Tiffany- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term and short term transitioner? Why?
T: Umm I was a short term transitioner. Personally, I wanted to cut my hair all off and style it in a low boy fade, but my mother refused to take me to a hair salon or do it herself. I ended up transitioning for six months (at least I think so) and I was too excited to cut if off when the time finally came. LOL!

CN: When was your BC? What was your initial reaction to your hair?
T: I did my BC in September of 2008. I had mixed emotions about it, I would leave the house full to the brim of confidence that I gained from giving myself pep talks, and then falter when I saw someone’s reaction to my hair. Eventually I learned to love it, and thought of it in the sense that people don’t like most hair styles. It’s like seeing someone with a bad weave who think they look so hot.

CN: What was your transition routine? Staple Hair Styles?
T: I really don’t remember all that much, but I remember that I did bantu knots a lot to hide the two textures. I didn’t really care about the relaxed ends actually but I did all I could to make sure that they didn’t split all the way up to the natural hair.

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
T: I stopped using shampoos because they stripped my hair of all the moisture. I deep conditioned every week and used copious amounts of leave-in conditioner, I used carrot oil to keep my ends hydrated and sprayed water in it every morning before school. Then I got my shea butter and I fell madly in love with it. I think it’s awesome, but I know some people don’t like it.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural? Are you happy with your decision?
T: I went natural because I hated my hair, I really did hate it. I hated the fact that my ends would always break off, I hated how dry and brittle it felt, I hated how limp and flat it looked, I hated how I looked with it and I hated the fact that my hair would not grow past my neckline. I also despised looking a hot mess, I mean I don’t have to look all that, but I like to look put together and my hair was not doing it for me. So while just entering my senior year, I decided that I was actually going to go through with it and cut it off before I had the chance to change my mind and get a perm. Even though I had my doubts at first, now I love my hair, it has grown so much in seven months. Seeing my thick healthy hair grow like a vine boosted my self confidence to extreme heights. Going natural has been the best decision I have made so far in my life and I am extremely happy with it.