Featured Newly Natural

Oh my goodness! Thanks for reading and for sharing your story! You look fantabulous with your hair and so much more striking than when you were relaxed! Also, I don’t know why, but your smile just makes me think that you are a nice, fun person! Congrats on your newly natural ‘do!

Hi Kcurly

I absolutely LOVE this blog….I was wearing braids after my BC because I thought my hair was just naturally straight, but this site motivated me to embrace my natural hair and just work with it instead of hiding it. I am officially addicted. Thanks for this site it helped me a lot.

I begin transitioning October 2008 and finally did the BC on January 9th. I cut my hair into a bob before the BC so that the change wouldn’t be drastic. I have just joined the world of products and the only things that I have tried so far is KCCC….there were rave reviews and I wanted to see what it could do for me. I love the fact that I am free from societal norms and that I can get up everyday and have a different hairstyle if I choose to.

One thing that I would change about my BC is that I would’ve done it sooner. One of my sorority sisters began the journey with me and after 7 months of transitioning she BC’d. I wore sew ins during the summer and flat ironed my hair during the winter in order to transition without looking crazy and I think that was a mistake on my part. Had I known the damage that heat can do to your natural curl pattern then I wouldn’t have transitioned in that way and it is taking some time for me to see the natural texture of my hair in some places.

I had some support during my transition. My mother was against it at first. She’s a beautician and has been grooming my hair forever, but after she realized I wasn’t backing down she let it go. She hasn’t seen my hair since my BC because she lives in a different state, but I tell her everyday how much I love it. My daughters dad likes it, he says he can see the vision, but I’m learning that the stares and the comments can keep coming because I refuse to go back to the creamy crack…LOL

Relaxed

Transitioning

Transitioning- Day of the first cut

First Twist Out

Styled with KCCC (Kinky Curly Curling Custard)

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You may remember my friend/coworker (from this post) that I said was transitioning. I’d planned to do a follow along series with her where she would report her experiences while transitioning.

Low and behold, she has gone and chopped it off!! Go girl! And she looks absolutely gorgeous!! Stunning, in fact! Here’s my interview with her, which was done before her BC.

Kcurly: How long have you been relaxed?

I’m sure I have been relaxed as long as I can remember, about 3 years old.

Kcurly: When did the thought of going natural first occur to you and why?

The thought of going natural first occured when I had my baby.  When a baby is born, you look at features and try to discover who they originated from (mom, dad, sister, etc.).  Well, I had no idea if my girl had my hair texture or not. Dumbfounded, I realized I had no idea what my hair looked like!  Will I ‘go to the grave’ not knowing?  This really bothered me.  How can I relax my hair every 3 to 4 weeks without even wondering about my natural texture?  Maybe, relaxed hair was all I knew.  Well, I’m the type to try new things and on to my new thing.  Without much more thought, I got my last relaxer on August 22, 2009.

Kcurly: How long have you been transitioning and how many inches of new growth do you have?

As of Jan. 15, 2010, I have been transitioning for 21 weeks (about 5 months).  I have 2 to 3 1/2 inches of new growth.  My hair grows uneven, but into a perfect fro.  My sides grow shorter and the top longer. Funny, huh.

Kcurly: What has been one hurdle you’ve over come so far with growing out your relaxer?

Well, I now know that my daughter did not get her hair from me and I have finally seen my texture!  I love it!  It’s more of a kinky curly type.  I can’t believe I used to be so ‘die hard’ about relaxing every 3-4 weeks.  I guess it is really a social thing that is easily adapted.  Well, I know I won’t “die” without my relaxer.  I do have to learn how to comb my hair all over again, but I’m willing to do that.

Kcurly: How do others around you feel about your decision to transition?

I believe that many people around me feel that it is a crazy decision.  People ask me why.  They say my relaxed hair was so pretty.  Many want me to transition into a long natural length.  Nobody wants me to cut it, but me. I guess they have to realize that it is my decision and I do what I want.

Kcurly: What are your go to products at this time? Are you still looking for the “right” products?

I use the Nature Fusion Pantene Pro-V shampoo and conditioner (It softens and conditons, making my hair manageble).  I use Cantu Leave-in conditioner, Cantu silky shine, Soft and Beautiful oil mist, and an occasional organic hair mayonaisse.  I use these, but I don’t think I have found the right products.

Kcurly:What have been your styles of choice?

I flat twist my hair and undo the twist for a natural curly look to tame the relaxed hair to make the new growth look similar to the relaxed hair.

Kcurly: How long are you going to continue this transitioning madness?

My first goal is to make the BC in January, 2010.  Though I am back and forth about this decison, I believe I’m going to cut it as soon as I obtain a workable length.  I have never been too concerned with hair length, I like healthy hair over long hair.  It’s just hair, like fingernails, it will too, grow back!

Relaxed

2 month transitioning

Transition- Month 3

Transition -Month 3 Back

Newly Natural!!!

Side View

Back

Hopefully she will let me do an interview with her later to see how things are going. I’m so proud!!

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Thanks so Asante for sharing her adventurous hair journey with us! Girl, it sounds like you’ve been to hair hell and back again! I’m glad you’re in natural hair heaven with us now. You’re cute as a button and your hair is just glowing health! Congrats and keep being beautiful!

Hey Kcurly!

