From the category archives:

Featured Newly Natural

Thanks to Chandra for sharing her natural experience with us! This girl has got some gaw-jess hair and knows how to work it! Visit her fotki for more pictures!

Why I went Natural?

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be all natural. I don’t have any hair horror stories due to relaxers. My hair was as healthy as I could get it and I managed to retain a pretty decent length while relaxed. However, the thought of having relaxer free hair was always compelling to me. I tried to go natural twice before I actually followed through with this dream. Trying to manage the two textures always seemed to be too much so I’d chicken out, but this last time, I was tired of relaxers.

I was ready to embrace the hair that God had given me, and I wanted my hair to be in the strongest state possible. I started researching natural hair products first and then moved on to watching natural hair journeys of other ladies on You tube, Motown girl, and Fotki.com to name a few, by doing that I was better prepared for my transition, and it made this third time around more successful.

Relaxed

Relaxed

How long did I transition/advice and inspiration during transitioning.

I originally planned to transition for 12 months, because I wanted to achieve as much length as possible, but that turned out to be more difficult than I transitioned for 9 months. During my transition around the 5th month, I started to experience a ton of tangles, some knots, and a whole lot of frustration.

Whenever I hit a rough spot or thoughts of going back to relaxers, I would log on to You tube or Fotki for transitioning tips to make it through, and when all else failed I’d get my hair braided up to take my mind off of it. Braids and half wigs were my best friends during my transition I also, did a lot of braid outs.

If you plan to transition for any length of time, it will not be easy, but you can do it. It takes a lot patience and when all else fails just cover it up, until you’re ready to deal again but don’t give up.  Also, always do your research, Deep Condition, and moisturize.  Also washing your hair in sections will help minimize tangles and knots.

Transitioning

Fears  prior to my Big Chop?

Wow I had a lot of fears. I was afraid that I wouldn’t like my natural hair texture, I really wasn’t sure what my big chop would reveal, or how people would respond to my hair.  I was afraid that I wouldn’t be pretty with short natural hair, which is why I wanted to transition as long as possible. When I did chop, I realized that that I didn’t look as bad as I thought I would!  Another big fear was that my husband wouldn’t like my hair, but he’s been very supportive even though he prefers longer hair, he is always telling me how beautiful I am. Ultimately I let my desire to be natural over ride any fears that would surface. God made me this way, and I had nothing to be afraid of, so I just did it! Yes at some points you wonder “what in the world did I do” but you get over it and start to love your freedom from relaxers, and your natural hair.

Transitioning

People’s responses to my newly natural hair.

It was very mixed. I had a lot of people that loved it as soon as they saw it. Some where not happy that I chopped off all my hair. Some didn’t like it, and others weren’t sure yet. I think they were not use to seeing me that way. That’s normal, I wasn’t use to seeing me that way. But now my hair has grown on everyone, and most of all me!

Struggles with being natural?

Yes. I would struggle with getting up enough courage to where my hair out. I really wanted to wear it right away but was afraid of people’s responses so I’d put on my half wigs.  Trying to figure out which products works best for your hair texture or type was the biggest struggle for me. Every natural is a little different and I’ve learned what works for others, may or may not work for me. I was constantly buying all kinds of products trying to get the results I wanted, I still do this, but not as much as when I first Big Chopped. But it’s something that you have to do until you learn what your hair likes.  Moisture retention was a big problem for me. My hair always seemed so dry half way through my day, mainly with my wash n go’s, which is all I was doing when I big chopped.  I had thoughts of throwing in the towel but decided that I would not give up.  I prayed about this because I was starting to feel consumed, and was wasting a lot of time and money.  God soon blessed me to learn what my problem was, and I have settled on a few staples that I just love. I now have awesome moisture levels in my hair. I’m learning struggles will come, but I’m learning how to overcome them and it’s getting easier every day.

Final words and encouragement

I love being natural, I feel so confident and so strong. I’m proud of my self for making this decision and sticking with it. I feel that a lot of us, African Americans, don’t know what our real hair texture can be because we won’t give it a chance.  I am so glad that I decided to give my natural hair a chance. If you’ve always wanted to be natural or having thoughts about it, I’d say just try it. (All naturals are different, we have different textures and styles, natural hair is very versatile, if you don’t want a fro, don’t wear one, if you want one, that’s fine too!) Just take the ride and see where it leads you. So far I’m having the time of my life. I’m not all smiles all the time when it comes to my natural hair, but overall I am elated! I am enjoying my hair; it’s a wonderful feeling for me, to wear the hair God intended for me to have…

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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!!

