My take on transitioning from relaxed to natural!!- How did you do it??

Transitioning for many can be a trying experience. For me though, the first time, it was a breeze. What did I do, you ask?

I left it alone...

Plain and simple. I did absolutely nothing to my hair. I kept a very simple regimen which consisted of weekly shampooing and deep conditioning. Most of the time I wore my hair in a simple ponytail. Now I know that a style like that is not really practical for everyone. But at the time I was in my first year of college I just had my daughter so I did not have the time to go all out with crazy hairstyles. Not that I was looking busted all the time, I did occasionally do a sew-in, a set of french braids or a braid out. Those are the only styles that I remember wearing at the time.

When I began transitioning I began to use conditioner as a leave-in. I could not find (and still haven't today!) a good creamy leave-in that I love. I found that my hair needed something more than the usual things that many of the women I knew used in their hair. Everyone around me used grease, Lusters pink lotion, and other crap like that. Hell, I was still using Pantene pro-V shampoo!

I began to experiment with new products and techniques such as cowashing and baggying. I have found a few product staples which I will list below. But I also found a few techniques which are essential to growing out my hair. Without these techniques there is no way that my hair would have reached the length that it did.

Products

• Lekair Cholesterol plus conditioner
• cheap conditioners such as suave & V05
• Creme of nature shampoo
• Scurl & Stasoffro
• Shea Butter
• Oils such as olive, coconut, castor

As far as taking care of and growing out your hair I do not think that the products that you use have that much of an effect on the final outcome. You can use the cheapest products and still come out with the same results as using the higher end, more expensive products. Not to mention all the money you will save. In my opinion, its all about the technique.

More on that in the next post...

My take on transitioning from relaxed to natural!!- The beginning

So this is kinda long overdue! I have been asked so many questions about transitioning I thought it was about time I posted about it.

Let me give you a little background...
My natural hair journey began right after i had my first child. I was natural for most of my life because my mother refused to let me have any type of freedom with my hair. I gave myself my first relaxer when I was in 6th grade. I then began to experiment and teach myself all different types of hairstyles. By the time I was in high school I was doing styles for my friends also. I then became interested in growing out and caring for my hair.

The first website I was able to find was Growafrohairlong.com. From this website I learned a lot of the basics in haircare. I later found LHCF and all the other hair forums. From here my hair took off. I reached APL by the time I graduated from HS. I had my protective styles and regimen down!

I reached a little obstacle after I gave birth to my second child. I got on Birth control... I was on the depo but quit because of complications. I then began to use the ring.

What does this have to do with transitioning??

This is where my journey began! Because of the BC I began to experience hair loss. Which I attributed to the use of relaxers. So I decided to stop all use. I transitioned for a year and then did the Big Chop!

Pics of my BC can be found in my fotki album HERE.

The Mohawk

So this is the first time that I am doing a mohawk on my own hair. I love it! I usually add weave to the middle section but I thought I would leave my own hair out. Mostly because a few people have been hounding me to wear my real hair. So I did. I went through so much with this hairstyle..

First I did a henna treatment and deep conditioned. For my henna mix I only used hot water, safflower oil, and henna powder. It actually made my hair really soft. Which is funny cause henna usually makes my hair feel weird unless I add plain yogurt to it.

PS. Always wear gloves when doing anything with henna!! It turns you skin and nails orange.. I didn't and my hands are still a little orange. LOL I don't care though. I love henna!

Heres wear the trouble starts... :P
At first I was planning to wear a braidout. I french braided it going back and let it set overnight... When I took it out.. It was just a little too frizzy for me.

I didn't really like it.. I could have made it work but it just wasn't the look that I was going for.
Heres a pic as I was starting to flat iron the front....

So I took my blow dryer and flat iron and straightened it out... It came out so fab!! Here are a few pics. :)

Now I suck because I was rushing and didn't use any heat protectant. My hair reverted the next day. So I washed the hair and conditioned and twisted my hair up and bantu knotted the twists. It came out nice. I used shea butter as a leave in and the hair is super smooth and soft! Loves it!

Will post a few pics of the twist out soon. Also there will be a video tutorial as soon as I finish editing!!
As well as a tutorial for silk locs which I am going to redo. Didn't like how the first one came out...
So stay tuned to Mar<333!

More on Mega-tek...

So I used it for the last month or so that I had my twists in. The style I wore after that were silk locs... My ponytail is a little jacked up in this pic. lol

Applying something to your scalp with this type of hairstyle is not happening. So I just started back using the megatek again after almost 3 weeks of not using it. Can I tell you that my scalp is so damn sore!! This mess hurts to even touch it!

Once I cut my hair I will be able to measure it more easily and really see how much growth I am getting from this every month. Last time I used it I got an inch. This time I did notice the shedding again. But it is very little compared to last year when I started Mirena at the same time. This is fine. As long as it stays minimal I am fine with it.

To chop or not to chop...

That is the question!!

I know that I have been whining about my shedding for a while now. Now that it is gone the aftermath is irking me every time I take down my hair. I am tired of looking at it. I feel like I want to start fresh with every thing. I will be moving within the next month or two. I want every thing to run smoothly after that. New job. New beginnings!

I want to chop it down to about 3-4 inches. We will see how this is going to go. With all the damage I have major split ends, very uneven, knots galore, tangles like crazy! It is so annoying and sometimes keeping damage for the sake of length just causes more damage.

Chop Chop!!!

I will be taking pics of my hair to show the damage done and I would like some input on what you guys think. I will blow out the hair and do comparison pics when I take down my current style. Which is just a set of layered french braids.

Sorry, not very clear pics but the style is very simple. 4 layers and a simple design it the front.

Also, I am trying to think of a style to wear to my grandmothers funeral which is this monday. She died 1/2/2010, 2 days before her 96th birthday. I miss her..