Tips for Transitioners

There’s no need for a lengthy introduction for this post. The title is pretty much self-explanatory.

Transitioners: Ladies who stop perming (chemically relaxing) their hair in order to rock their hair’s natural curl pattern. Shakin’ what their mamas gave them, au naturale!

If you’re transitioning and you need a little help, check out these tips:

1. If you want to cut it all off at once (doing the “big chop”), then go ahead. But you actually don’t have to go bald (or almost bald) in order to go natural. You can wear           your hair in a variety of styles while you grow out your relaxer, and just trim the              relaxed ends little by little over a period of time.

      2. Please do NOT fry your natural hair with a flat iron (hair straightener) or blow                   dryer, in efforts to get it straight and blend it with your relaxed ends. That would            cause major breakage…and when irrevocable breakage occurs, you might as well cut          it all off. (Refer to #1)

      3. Beware of the line of demarcation! This is basically the point where your natural               roots meet your straight ends.

Source: A Hair Story

      4. Don’t dye your hair during your transitioning process. Chemical dyes cause our hair             to be drier than usual, which may increase chances of having breakage. And during           your transition, your hair is already fragile, especially at the “line of demarcation”             (See #3)

      5. Find a nice balance between giving your hair enough protein vs. moisture. Use                  protein conditioners once or twice a month, and deep condition your hair with a              moisturizing deep conditioner once a week (or once every two weeks). But pay                attention to how your hair reacts to the way you treat it: if it’s dry and breaks                  easily, then you need moisture; if it’s too mushy and weak, then you need protein            to strengthen it.

       6. Use hairstyles such as bantu knots, roller sets, wigs & sew-in weaves to disguise the           difference in textures on your head so that you can still look cute as you go through           this ugly duckling phase (Hey, I’m just keeping it real).

       7. Find a good detangler. Conditioners that have bihentrium menthosulfate are really            useful, because this ingredient serves as a detangling agent. So check the label of              that conditioner you’re looking to buy and see if bihentrium menthosulfate is                    there. The closer to the top of the ingredient list it is, the larger the amount of it            that’s present in the conditioner, and the better it is for you.

        8. Deep conditioning is your friend, girl! It’ll help you manage the two textures more             easily by making your hair feel soft and prevent breakage. Get to know it!

Hero Hero Bonus: Living in Nigeria (or in hot, humid climate)? Try to limit your hair's exposure to the sun during this transitioning phase, because excessive heat exposure will cause more dryness that you bargained for. If you go for protective styles that hide your hair during most of the transition, it'll make the process a lot easier. So opt for braids (but DON'T make them too small, too tight, nor keep them in too long, abeg!) or weave-ons (again, not too tight, and don't wear them too for too long). 

Congrats if you have decided to go natural; it takes courage and patience to do so. If you’re still debating whether or not to go natural, be sure you do your research, and make sure to keep an open mind.

Until next time!

Black Hair Can't Grow

Black hair can’t grow. For simplicity, let’s assume that “black” equals tightly coiled,“wooly,” afro-like hair. This is by far one of the biggest myths out there. My hair at its longest was 16in. (41 cm.), & it reached passed my back bra strap. Oh, and I’m Black. African. Nigerian, to be precise. I'm 100% Black, Nigerian with tightly coiled, “wooly,” afro-like hair (that’s clarification for those who want to claim that some Nigerians are mixed with other races, which may be true, but I'm not. I'm all Black, baby!)   During my university years, my close friends dubbed me with the nickname Many Hair because of my long and thick afro halo that I used to wear around campus. Picture a Boondocks character with tall, skinny legs; that was me. My hair attracted so much attention that on one occasion, I nearly felt like slouching in my seat to allow the poor girl behind me to see the board during Chemistry class. People often stared as I strolled passed, wondering silently—and in the case of some bold individuals, aloud—what would possess me to wear my natural hair out, and whether it was all mine.  "How did you get your hair so long?" I’d often get asked. I used to shrug my shoulders, because quite frankly, I didn't know--my mama did my hair! Most of the time growing up I wore my hair in box braids (with hair extensions--"Bob Marley" as my sister and I used to call it). In my final years of university the “natural hair movement” was reborn, which encourages Black women to embrace their natural texture (chemical-relaxer-free), to nurture it and learn how to style it. Now we’ve gotten used to seeing Black women rocking all kinds of curls and coils. And though my hair’s “afro-ness” is still quite shocking to some, most people are more intrigued by its length than anything else. Let’s quickly get back to that “Black hair can’t grow” myth. It’s not only myth, it’s a gimmick. Millions of companies around the world play on (and make mega bucks from) the notion that Black hair cannot grow passed shoulder length; that Black hair's "wooly" nature needs to be relaxed into straight silkiness, and that Black hair is simply unmanageable. As a result we, Black women, buy hundreds of ounces of hair extensions, chemical relaxers, wigs, and "magic" products to add length, volume, and bounce (sadly, in vain sometimes) to our hair, rather than truly discovering the beauty of our own our crown and glory (our hair). Growing up, I wasn’t that interested in how or what was being done to my tresses. Granted, I had always been proud of it, but I never actually took time to take care of it by myself. It wasn't until I entered university that I really took ownership of my hair and discovered its true beauty and potential for growth. Black hair CAN grow. In 2009 I began my healthy hair journey, shortly after a horrific session at the beauty salon where a scissors-happy stylist cut off way more hair than I had requested for what was supposed to be a trim. My ultimate goal on this journey is to learn how to love my hair, even on its bad days, and how to achieve thick, healthy waist-length hair. Yes, I said it! I was able to grow my hair from chin-length to bra strap length; why stop now?