MohagonyCurls- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
I was definitely a short term transitioner. I was a long term transitioner in my head but I ended up doing the BC a lot earlier than I expected. I only transitioned for 2 months. My BC was actually last minute. It was an accident, kind of. LoL. I tried to detangle my hair like I usually do when I shampoo my hair weekly. Well, when I combed my hair, a piece in the middle broke off at the line of demarcation. Yikes! I was so upset. I told my husband what happened and he said ” Well, you wanted to go natural anyway, so you might as well go ahead and cut it off.” That was my cue to do what I always wanted to do. I cut all my shoulder length hair and haven’t looked back since!

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
I BC’d February 15, 2009. A day after Valentine’s Day. When I saw my hair for the first time, I was mostly shocked because, I couldn’t believe that I didn’t have any length anymore. It was crazy! But I was very happy and it felt so liberating, it was one of the best feelings I have ever had. Pure euphoria!

CN: What was your transition routine (products included)?
My last relaxer was December 5, 2008 and I BC’d in February. During my short transition period I would bun my hair, and do twist-outs. I would also rollerset my hair. I shampoo’ed with Kera Care Hydrating shampoo, and Deep conditioned weekly with Kera Care Humecto Deep Conditioner (I was a die hard Kera Care girl!). I would also use Chi Silk Infusion as my heat protectant for rollersets, and I would use Infusium 23 as my leave in for bunning and twist-outs.

CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?
My staple style was definitely rollersets. I enjoyed rollersetting my hair!

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
I really didn’t moisturize my hair to prevent breakage, I just made sure I was very gentle with my hair, but as you can see, it still broke off…lol.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
To be honest, the main reason why I decided to go natural was because I started to get very annoyed with relaxing my hair every 12 to 14 weeks. It just wasn’t worth it. I was also very curious about my natural texture. I got my first relaxer when I was nine (not by my mother, my ex-stepmother relaxed my hair! My mom was so hot!!!!…But that’s another story!). I had very healthy relaxed hair, but I just wanted to have my natural hair. I also watched many natural hair videos on Youtube and followed a couple of Natural hair blogs…(yours included!) That also had a lot to do with my decision to go natural. My initial goal was to transition for two years, but instead, I only transitioned for two months! But it’s all good. I love my TWA and I am having so much fun with it. I always had a passion for hair care, relaxed or natural. I like to help others and educate them about our hair. In my spare time, I make Youtube videos about my hair journey and natural hair care. I recently went CG, (The Curly Girl Method), and I am enjoying it! My hair is responding very well to it. I only cowash my hair (avoid sulfates), and use cone free conditioner and products…(my hair didn’t respond so well to the cones and sulfates). But I am very happy about my decision and I do not think
I will ever relax my hair again!

The first picture-Relaxed Hair-January 2009-rollerset
The second picture is a transition style-February 2009-twistout
The third picture is my hair 2 weeks after the BC
The fourth and fifth pictures – my hair now- 3 Months after BC

One of my youtube vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1p0nrPbq3c&feature=channel