Tell me if she is right

[DDTexlaxed]

A friend of mine is telling me that my transition to natural will be very difficult b/c my texlaxed hair. She thinks I should have a prof relax it strait, then start transitioning from that point onward. I'm at an awkward length where I can't style my hair. I'm unskilled at braiding or any other styles and I'm unable to even flat iron my hair strait. I'm at my wits end now because I can't do anything to my hair. Please give me some advice because I'm very close to caving in. Can u guys help me?

 

[CurlyCrly]

She is wrong. If it is relaxed straight, it will be more difficult because the textures would be more different from your relaxed hair than it would be if you were texturized. Not sure what textlaxed means though.

I have no other advice as far as styles go. I wore a wig for part of my transitioning and mostly wore twists when I was natural.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Texlaxed means a combo of relaxed and texturized hair. I tried to relax my texturized hair and failed miserably. My friend thinks that if my hair gets relaxed, I could style it and start transitioning from there. I just don't know what to do anymore because I can't really do anything to my hair as far as styling goes. Nothing has worked- I can't wrap it, roller set it, flat iron it....It is really destroying my total look. I can only gel and slick it back, but now my sides are growing out and that style is now looking tacky. What's a girl to do?

 

[hopeful]

I don't understand how straighter hair will make transitioning easier.erplexed Do you visit other natural haircare boards like nappturality.com or nappyhair.com? These are places that fully embrace natural hair. Maybe your friend senses that you will be happier with relaxed hair because she knows you, I'm not sure why else she would recommend this. Plus, you'll be losing nearly a month of new growth. Why are you so close to caving in? Just because one person recommended you relax or because you are having trouble managing the two textures? Do you regularly visit other people's natural albums and transitioning albums for ideas? Have you seriously considered posting pictures yourself? If people could see your hair it might be easier to give you advice. Don't really know what you should do. Good luck.

 

[toinette]

She is wrong. If it is relaxed straight, it will be more difficult because the textures would be more different from your relaxed hair than it would be if you were texturized. Not sure what textlaxed means though.

I have no other advice as far as styles go. I wore a wig for part of my transitioning and mostly wore twists when I was natural.

i think the fact that your hair is not relaxed straight may be beneficial like curly said. also, you can just transition with braids if they dont damage your hair.

 

[senimoni]

You ever thought about braids or even a wig?

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I just wish there was something I could do with my hair. I'm a bit depressed right now because I don't know what to do. I do know that I want to be natural. I just need education on caring for my hair, I guess. I've been relaxed for 20+ yrs and don't have a clue on how to handle natural hair. My hair was always easy to care for and now I'm a bit ashamed that I can't do anything with it. :Blush2: I've tried to braid my hair, but I can't get the ends to stay together. This is a dumb q, but can someone give me any tips on what product can help with this?

 

[TigerLily]

Try twistouts! Get some SCurl or shea butter to soften the new growth if needed.

 

[locabouthair]

my friend is transitioning and she does a rollerset and wears it curly until the next time she washes and it works for her. When I transitioned I would just press my roots every 2 weeks. I thought I heard that wild growth helps with the new growth so you may want to do a search on that. HTH Good Luck.

 

[Country gal]

I am sporting twists while I transition. I thought I had mostly natural hair a few months ago but I still had some perm left. My stylist trim my hair and had me do twists.

 

[moda]

Rollersets, braids, braidouts, twists, twistouts, strawsets, are all fairly easy styles that can help with the transition.

 

[CLASSYEBONYGIRL]

I just wish there was something I could do with my hair. I'm a bit depressed right now because I don't know what to do. I do know that I want to be natural. I just need education on caring for my hair, I guess. I've been relaxed for 20+ yrs and don't have a clue on how to handle natural hair. My hair was always easy to care for and now I'm a bit ashamed that I can't do anything with it. :Blush2: I've tried to braid my hair, but I can't get the ends to stay together. This is a dumb q, but can someone give me any tips on what product can help with this?

Hey Natrlchallenge

I found some websites that demonstrates how to braid your hair step by step and they also demonstrate other braidstyles that you could also try out. Here are the link:

http://www.longlocks.com/how-to-braid-hair.htm,http://www.virtue.to/articles/braiding.html,http://www.ehow.com/how_17115_french-braid-hair.html

HTH

 

[Ms Red]

Hi Natrlchallenge!!

I am new to transitioning too. I am only 6 weeks post and I'm gaining new growth by the day. Last week I had my roots pressed out (since I still have 90% relaxed hair) and I've been wrapping it at night with a silk scarf and then putting butter on my ends.

If I need to flatiron my roots, I'll take it section by section and do that. I don't plan on maintaining a straight style for the majority of my transition but this is what works for me right now. When I get 1 inch of newgrowth I plan to start doing braidouts on my hair. I just recently learned how to cornrow my hair so it'll be a fun challenge. Have you tried these two methods yet?

What I am also considering for the summer is rollersets since I have a dryer @ home. So, for the summer, I plan to transition with braidouts, rollersets, pressing the newgrowth only and cornrows-- all with lots of frequent conditioning washes in between.

Have you tried practicing styles on your hair? I found that when I do this, I can "perfect" them enough to wear out and to work.

