-Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
If 8 months is considered long term, then I was a long term transitioner. I was too afraid to make the Big Chop because I am used to having some hair (plus I have a big head!) so I decided to grow my hair for as long as I could stand the two textures.
-When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
I BC’ed on Oct, 15, 2008. My initial reaction right after the cut was “what have I done?” but then my friend that went natural with me and cut my hair, started to twist my hair and I started to fall in love. By the time I took my twists out the next day I was in love!
-What was your transition routine (products included)?
I didn’t have a routine. I just washed and conditioned with Cantu products and used a grease on my scalp because it was still dry and damaged from the relaxers (I had dandruff something awful). Nothing special.
-What was your staple hair style during the transition?
During the first three months of the transition I had kinky twist. After I took those out I made the mistake of flat ironing my hair constantly to help manage the two textures which really hurt my hair. I would normally just keep it pulled back in a pony tail so that I wouldn’t have to deal with it. A few times I let my friend braid my hair.
-How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
For moisture I made sure to deep condition as much as possible but I didn’t really have a lot of breakage at the new growth line (except for when I flat ironed my hair) I also tried to keep oil (olive, shea, etc) in it to keep it from being so dry.
-Why did you choose to go natural?
My friend and I were talking about how thin our hair had gotten around the edges from the relaxers and she mentioned she wanted to just give that stuff up and go natural. I told her (jokingly) “if you do it, I’ll do it” and she was like ok lets do it, so we went and got kinky twists and made the promise not to relax our hair any more. Having someone do it with me made it that much easier, because I went natural a few years ago and only lasted 2 months before I gave in. When you are REALLY ready to do it and you have a support, then it’s not so hard.
