Delisia- A Story of Transition

Relaxed since the tender age of five, Delisia writes: “I hope my story motivates others as much as your site and the “new naturals” motivated me!!“

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
D: I guess you could say I was a long term transitioner. My initial plan was to go 1 full year before I “big chopped”, but I got frustrated with my two distinctly different textures and decided to cut it sooner. I ended up BCing at 9 months instead.

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
D: I BC’d on September 12, 2009…. and I absolutely LOVED it!!! I was very apprehensive during the process, and had butterflies in my tummy the whole time, but knew I made the right decision once it was done and styled. I felt this deeply-rooted empowerment and rejuvenation. I still can’t believe I finally did it… but OHHHHHH so glad I did!!!

CN: What was your transition routine (products included)?
D: The first few months of my transition, I was going to the salon every two weeks to get my hair deep conditioned and pressed out. However, this was not good for my hair – as it ended up breaking off at the new growth line after about three months of this routine. Thereafter, I decided to stay away from the heat and only rock twist-outs…it seemed to completely cover the one spot in my hair where the breakage occurred. I wore twist outs for the next 3 months (used Cantu shampoo and Cantu Conditioner for my wash/condition routine and a Cantu Leave-In Conditioner and Palmer’s Olive Oil spray combo for setting my twist-outs). For the last 2 1/2 months of my transition, I wore Senegalese twist extensions as a protective style before my BC.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
D: I have had chemicals in my hair for as long as I can remember (since like age 5, I think). Through all my relaxer treatments, I can only count on one hand the number of times I didn’t burn/scab. It was horrible… I was always asking the stylist to wash out the relaxer after only a few minutes of it being in. I decided it was time to stop torturing myself. In addition, I’ve always loved natural beauty and big hair…. and since my hair is super thick, I’ve always been curious about what my hair would look like natural. I also had some AWESOME natural friends who encouraged me and turned me on to Youtube, Fotki, and of course, Curlynikki.com. I was even more motivated then… and decided to begin my transition process.

Picture Descriptions:
1.) Pic in Red Dress – my pressed-out transition style (2 1/2 months into transitioning)
2.) Pic with white top and scarf – my twist-out transition style (3 months into transitioning)
3.) (At top of interview) Side view pic with turquoise earrings – The day of my big chop!!!
4.) Pic with “Hope” tee – One month after my big chop!!

FOTKI account name: Msmorningglory

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