I would love it if I could share my brand new natural journey with others on your site. I’m kinda new in the game, but your site has been one of the few that I have become obSESSED with over the past few months. So helpful and informative, and a great place for inspiration! Thank you!!!

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So here’s my deal. I can’t even remember when I had my first relaxer, but I’m guessing it was before i turned 7…. Every picture since then has been the same story: my hair was short, my hair was thin, my hair was damaged, my hair was a mess. No matter how much my mom and myself tried to take care of it, my relaxed hair was a disaster and a half. So my fall back was always braids. I tried it all, let me tell you lol. Cornrows, box braids, micros, everything from 1B to red streaks and back haha!

But at the time, it was just so my hair could “recover”  between relaxers. Because sure enough, every time I got sick of the braids, i would take all that amazing growth and scald it into submission with that creamy crack. Because of course my hair grew like crazy in braids, but I never thought about why.

The worst hair moment of my life was one day about 6 months into a relaxer stint. I was (attempting) to wrap my hair, and as i brought the brush around the back of my head, I realized that quite a bit of it was, well, GONE. Spending so much time neglecting and damaging my hair, a very LARGE chunk of hair across the back of my head had broken off cleanly to the new growth without my knowledge. I IMMEDIATELY made a braid appointment and spent the rest of highschool in braids. (“I’ll just let it grow and do another relaxer again when it’s longer” as usual. tsk tsk tsk)

Before college, and for my 18th birthday, I decided I wanted a cute, funky short relaxed cut. Nobody had told me how much work short cuts were lol, and I definitely wasn’t ready. I was using my straightener almost every day, and my fine, sensitive and fragile hair paid the price, breaking off just like before. Back to the micros I went, as well as a brief weave phase that I entered and abandoned with my college roommate… lol. After all that I went back to my short cut, which kept getting shorter… and shorter… and shorter… as my hairdresser had to keep taking off damaged ends. by the very end, my hair was so thin that my scalp showed through no matter what I did.

Another graduation rolls around, and with all the craziness, I decided to give myself a break from doing my hair, and I had my hairdresser put in a short quickweave. I loved it, and I could focus on walking across stage instead of worrying about my hair. The problem came when it was time to take it out. Distracted, rushed and stressed out, my hairdresser yanked the glue and cap off…forgetting entirely how fragile my hair was. She washed it, and just switched my bangs to hide the HUGE swatch of my hairline that was now missing entirely.

I was done. That was my last visit to that hairdresser CLEARLY, and I made the decision right then that I was going to let my hair grow back however it wanted to; and that definitely wasn’t going to be straight. My godsister was so helpful through out all of this, answering many of my annoying questions, since she had been growing a formidable afro for about 2 years by then. I went back to braids, originally intending to keep it braided for about a year to transition. … That SO didn’t happen lol.

The night I took out my braids, I attempted to wash it immediately. The relaxed ends promptly matted into a horrible tangled mess… And after 20 minutes attempting to detangle, I realized how dumb that was when I was trying to go natural anyways… No time like the present, right? I hopped out of the shower, grabbed some scissors, and went to town. When I was done, all I could do was look in the mirror and smile. I was in LOVE. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I had put my hair through so much hell when it had the potential to be so strong on its own. Some parts of my hair were downright THICK, which is a word I would have never used to describe my relaxed hair.

2 1/2 months later, my hair is thriving like it never has before. And all I can do is thank the natural haired women all around me for paving the  way. I can say without a doubt,  I love my hair, in all its kinkiness lol. And I plan on treating it that way from now on.

–

Asante

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Oh my gosh! Some of you ladies really make me wanna just chop it all off. I don’t know if I would look half as good as you all,though. Elissann, I love that you just did it! You went after it and there it was…you look lovely!! And those designs are HOT!

And you are so right, it will grow back!

Hello,

I came across your site and thought I’d share. There was no real reason behind me going natural, it was quite spontaneous actually. I had medium length hair until Fall 2007 when I had an Angela Basset Waiting to Exhale moment and cut it short. I sported the short style for the past few years then my 22nd birthday passed on August 20th, 2009 and I’d realized that I had enough.

I was constantly upset with my trips to the salon. I’d have stylists that did my hair PERFECTLY but were never on time [6+ hours in a salon is ridiculous] and I’d have stylists that were PUNCTUAL but never styled my hair quite right. So August 22nd, 2009 my cousin was getting ready to go club and celebrate her birthday and invited me but as usual my hair was UGH then it hit me: cut it all off!

I had been going to a barber somewhat regularly for designs anyway so why not? I left her house and headed to the barbershop where he refused to cut my hair…I “got Britney” and grabbed some scissors and cut off a big chunk lol. He was mortified but hesitantly cut the rest. When I came home and my mom saw it she was in shock…as were most of my friends at the club that night. That’s my crazy story!

There really was no transition time. As far as favorite products I use Carol Daughter’s Mimosa and that’s it! As far as opposition everybody was shocked at first but I’ve gotten nothing but compliments. Some guys are even jealous at how great a job my barber does My aunt is still begging me to let it grow though lol.

Sidenote: To the ladies skeptical of going natural I must remind you that it’s only hair. We constantly have someone else’s conception of beauty spoon fed to us so naturally we fear the unknown [no pun intended]. It’s hair and it will grow back

First Cut

At the Barbershop

Designs

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