A. Carr- A Story of Transition

Ladies, meet A. Carr! A natural beauty that has so graciously shared her long-term transition story with the CurlyNikki.com community.

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
A. Carr: I transitioned for 9 months, so I guess I was a long term transitioner. Cutting all of my hair off scared the heebeegeebe’s out of me, so I decided to grow it out to a length that was comfortable to me. I went to a salon after about three months of growing out my hair and the natural hair stylist made me feel bad that I wasn’t ready to BC. She implied that I wasn’t a “True” naturalista. She also said that the texture of my hair wouldn’t curl on its own and it would look more like a combed out Fro. After leaving, I was devastated (to the point of tears) and was convinced that going natural was not for me. However, after receiving a great deal of encouragement from other naturalistas, I decided that I would continue the process and have learned through it, that each person’s experience and journey is unique and special to them and I don’t have to live up to your definition of what natural is. (And btw, my hair does curl up on its own and I am soooo tempted to walk up in her shop and say Boooya! LOL:)

CN:When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
A. Carr: My last relaxer was August 2008 and I did the BC May 2009. My initial reaction was, “Oh nooo, what have I done”! Just being honest. But then I started feeling myself when I realized that I could finger curl my hair! I remember calling my best friend and dispelling the myth of good hair vs. bad hair. LOL. There is no such thing.

CN: What was your transition routine (products included)?
A. Carr: For the entire nine months I used Kera Care shampoo, Humecto conditioner and coconut oil once a week. I kept it simple.

CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?
A. Carr: For the entire nine months I used flexi rods. I would wash and deep condition my hair once a week and put the flexi rods in and that style lasted the entire week. I like simple and this style worked wonders for me. I was able to work out 5 days a week and still maintain a ka-ute style!

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
A. Carr: Coconut oil, Coconut oil, Coconut oil! I live and breathe this stuff and it works wonders. After taking the rods out of my hair, I greased my scalp with the oil and used it on my fingers to separate the curls.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
A. Carr: Honestly I kind of just fell into it. Initially it was because I was working out every day and my relaxed hair was NOT holding up. In the past, I have stopped working out because I didn’t want my hair to mess up, nor did I want to put heat in it every day. I started off putting rods in my hair and realized the longer I went without a relaxer, the cuter it became. During this process, I ran into an old friend who was natural and her hair was GORGEOUS!!!! The rest was history.

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