Hope this helps,
cc

 

[CLASSYEBONYGIRL]

A friend of mine is telling me that my transition to natural will be very difficult b/c my texlaxed hair. She thinks I should have a prof relax it strait, then start transitioning from that point onward. I'm at an awkward length where I can't style my hair. I'm unskilled at braiding or any other styles and I'm unable to even flat iron my hair strait. I'm at my wits end now because I can't do anything to my hair. Please give me some advice because I'm very close to caving in. Can u guys help me?

I don't understand why your friend would suggest transitioning from fully relaxed hair because having texurized hair is the closest thing you can come to being natural IMO especially if you use a mild texturizer/relaxer to texturize your hair. I suggest that you get your hair professionally braided with extensions and give your hair a break so that you won't have to deal with braiding or styling your own hair. But remember to keep your hair moisturized daily while it is braided to prevent dryness and breakage.

HTH
Good luck!!!

 

[ChocoKitty]

Rollersets, braids, braidouts, twists, twistouts, strawsets, are all fairly easy styles that can help with the transition.

I agree with Cincy. These styles will allow your hair to rest while you giving you a chance to relax during your transition. The less manipulation and mental stress the better. Stay encouraged!

 

[Poohbear]

A friend of mine is telling me that my transition to natural will be very difficult b/c my texlaxed hair. She thinks I should have a prof relax it strait, then start transitioning from that point onward. I'm at an awkward length where I can't style my hair. I'm unskilled at braiding or any other styles and I'm unable to even flat iron my hair strait. I'm at my wits end now because I can't do anything to my hair. Please give me some advice because I'm very close to caving in. Can u guys help me?

Just cut it off girl!!!

Back in 2004, when I started stretching my relaxer touch-ups, my hair became texturelaxed as well. So I decided to go natural by transitioning without the BC first. Well, I tried some many different things with my hair: braidouts, buns, bantu knot outs, weave, ponytails, blowdried straight, and the list goes on... and I just got tired of it and chopped my hair off to start off fresh and anew. Now I don't have to worry about styling my hair for a long while!!!

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I'm so happy u guys are giving me all these tips! I decided against the relaxer and I'm gonna keep trying to transition until I b/c in August or Sept. I'm gonna sport braids for 2 months to start the hair resting period. I need u guys to keep up w/ the tips and encouragement! :notworthy

 

[Enchantmt]

I just wish there was something I could do with my hair. I'm a bit depressed right now because I don't know what to do. I do know that I want to be natural. I just need education on caring for my hair, I guess. I've been relaxed for 20+ yrs and don't have a clue on how to handle natural hair. My hair was always easy to care for and now I'm a bit ashamed that I can't do anything with it. :Blush2: I've tried to braid my hair, but I can't get the ends to stay together. This is a dumb q, but can someone give me any tips on what product can help with this?

It's just a learning curve. You will get more proficient with your hair. What works while you are relaxed may or may not work during transition, what works during transistion may or may not work natural. I found during transitioning that the creamy hairdresses and water based moisturizes I loved while relaxed only made the two textures harder to manage. To show you how often I use grease, I have had the same 3 jars for the last 10-15 years and they arent even halfway used but during my transistion my hair loved oils, they didnt cause my hair to revert. Also products to help me straighten it like the Hask straightner and the phyto relaxing balm worked fine the first 1-2.5 inches, after that my hair laughed at it. Natural I can use creams or oils but I've only been using the Qhemet products and the curl activator someone recommended a while back.

I agree roller sets are a good idea, I did those for a while too. Since my job is casual I could also just slick my hair back with gel. I would do braids, and I did cornrolls a couple of times, but I'm lazy taking that kind of stuff out and I dont really know too many folx who braid.

You will see more choices open up to you as you go along. Good luck!!

 

[nchristina]

Bottom line: Your friend could not be more wrong. To put anymore chemicals in your hair will not get you closer to natural if that is your chosen destination. I have seen in hair album where twist still work but that depends on how your texturizer took. Maybe getting to know a hair board that specializes in advise for natural hair is the best option.

Happy Transitioning,
nchristina

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I'm intrigued with my new texture and shocked. As of yet, I'm still unable to get my hair strait w/ a flat iron . What style options other than braids can I use because I can't braid yet. My hair is too short for a bun. My hair is very wavy in texture. I can't tell whether my texture has changed or not, but I can feel the curling in my roots. That has never been my nat texture. Oh, I can't wait for the complete transition. I'm sorry I don't have a pic of my hair and can't be more helpful in my description. It is wavy when wet, it looks like 3c, but dry, it is definitely 4ab in texture. Again, I can't judge properly bc my hair is mixed with a texturizer and a relaxer. The thickness of it has increased due to mtg and my sulfur 8 mix. It refuses to relax and straiten with a flat iron. I don't know how to style it, but it continues to amaze me by growing and not shedding! My hair is 2 diff lenghts so I'm not going to measure it for awhile. I've returned to my trusted castor oil and water regime. It softened my hair when I was younger and allowed brushes and combs to go thru it. So far, all I can do is gel it and slick it. I can't do any other styles, but I hope that will change with time. Keep the tips coming and please keep encouraging me to not return to the relaxers!