KCurly,
My name is Racquel and I’ve been natural for about a year. I love being natural for so many reasons- I’ve learned to love myself more, to be more willing and unafraid to express myself as I am, and as an added bonus, I’ve become more socially conscious! So, I have to say that it’s been an amazing journey! However, I’m more than a little frustrated with my hair even though I love it so: I’m fine haired. When I was relaxed, I’d have one day of full, bouncy, hair, and then 6 weeks of flat hair molded to my skull because it was too thin to have it’s own volume unless I put rollers in. I had hoped when I stopped perming my hair that I would gain more volume, but, alas, I’m still very much fine-haired. I read so many natural hair blogs (including yours, daily 
) and many of the suggestions I see for other naturals don’t seem to work for my oh-so-fickle hair. Shea butter (and shea-butter based product)? Too heavy. Coconut/Jojoba/Olive/Grapeseed/Sweet Almond oil? Oily hair that’s not very moisturized. Hair products for “fine strands”? Barely moisturizing. Protein for hair strength? Guess who’s protein sensitive. Le sigh.
Plus, years of braids took out the front of my hair and relaxers burned out the follicles so I have bilateral bald spots at my edges (sexy, I know). I’m not complaining, I just would like to know what a fine-haired natural with pen-spring sized coils does when she has done the research (and have I done the research) and very little of the suggestions seem to work for her.
Any help would be greatly appreciated .
Kel
Kel thanks for the email. I’m not fine haired, as you can obviously see, but my son is. His hair does not require a lot of the same things as mine does. You are right, suggestions are great, but they are only that: suggestions. What works for my hair, may not work for yours and vice versa.
Here are some things you can try:
1. Just use a light leave in conditioner after you wash your hair. If that is still too heavy, try and dilute it with some water or find a good liquid leave-in conditioner instead. My son’s hair loves JC Leave in Conditioner. It is just enough moisture for him without leaving his hair oily and weighed down. You may have to experiment with the amount that you use.
2. Leave a bit of conditioner in your hair after you rinse to add moisture. You may not even have to use a leave in afterwards.
3. You may not need to deep condition as much. Cut back to whatever your hair tells you to.
4. If you still want to try oils, do an oil rinse instead of using the oil as a leave in or sealant.
I once had bald edges myself, so I feel your pain. Try massaging them with a nice oil everyday and treat them with tender loving care. I’m talking no headbands, no tight buns or pulled back hair styles. You may even want to try adding some essential oils to your carrier oils, such as rosemary (not if you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant) or peppermint which is said to stimulate hair growth. Even now that my edges have grown back in, they are still extremely fragile.
I hope that helps and good luck to you on your hair journey!
An email from April:
Hi-so I am transitioning back to natural from locs-but how do I know if my texture is 4a or 4b?
Thanks
April
April, congrats on starting your transitioning journey. Honestly, I’m kind of over the whole hair typing deal. It really never helped me with anything. Words like “kinky” “coarse” “thick” help me better decide the care for my hair than the hair typing system does. There is no system that can accurately describe my hair, it’s unique.
To answer your question, here is a guide provided by naturallycurly.com. Good luck to you!
A comment from Felecia:
Hi KCurly,
Awesome website! I have been transitioning since Oct ’09 , and just did the BC yesterday. I am so lost as far as what I should do with my hair. I have about 2 inches of new growth. I wore wigs for most of my transitioning stage. I believe I have two textures in my hair. Its curly in the middle, however the front isnt as curly. Does this last long? Will all of my hair eventually be curly? Help me out girl!
Felicia
Felicia, congrats on your BC! First, I must ask if you used heat during your transition at all? Sometimes straighter hair can be from overuse of heat and also the use of henna, which can loosen the curl pattern.
If none of that applies, then you may just have a looser hair pattern there naturally. I have two suggestions. First, you can try to twist or coil the section that don’t curl with your finger while your hair is wet. Undo the twists or separate the coils once your hair has dried a bit. Second, you can try scrunching that hair to encourage it to curl.
