by Bennii Blast of The Culture Pine
This time last year, I was sat in my student house, scrolling through
every blog post about going natural and compiling my list of tools and
products I would be requiring for the next several months. My mission?
To transition from my relaxed hair, into growing some beautiful,
healthy, natural hair. One thing I remember thinking to myself was;
‘damn. This could take a while.’
Well, this month marks 1 year and 1 month into my transition, and I am one happy lady!
Starting off this journey with concerns of how much willpower I really
had to stick this thing out, it’s hard to believe how fast the time just
sailed on by. Of course, I had the occasional desire (and still have
come to think of it) to chop those ends off, but I’m putting that down
to pure excitement in wanting to caress some curls!
had to stick this thing out, it’s hard to believe how fast the time just
sailed on by. Of course, I had the occasional desire (and still have
come to think of it) to chop those ends off, but I’m putting that down
to pure excitement in wanting to caress some curls!
This week I measured my new growth, and I now have just over 6 inches of
new curly hair. I was all over that victory dance – not caring that my
dripping wet hair was soaking the floor beneath me, because everyone
should blow their own trumpet every once in a while, right?!
new curly hair. I was all over that victory dance – not caring that my
dripping wet hair was soaking the floor beneath me, because everyone
should blow their own trumpet every once in a while, right?!
Knowing that hair grows on average around 1/4 to 1/2 inches a month, I
am happy with the progress of my hair so far. What I’m most pleased
about is how much my fringe has grown since I stopped relaxing. The
picture below (on the right) was taken a few weeks before I started
transitioning, and the one next to it was taken this week. Again…one
happy customer here!
Left: 1 year transitioning – Right: Just before transitioning
To know that all those hours spent deep conditioning,
finger de-tangling, twisting and whatever else you can think of, weren’t
in vain, certainly makes the rest of this journey a lot more
comfortable. A big thank you to all the ladies (and the man!) that have
both directly and indirectly encouraged me to reaching this point!
finger de-tangling, twisting and whatever else you can think of, weren’t
in vain, certainly makes the rest of this journey a lot more
comfortable. A big thank you to all the ladies (and the man!) that have
both directly and indirectly encouraged me to reaching this point!
Happy Hair Growing =)
How goes your long term transition?
i transitioned for almost 2 years, but i did a big natural girl No-No. my stylist transitioned me by hot combed pressing my hair. I/We didn't know any better. thankfully i don't have as much heat damage as you would think, but i do have some though. I've since cut off my relaxed ends and now starting the caring for my "natural" hair. Regardless im loving the process!
I transitioned for two years before i cut off the last two inches. I did what was comfortable for me and when i could no longer deal with those relaxed ends i set them free!
I'm about 7 weeks into my transition. I only plan to go until the end of July. Long transitions aren't for me. I'm not afraid of short hair; I've had it before, but it was relaxed. Kudos to you and everyone else who have the determination and drive to transition for so long. I prefer to grow my natural hair without the relaxed hair tagging along…I'm just lazy though!
Congrats on 13mths!! The time does fly by. I am 17mths post and it hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would be(Thank God!). I have about 50% natural hair so I should be ready to chop the relaxed hair by the end of the year.Keep up the good work
I transitioned for a while and then I got really frustrated and decided to cut it super short for my birthday last year. My hair is now shoulder length (natural) and it will only be a year in July. I am excited at how fast it has grown but I have also become frustrated with styling and am thinking of cutting off again. Does anyone have any suggestions on fast and easy non damaging styles?
Growing nicely, well done, my hairs been the same length for like a year now.
Hey ladies
Thank you for sharing all your transitioning stories! It can be tough staying committed to the demands of transitioning, so I'm glad we can support each other!
@Kimmels I haven't looked into my hair type too much thus far, but I believe that it is closest to 4A now that you ask!
Thanks for the comments Bx
Your hair has grown so fast. I only transitioned for 10 months but I am so inspired with your growth!
So nice to read all the transitioning stories today. I am 15 months into my transition, 12 months since I used heat. I love my it. I've finally gotten to a good place with my products and regimen. Wash day is down to 3.5 hours. My natural hair is so strong and it has much more "personality" than when it was relaxed. My plan is to chop the relaxed ends at 2 years. Many thanks to Curly Nikki and related sites. I would have botched this process without all the resources.
its going to be a year for me in two months. im very excited. i cant wait to see how long my hair grew.
Ashley L.
