MUST do while transitioning in hopes to help at least one person reading my blog!


1.) Wash My Hair in Sections- I have learned the hard way, that washing my hair loose causes massive tangles. I also need my hair firmly sectioned. So washing my hair in multiple ponytails, helps my wash day go much smoother. 

42 weeks post relaxer

2.) Deep Condition Before Shampooing- I'll be honest with y'all. I can't take those extra long wash day sessions anymore. I have been able to eliminate many steps and prefer not to go in and out of the shower. So, I deep condition before shampooing and my hair feels great! I am also cutting down on the water bill! 

3.) Detangle on Damp Hair- I am one of those people that can't comb soaking wet hair without getting breakage. Because I mainly detangle before washing, it makes sense to do so on dry hair. I just lightly mist it with my AVJ mix (add glycerin for slip), finger detangle first, then comb with my wide tooth comb. 

I believe this is one of the main reasons why I have retained ALL of my relaxed ends. 

4.) Keep My Hair Stretched- You all know that I live in twists. Twists are the only way I can keep my hair stretched without using heat and not manipulating my hair during the week. 

I must keep my hair stretched to avoid matting, tangling and knots. If I don't plan on wearing twists during the week, then I MUST braid, twist or bantu-knot my hair at night in order to keep it stretched. 

5.) I MUST practice Patience-  Transitioning can be difficult at times for various reasons. My main reason is the anticipation to have natural hair. But I know I want LONG natural hair. Sorry, I guess I am "long hair obsessed". But I know if I were to BC now, I would be obsessing about length. So why not wait until I am completely comfortable with the length of my natural hair? 

I also have to be very patient when detangling and styling my hair so I don't experience any breakage.

When Will I Big Chop?

Image Source 

When I first decided to go back natural, my goal was to transition for 2 years and 3 months then big chop on my birthday in February 2014. 

That is still my main goal, but if a few things happen before that date, I will go ahead and cut off the relaxed ends. 

So..what are those "things"?

1. My Natural Hair Reaches 10 inches
2. My relaxed ends start looking ridiculously thin compared to my new-growth due to breakage
3. My hair starts breaking excessively at the demarcation point
4. I can fit my natural hair into a ponytail
5. I complete the list of 15+ styles I want to do with my hair during this transition (if the above happens before then I will chop) 

So, there you go. That's when I will B.C and as you can see..it's not happening anytime soon! 

For all of my fellow transitioners..do you have a BC date or know when you will BC?

Hairstyle Fails - Transition from Relaxed to Natural

I talk about the good and bad in my transition, but rarely do I show the ugly. What I'm talking about are my failed hairstyles. I have tried many styles while transitioning, but I typically post the ones that actually come out nice and not the ones that are busts. 

I decided to share a few of my #fails! 

Some of these actually made it out the house and to work(oh the horror!)..I'm sure you will be able to tell which ones by the background. 

I was trying to do a high puff, but it turned  into a ponytail and  because my new-growth shrinks up so much..it turned into a teeny-weeny ponytail. I was 41 weeks post relaxer hair 

10 Months Post Relaxer and Counting

Hey Everyone! Hope you all are having a great week!!

I know I haven't been doing many "educational" or tips and tricks posts, but I have posted just about everything and anything about hair health, etc. So, please feel free to browse the blog and look through the labels. I'm sure whatever you are looking for is here and if it isn't, let me know and I will do a post. 

I welcome ALL suggestions! 

Tomorrow makes 10 months since I got my last relaxer!! I am excited to have made it this far and can't wait to see how my hair transforms in the next year or so. 

I still have no thoughts of BCing or relaxing and I would consider this an easy transition..so far. I really haven't dealt with any tangling ,extreme breakage or shedding and matting which I attribute to keeping my hair stretched at all times.

For the last two weeks, I gave twists a break and have been wearing my hair in buns with different hair scarves/headbands.

During the weekend I wear my hair out

It felt good, but the amount of time I spend setting my hair at night and doing it in the morning is exhausting. So, I can't wait to go back in twists this weekend. 

I also dusted my ends on September 1st. 

I plan to do a Henna and Indigo treatment in 2 weeks, then wear my hair in twists for 2 weeks at a time until I am 1 year post relaxer. 

That's it for now. This will be my last transition update until I am 1 year post. 

Transition Update: 40 Weeks Post Relaxer

Hey Everyone! I know I have been gone for a (little) while, so I wanted to drop in and let you know I didn't forget about my blog. 

For this post, I decided to give you all a brief update on my transition. I can't believe I am already 40 weeks post relaxer and in 12 more weeks,I will be one year post! How exciting is that?

My regimen and styling hasn't changed. 

If  I am feeling ambitious, I do medium sized twists which typically lasts 2 weeks

And when my twists get messy, I throw on a scarf

If I'm feeling lazy, I do "chunky" twists which typically last only a week

Twists at 38.5 weeks post relaxer 

4 Ways I Keep My Hair Strong

Besides the normal low manipulation, no heat routine I'm on, the below products help keep my hair strong. 

1.) Henna

I do Henna(and Indigo) Treatments quarterly. This has been a staple in my regimen for almost 2 years now. 

I typically mix the henna with an egg, black tea and coconut oil, which all have strengthening properties yet my hair still comes out soft AND strong afterwards. 

I have many posts on Henna, so if you would like to read more, click here.

2.) Deep Conditioning with ORS Replenishing Conditioner

I only deep condition once a month now and use ORS Replenishing Conditioner.

I have praised this deep conditioner time and time again. It's a combo of moisture and protein, so it's definitely not a full blast protein treatment. It works well for my hair and keeps it nice and strong.