When my hair was shorter, I would scrunch on occasion. I don’t do it as much as I rarely wear wash n go styles any longer. You can use a good gel or gel like product if you like, in addition to scrunching.
What is scrunching, you might ask? Essentially, it’s taking small sections of hair and pressing the ends towards your head. You want to make sure that your hair is wet when you do this and, as I said earlier, containing a product for extra hold.
Hope that helps….and perhaps someone may have some other suggestions for you.
Comments from Blatina from the style options area:
Hi, thanks for sharing these pics. I have been natural for over ten years (locs) but am taking down my locs and looking into styles that I might want to wear. On the large braid braidout, how many braids did you do? Also when straight ironing your hair how do you do the back of your head (the kitchen area)? My hair is pass my shoulders but at the nape of my neck the hair is short. I can’t imagine doing that part without a hot comb.
Oh, also, what type of heat protectant do you use when straight ironing your hair and what kind of straight iron do you use?
Hey Blatina, here is the post where I showed how I did my braidout, including what products I used.
To answer your question about the straightening of my nape, the answer is “with tender loving care” and that goes for my edges as well. In fact, sometimes I will not even completely straighten my edges. They are very delicate from all the relaxing I’ve done in my life. My napes has fully recovered, and is one of the longest sections of my hair. However, I still treat it with care. It has come too far from the little nub of hair that used to be there for me to mess it up now. I run the flat iron over it once, very gently, and that’s it. You may also try rolling it beforehand to help it get straighter without so much heat.
This doesn’t get it super straight, but it’s still nice and healthy. The flat iron I’m currently using is called the Maxiglide, you can see my review of it here. I have used several different heat protectants and you can view all of my adventures in straightening through these posts.
Comment from Gugu:
Hi
I would also like to go natural but don’t want to do big chop how can I do it?
Gugu, it is very possible to do. Check out this post about another long term transitioner, Mook, who transitioned for about 2 years! Here’s her story.
A comment from Pam:
Hi Kcurly, I just love your web site. tryin to work with my mostly natural hair. Been almost natural for 4 years. Have been put texturizer in hair every 2-4months though. I know, I know you wince at that idea. But I did not know about all the product out there I could use. I need my hair to be mangeable. and look good too. have taken alot of notes from your website. Love your suggestion and your replys. Want to use the product you suggest. Need ideas for keeping my hair moisturized, very dry. Please give me some local stores suggestion. Live in a small town. We do have a wal-mart, Publix, Healthfood store, And Sally. Plus funds is limited, lol. Thanks for your help.
Pam, thanks for the comment. I have a article (Newly Natural on a Budget) already for lower priced products that are usually available locally. If you check the individual links in that article, there should be a list of where it’s available for purchase, or at least where I purchased mine.
See part one here for more suggestions.
Here are some additional product suggestions that I’ve added since writing that first article on the subject.
S-curl
Mirra Pomade
Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol
Ion Anti Chlorine Swimmer’s Shampoo
Hello there! My name is Sherrye and I am interested in starting a blog or website in reference to natural hair as well. I wanted to know how did you get started? Also, I would like for my blog or site to be lucrative……how do I go about making money from the site? Just curious.
Thanks for the email Sherrye! I would type up a new response, but Afrobella did a wonderfully thorough post on this awhile back. Here’s the link. She’s been in the blogging game for a long time, so she knows far better than me. I hope that helps and good luck in your endeavors!
Hello. My name is April. I started growing my hair out and stopped getting perms about 3 years ago. I had a really short haircut that was shaved in the back(see pic). I figured this was the best way to go natural with out having the BC. Ever since Ive been growing out my hair I have been pressing it about every 2 to 3 weeks with the pressing comb and daily use of the flat iron. I am not wanting to wear my hair in the more natual and beautiful curly styles.
