Jennifer- A Story of Transition

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?
I was a short term transitioner– 5 months. I never really had a transition goal because I wasn’t afraid to wear my hair short. I had worn it cut short twice before, so that wasn’t the problem. I just knew that I didn’t want to rock a fade so I decided to wear a sew-in for my first semester in college and whatever length it was at when I took it out, is what I was going to work with : )

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?
I did my big chop on December 25, 2009! Yup, I did it on Christmas Day! I cut it because I was so eager to see it… I was super excited! It wasn’t a shock or anything because as I said before, I
am used to short hair. I’m also used to doing different things so it was easy to adapt. Then, I put on clothes and it went down hill from there.
I thought the hair cut made all my outfits look funny on me. So, I went from loving it to hating it. I had also dyed it jet black right after I cut it, and I thought the color was just way too harsh. For about a week or two I wore beanies….everyday. After I dyed it a lighter color and got used to my hair, I fell in love again! : )

CN: How did family and friends react to the new you? What was your response to them?
My family didn’t really care. I don’t know, it just wasn’t a big deal. My mom cut it and my brother and sister watched her.
Back at school was a different story. Before I got it cut I wore a curly sew-in. It looked like a huge curly fro and everyone loved that. When I told everyone I was cutting it, they begged me not to. So, when I finally stopped wearing my beanies people did not like it. I got sooooo many stares and crazy looks. I go to an HBCU, so they were used to seeing natural hair but they just didn’t like it on me….yet. If people didn’t like it they didn’t say anything.
I did get positive feed back as well. A couple of people thought I looked way better with my new hair! After it grew out a little and I started experimenting with it, lots of people began to love it. I never had to defend myself because no one said anything rude to my face. So everything was all good.

CN: What was your transition routine?
The only thing I used was Organic Root Stimulator Shea Butter. And that was on my weave. I treated my hair horribly. I think I washed it once. At that time, I didn’t have anyway to get any products because I was in a new place with no way to get around.

CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?
My sew-in. I wore the same one for 4 months and for the last month I got it re-done. I did give my hair a break for about two weeks…during that time, I just straightened my hair.

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?
Water. I was constantly putting water in my hair. I think that’s the only good thing I did during my transition, LOL.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?
I was watching the Trya Show one day and the topic they were discussing was about good hair. After the show was over, I decided to look it up. So, I was inspired. I knew nothing about natural hair. I didn’t know that a lot of black women wore their hair natural. I thought only mixed women wore their hair natural because it was already long and curly. Everybody I knew and had ever known wore a perm. When I realized the issue we as black people have with our natural hair, I decided that I no longer want to be a part of that issue. I wanted to embrace and accept my natural hair. Also, my hair never grew pass my shoulders and I was super excited to find out how to fix that and to learn that I to can grow long hair.

Pics:
First Pic: My hair during my transition
Second Pic: A few days after my BC
Third Pic: Me now
Fourth Pic: Me now (above)