Hi!
I had been transitioning since August 2008 and finally decided to chop off the relaxed hair a few weeks back. When I cut off my hair, I just KNEW my hair was going to have a great curl. I figured wrong! My hair ended up looking similar to yours after your BC. What products did you use to get the curl definition?
Thanks in advance,
Toiaya
Tolaya,
Congrats on your BC! First of all, a lot of people kind of have “after shocks” following the BC. In other words, your hair can sometimes act a little off. A lot of people experience dryness, etc.
Before I go into curl definition, I must first make a point that I often try to get across here. My hair did not turn out as I envisioned it when going natural. You have to learn to love your hair for what it is. It’s easy for me to type that, but a lot harder for it to be ingrained in the psyche. Believe me, I know.
If relaxed Kcurly could see present Kcurly’s hair, she probably would not have gone natural. My hair texture, though curly, is not what I initially envisioned. I have mentally transitioned, as they say on the hair forums, to accept my hair as it grows out of my head (along with all of the wonderful things it can do!).
I try to encourage newly natural ladies to not focus so much on curl definition. You will go crazy and use up a lot of product, money, and time. I went through a time period when I was washing my hair 2-3 times a day to get the perfect curl. Looking back, that’s ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting at all, but I was obsessed with having loose curls. I was doing everything I could not to have a ‘fro.
Better energy can be spent on learning more about what your hair can do instead of trying to make it into someone else’s hair. All of this is said with love! And don’t get wrong, I’m not against defining one’s curls. I just think one should love one’s hair regardless of it curls or not.
So, having said all that, here is some information for curl definition. I know you asked about products, but I’ve found that technique is usually more important than the products. But check out my Products I Love section for recommendations as well as combination examples.
My first advice is to pamper your hair. Get the moisture going and take care of it. If you have curls or coils, they will come out on their own when your hair is healthy and moisturized.
I did a post awhile back on Curl Definition . You can find some tips there for what worked for me. Combing my hair makes the curls separate, so if your hair is like mine, you may want to try fingercombing to encourage curls. Also piggybacking off a style like a twist out or braid out encourages my hair to curl. My hair is curly, but not incredibly so.
You may also want to take a look at Terri’s Curly Primer method. It did not work for me and her product recommendations didn’t agree with my hair, but a lot of people swear by it. Also similar, Miss Jessie’s has a good shingling guide. You can substitute similar products if you don’t have access to MJ’s.
Anyway, I hope this post helped you some and I know you will come to love your hair once you two get to know each other better. 
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Great response, as always! Now that I’ve been in the “natural game” for a while, moisture and hair health are my top priorities. Curl definition is barely a consideration anymore, because as you said, when your hair is healthy and moisturized then curl definition (if there is any to define) comes naturally.
Well written! This is why I love this blog!
Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue…
My hair is naturally wavy/curly and very thick but not coarse. In the past, in order for me to achieve the look demonstrated in Miss Jessie’s video, I had to use a few different products. It worked well but I had to wet my hair each morning. I decided to spend the twenty four bucks for the curly meringue. It looked really good HOWEVER in the morning, it was flat, flat, flat…So, I had to wet my hair to get the look “back”. I started on Saturday evening…Each morning I wet my hair, each morning, my hair gets more and more dry and crunchy. I believe this proudct would be best for twist sets…I can’t even run my fingers through my hair now. I’m so disappointed. Ladies beware.
Great advice!! I recently did the BC not knowing what to expect after the permed hair was gone. I also did not try to have an “ideal” texture and decided to just be happy with what I have. I am happy with my hair and I am still experimenting, but I also notice that as it grows, it is changing day by day. Enjoy what you have and have fun getting to know your hair
If you don’t mind my asking, what did you expect your hair to resemble?