I have afew questions. Last week I tried the 2 strand twist out with IC fantasia aloe olive oil gel. It turned out ok but my hair looked extremely dry and the style only lasted 3 days. Also parts of my hair are very straight even after washing. Its the parts in the from of my hair. Today I am trying the twist out with Miss Jessie’s curly pudding. I am having a hard time getting my twists to stay so its more like a combination of twists and bantu knots. I need to know what styles and products I can use as I transition out of pressed hair. I would say I have a 3c-4A hair type. I have also enclosed a pic of my straight pressed hair. I havent taken any with of the twist out yet I will tomorrow when I take this down. I hope you can help me. Thank you in advance for your time.
April
April, thanks for the email!
I’m sorry for your heat damage, that does make wearing natural styles harder.
First, I would dump the gel…or at least use it with something. Most gels alone are drying to the hair and not nourishing. Try using a butter or a leave in conditioner to do your twists instead (or under your gel). Since your hair is also heat damaged, it needs some tender loving care.
Miss Jessie’s…ehh…if you find that you like, have at it! But I found it lacking, and probably wouldn’t use it for twists/twist outs. Also it’s not very cost efficient. You may also read this and this post for more ideas on moisture.
As for the straight ends, you will need to secure them with perm rods or another type of roller so that they will curl and also so your twists won’t unravel. In addition, a braid out (just braid the hair instead of twisting, still use the perm rods) might be better for getting definition than a twist out on hair that is straight.
For other styles, you can try cornrows, bantu knots/knot out, braids, kinky twists, etc…all the styles that transitioning ladies love. Good luck to you and let us know how it goes!
Moni's Awesome Braidout!
Hi Kcurly,
First, I want to say that I love your blog! It’s definitely one of my favorites. Now that the weather is warmer, I’m wearing my hair out in my signature braidout (picture attached). Do you have any suggestions for a good daily moisturizer? I’d like something light, either a lotion or cream, to use on my hair when I rebraid it in large braids at night. I’m looking for something close to a hair milk, definitely not a spray. Thanks for your help!
Cheers,
Moni
Moni, first of all your braidout is on fiyah! Just off the top of my head here are several suggestions for a light cream/lotion you might like for the warmer weather.
Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root
KBB Hair Nectar or KBB Hair Milk (Most people say the Nectar is lighter, though I’m the odd man out on that one)
Coconut Oil (Used sparsely of course)
Kinky Curly Knot Today
Maybe some of the ladies here can give you more recommendations. Thanks for reading!
I came across your website recently in my quest to go “natural”. … I absoloutly adore your website! I have been compleletly natural for a week. I know it is not very long however, I am 19 (will be 20 on mar 29th) and I have had only one relaxer in my entire life and I was 11 years old. I regret it to this day. Although I dont have a “relaxer horror story” however the relaxer did alter my hair texture in my opinion. I have an ok length of hair when straightened (different lengths past my shoulders depending on how much I cut off at times). I used to only straighten my hair once a month (wash blow dry and flat iron). I’ve been wearing the bantu knot look and I love it. I was wondering how frequently should I wash my hair? What should be a good hair care regimen for my hair? My “grade” of hair is strange because I have two different grades of hair on my right and left side. Once again I adore your website (especially the protein treatment I will be trying it in the near future)!!
Hey Candi, thanks for your email and congrats! Your hair looks beautiful and you certainly seemed to have mastered the bantu knot and bantu knot out. Having two different textures is not unheard of. I myself probably have about 3 different textures, as do most people!
You should wash your hair as needed, there is no set time. Some people like to wash once a day, some every 2 weeks. Finding a routine is kind of trial and error. It’s good to look at other people’s routines, but it may or may not work for your hair. Maintain healthy hair practices such as sleeping on satin and/or silk, keep it moisturized, and low manipulation. Above all: Read, read, read, and learn as much as you can
Conditioner in Hair
Bantu Knots
Ponytail with bantus
Unrolled Bantus
Pinned back bantu
Combed out bantu
