Meet Nicollette…a woman on a journey of self discovery.
CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
N: I guess you can say that I was a semi-long term transitioner because I only transitioned for six months(March to September). I originally planned to transition for a year, but after I took out my kinky twists, there was no way at all I had the patience to deal with two textures.
CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
N: I did my BC on September 23rd, 2009. When I first looked at myself in the mirror, I felt proud. I felt empowered. I can finally say I achieved one of my goals in life. My mom was more emotional than I was. I was going through a time when I needed to find the real me… I finally did find myself but one thing was missing….my relaxed her was not me at all. That’s when I decided it was time for a change. I feel that now I am actually myself. I felt beautiful when my mom told me “Now that’s the hair you was born with… Oh my baby!!!”-Then she went and finished trimming my hair.
CN: What was your transition routine (products included)?
N: I learned how to co-wash with Suave coconut conditioner and Aussie Moist hair conditioner… I also used Coconut, Olive and Castor oil. I shampooed once a week with Aussie Moist shampoo. In the summer time, SheaMoisture Shea butter was my savior!!!- It saved my hair from being fried in the sun!
CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?
N: I mainly did Wash-N-Gos with the products above and put my hair into a bun and wore a cute headband. I also did 2 strand twists from time to time. I wore Kinky Twists during a portion of my transition…but my hair grew so fast I had to take them out in a month. My hair grew over a 1/2 inch… it was insane! I honestly never knew my hair could grow that fast without a relaxer.
CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
N: Two Words… Castor Oil.. It helped so much to retain moisture at the new growth line. I just used plain ol’ regular castor oil and it helped my hair a whole lot!
CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
N: I had been using relaxers since I was four years old. One day, I was going through my baby albums and I saw pictures of myself when I was three. My natural hair was healthy and had grown down my back… I was only three!! I wanted to see my natural texture again.
Also, my hair was damaged from all of the relaxers and hair coloring. I wanted to say sorry to my hair for all the things I had done to her… so I made a change. I know that I am not perfect, and my hair is not perfect either, so we make a great couple. I love being natural and it feels good to be whole person. I had no idea going natural woud feel this good…make me feel so complete.
My Pictures:
1. Me Relaxed
2. Me Transitioning(2 Strand twists)
3. Me Transitioning(Kinky twists)
4.Me right after BC
5. Me Natural… Yay!
Girl we have the same name. You don't find too many Nicolette's walking around. Your hair looks gorgeous! I plan to BC in May 2010.
gorgeous!!
love it!!!!!!
aww thanks monique…. I really appreciate it! :0)
Your hair looks so pretty and soft.
Congratulations on your BC!