Ni-Kiya- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
I transitioned 4 days short of 4 months. I actually wanted to bc on my 4 month anniversary but I couldn’t bare to keep the relaxed ends any longer, they had to go.

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
I BC’ed December 14th 2009. I didn’t get a chance to like it when I finished cutting it. I immediately hennaed and went to sleep , and put my alarm clock to 2 hours earlier than usual so I could wake up in the morning and cry about what I did. I woke up, washed out the henna … looked in the mirror and smiled. I liked it, and I didn’t care what anyone else thought!

CN: How did family and friends react to the new you? What was your response to them?
My mother … let’s not go there. But everyone else loved it . My boyfriend said not a word to me about my hair, lol, until two weeks later, “Baby, I love your hair .. I didn’t want to say it .. but I love it” . I got a lot of positive responses overall, a couple of “why did you cut your hair” questions .. to which I replied “Um is mine” (translated : It is mine).

CN: What was your transition routine ?
I co-washed everyday . I had a short cut and everyone with a short relaxed cut knows that heat is our best friend. But I didn’t want my hair to be heat damaged even before I went natural… So I looked like crap with a co-washed slicked down style … It worked for me up until the days prior to the bc.

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
I didn’t. I got a lot of moisture everyday from the conditioner and my moisturizer spritz that I used. I never really focused on the demarcation line.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
I was ready to be free. My lifestyle was not made for relaxed hair. I’m a wild free person… and my hair was boring me to death.

pic 1: Hair earlier in 2009
pic 2: Cut into a short style in may or june
pic 3: My BC