Cali- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?

I was a long term transitioner. Yep, it took me 18months! I’ve always had long hair, so I wanted to get my natural hair to a length that I was comfortable with.

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?

I did my BC Feb 14, 2009 it was kinda funny actually. My boyfriend ran off to NY 3 days before V.day and promised he would be back before the holiday, well he called and said he couldn’t make it. I sat in the house bored the whole day doing a deep conditioning treatment. After I washed it out, i couldn’t figure out what to do with my hair, i noticed my natural hair was touching my shoulders. I bought some hair scissors earlier that week, I planned on taking about 2 inches off. I hopped on YouTube and looked at some hair videos and came across a young lady who transitioned for 18m and did her BC and saw that her natural hair was about the same length as mine. So I’m thinking “oh my gosh, this must be a sign”. I grabbed my scissors and went for it. I just did it, I was thinking omg I can’t believe I’m doing this! I called my boyfriend and was like “hey baby, guess what I’m doing with my hair” and started laughing he’s on the phone yelling “No0o0o, don’t tell me you cut it! Did you cut it? No0o!” i’m like yep, happy valentines day! lol he loves long hair, I think he has a fetish for it! I missed my length but I was so happy with my curls!

CN:What was your transition routine (products included)?
In the beginning, I blowdried, flatironed, hot curled, about 1 every 2 weeks, and wrapped it every night. When it got hotter out I did bantu knot outs, wore buns, and there was this one style i did when i pinned my hair under into a bob! Here comes the products… da da dum… GREASE & PINK LOTION! I was so uneducated about what to use on my hair. ( I discovered natural hair blogs and videos late in my transition!) Doo Gro and BB were the brands of the grease, I also used the Doo Gro oil, and Extra Vigin Olive Oil. I know now to stay away from Petroleum, and Mineral Oil.

CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?

Bantu Knot Outs, it was fast and easy. It also made it hard to distinguish between the two different textures. So I didn’t have to hear the “gurl its time for a perm” comment every 2 seconds, and then have to explain to ignorant people what growing your perm out meant, and why I was doing it. Ugh, It got so annoying! But now that I’m natural and they see my hair they always come up and say “Omg how did you get your hair like that, its so cute” I’m like yeah i know! lol

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
I always had a bad habit of putting too much grease and oil on my hair. So I think that definitely saved it. I also did alot of home-made Deep Conditioning treatments that I researched on the Internet, and ACV rinses. I stopped using shampoos that contained Sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?

Well, at first I didn’t really plan on going natural. I never got perms very frequently, maybe 2-3 a year. So I hadn’t had a perm in a couple of months, and my newgrowth was pretty long. Once I actually noticed how curly my roots were, I fell in love with it! I questioned why I even needed a perm, natural hair is so versatile. Also a friend at school was also transitioning so we kinda competed on who had the most growth lol. Seriously, she’s one of the reasons why I stuck with it! However she got this cute short haircut and went back to perms!