Stephanie- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
S: I consider myself a medium term transitioner; I transitioned for 8 months. I planned on transitioning for at least a year, but I got impatient. I couldn’t wait to see my natural hair! I think I transitioned for the right amount of time for me. I didn’t want my hair to be super super short.

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
S:I BC-ed on January 24th, 2009. It was definitely a spur of the moment thing. I ran to Walgreens around 11pm to get some hair cutting scissors, and I went to town on my hair! It was really liberating when I was finished. It was definitely strange to have short hair for the very first time.

CN: What was your transition routine? Staple Hair Styles?
S: I did a lot of protective styling during my transition; kinky twists for a month, tree braids for 2 months, and bantu knots for the rest of the time. It was fun getting to know my new hair that was coming in! Bantu knots were definitely my savior; I don’t know what I’d do without them!

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
S: I used shea butter, and that worked very well. I also used Keracare’s creme hairdress.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural? Are you happy with your decision?
S: I chose to go natural because I was tired of the scalp burns and thinning hairline from relaxers. I never knew what my natural hair looked like, and I was finally ready to take the plunge with my natural hair! I’m very happy with my decision to go natural. It feels so amazing.