{ 8 comments }

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!!!

—-

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 :)

Relaxed

First Cut

At the Barbershop

Designs

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Newly Natural Tiffany!

by kcurly on January 1, 2010

in Featured Newly Natural

Oooh! First Newly Natural feature of the New Year: Tiffany! I am glad you’re enjoying your newly natural tresses, girl. It’s already fab, but it  will only get better. Congrats!!!

Hello Kcurly,
I hope all is well with you and your family.  Your site has been really encouraging and helpful, I visit it all the time.  Thank you for keeping this blog.  Anyway I emailed you a while back about going natural and you were very encouraging.  I have used some of your tips and some others I found along the way.  I transitioned for six months and did my BC yesterday.  It will take some getting use to but I have no regrets.  I actually like the short hair on myself more than I thought I would.  Somehow I feel liberated and more expressive.  I have definitely come a long way because I would not have been brave enough to do this a year ago.  I can’t wait to try out some different styles with my TWA.  Thanks again kcurly.

Tiffany

Relaxed

Bantu Knot Out

Transitioning

Big Chop

Newly Natural Tiffany

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Newly Natural Shamara!

December 29, 2009

Shamara, thanks for sharing with us! You are WORKING that TWA, girl! Your son’s quote made me smile! Congrats and may you have many more years of loving what’s yours
My name is Shamara and I’ve been natural for almost 5 months (Jan 1). I’m a mother of 4 kids, 3 of them are [...]

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Newly Natural Camille!

December 22, 2009

My name is Camille, I am 17 and a half and I’m a senior this year.
I transitioned 6 months and big chopped on October 30th 2009.
I love kinky curly products, I’ve used Miss Jessie’s but since I am a high school senior I don’t have a whole lot of money to spend. So kinky curly [...]

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Newly Natural MokahDeeLyte!

December 4, 2009

Mokah, thanks so much for sharing your story. I absolutely loved your video. You seem to have such a great personality and you’re beautiful to boot. You’re even more adorable with your TWA.  Congrats on coming back to the natural side! I *heart* your little man’s fro and I’m glad he is enjoying his mommy’s [...]

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Newly Natural–Keah!!

November 23, 2009

You might remember Keah from this Ask Kcurly post awhile back. She was finding it difficult to maintain her transitioning hairstyles while working out. Her husband was the only thing holding her back from doing the BC.
Well, I received an exciting update from Keah!
So as you know I have really been trying to do a [...]

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Newly Natural-Joi

October 29, 2009

Congrats on your BC Joi! Follow Joi and her adventures on being newly natural at her blog: Naturally Joi. You look lovely! Great profile shot!
My BC done on September 25, 2009.
I am very excited about going natural! I feel pretty and confident

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Newly Natural Rochelle

October 23, 2009

Go Rochelle! Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to go natural, especially when you have people in your life who are quick to criticize. Good for you for keeping a positive attitude in spite of the negative nellies. And see, they were wrong anyway…You look fantastic!!

Hey Kcurly.  I found your site a few months [...]

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Readers Share–LynnieLuv

October 22, 2009

I don’t know if I’m hormonal or what, but this email just made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. Lynnieluve, you are so sweet, thank you! I definitely do not call myself a guru, but it means so much knowing that my little posts help someone out there. Your twists are [...]

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Newly Natural–Tikisha

October 20, 2009

Congrats on your BC!! I love your “just do it” approach! You are looking so good!

Heeey, I was in talks to go natural for a looong time. I tried it years ago but couldnt take it longer than 3 months and went back to the creamy crack! I was already short this summer becuz my [...]

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Newly Natural Nadia

October 2, 2009

Nadia, I love the TWA on you girl! Congrats to you!! Off to stalk your fotki!

Hi! My name is Nadia and I’d love to be featured on your blog! I think it’s great and I read it often. I have my own blog about my life actually and I link your site on it. http://sillynads.blogspot.com. [...]

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