This post is right on time. I just hit my 12th month of transitioning. My hair gets on my nerves, but I've come too far to get another relaxer. I'm sure the stylist would consider it a virgin and charge me TOO MUCH MONEY. I'm not close enough to cut off the relaxed ends yet, so I'll just keep on trucking. My wash days are eight hours and curlformers are currently saving my life. Plus, not worrying about wasting $100 on my hair helps me with my exercising. I've been dedicated (as much as I can be) since January and I am seeing the results. I look at this hair journey as a "hair and body thang." It can be frustrating, but it can feel very rewarding as well. Oh.. and your growth is CRAZY! I may have to measure mine one day.
i transitioned two years ago and i didnt know much about what to do. Unfortunately, my hair ended up breaking off. Fortunately, it was an opportunity for me to cut it all off like ive been wanting to do since 6th grade lol good luck with your trasitioning!!
I've always been natural so my comment isn't about transitioning. I've been trying to determine my hair type because I never know what to chose. My hair looks EXACTLY the same as yours does (well the part that's natural), what type is that considered to be? 4A
I'll reach 1 year post relaxer may 28. It's hard for me to cut my relaxed end little by little, Iam BSL. I want to bigchop but everyone around me tell me to not cut my hair because it's long. I think They don't understand all my transitionning to natural hair process. Other than that my transition is going well. Raysha from Paris
I love this post. I just hit my 6 months and loving it so far. I plan on going on till 2 years. What helps me is blogging about my experience. Also, writing product reviews on the products I use also helps me remember how the product worked on my hair. Another thing that is helping me is taking picture of all the styles I do on my hair. Looking forward to the next 18 months!
– discoveringnatural.blogspot.com
Congratulations, I know how hard it can be. I just chopped off the last 4 inches of my relaxed ends after 18 months of transitioning. I was planning to go for 2 years, but my natural hair was long enough to bun, so I set it free. Keep at it, and only cut when you are comfortable with it. Don't rush the brush, less you spill the paint!
Congratulations on your 13th month transitioning and your growth is great! This is my 13th month transitioning too but I have only 5-5 1/2 inches so far. I'm itching to cut off the rest of my relaxed ends but I'm trying to make it to October.
Great stories ladies, I'm 8 months post relaxer and I have good and bad days…I have been rocking braid out n curl for the pass 2 months before that roller sets. My hair is growing nicely but wash day is the worst!! Except for seeing all my beautiful curls <3 it.
Some days I think about BC'ing but know I will regret it. I want to transition til my hair is completely natural more at least 90%.
So excited b/c my sister will be cutting the rest of her relaxed hair June 1st after transitioning for 1 Year! She's been begging me to cut it sooner but I tell her to hang in there b/c she's so close to her goal.
"Step away from the scissors!" LOL
I ended mine a little less than two weeks ago (transitioned for 17 months) and it was great! The only thing I would have done differently was to not let anyone else handle my wet hair. I experienced breakage the times that I let someone else blow dry or roller set my hair. The only person who handled my hair as gently as I did was a fellow transitioner. For the most part, no one will be as gentle with your hair as you but YOU!
Hmmm…I'm really unsure about my transition because my hair is tucked away under weave. I do oil, wash and condition it regularly. But I don't know how to wear it without adding hair…Twists and bantu knots have been serious FAILS!
I love how she calls it her "fringe". Happy growing!
Nicol C.
I am coming up on month 15 this month and I have my days where I'm ready to just cut those scraggly ends off already. I did a mini chop in February and don't think I thought it thru. My hair was down my back almost to bra strap lenght and I cut it to a little bit past my shoulders. I didn't realize how much shrinkage I had until I cut it. I have always had long hair and have cut it short a few times in the past but never short and curly so that is what keeps me from cutting. Originally I was going to cut in August which will be a year and a half but recently decided to cut it in the Summer may not be the best idea. I don't know what I will do with all the humidity and when it gets hot I usually put it in a bun so I'm still undecided. There are days I want to be natural already but then I have days where I feel like I can do this another 8 months no problem. We shall see
Congrats! I hope I get the same amount of growth when I hit my 1 year mark in August. Every day I contemplate BCing, but I think I'm going to wait until the end of the year 🙂
Wow! That's great growth in a year! I had that in like 2 years. Happy growing!
Congrats on making it past one year of transitioning! I just hit my 15th month of transitioning and it's been going well so far. I don't know when I'll cut the rest of my relaxed ends (about 4 inches left).