Hair Talk | Natural Edition

If you were on twitter this morning, maybe between 2 and 5 a.m., then you caught my declaration of Natural Hair. This came about when MissJia tweeted about a certain blog that had a natural hair feature on it. ANGELONFIRE.COM. It's a doooope blog, the whole concept of the background. It's original. Kinda wished my blog had that type of spirit. But anyway, I went to the post about the hair and that's when I declared that I will never get another perm again.

I was fascinated by the curls and the different styles. The only reason why I started researching hairstyles because I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do once I take my braids out. THEY NEED TO COME OUT RIGHT NOW CAUSE THEY LOOK HORRIBLE. I asked a question on twitter "How can I achieve the natural haired look?" Mind you I haven't had a perm since May. WOOT! I can thank braids for that, but I'm coming to a point where I can't keep coughing out 200 dollars every time I want to get my hair done. I just can't!

So I got a few answers:
Porche' (@shes_so_unusual)

@thinkin_ONPAPER let it grow out..then chop off all ur relaxed hair. thats what I did

I do not have the will power and the confidence to just chop all my hair off. It's all about my state of mind, and I just can't pull it off. BUT that's gonna be the case further down the road. I HAVE to cut the relaxed hair off.

Monic (@moso_luvl3):

@thinkin_ONPAPER ohhhh u should get a wet set Brina
@thinkin_ONPAPER a straw/rod set...use foam rods w/ setting lotion & curl yr hair...n wear it natural

I think we have a winner.

If I was going to do the natural look, I would at least want my hair to end up like one of these examples.

Photos courtesy of Le Coil

Just follow the length progression. LOL. By the end (a few years later) I want my hair like that. It's a stretch, I know, because my relaxed hair is about shoulder length right now. WISHFUL THINKING.

So I went on google to look up some tips. Transitioning to Natural Hair

People often ask us how they can make their relaxed hair "revert" back to natural hair. The true answer is you cannot. Nothing will make hair that has been chemically relaxed go back to its natural state. You have two choices, you can live with the permed hair at the end of the natural hair that is coming in or you can cut the permed hair off. Should you decide you just can't let go of that length, be prepared for some breakage. The place where the natural hair joins the permed hair is a weak point. Many people experience a lot of breakage when growing out a perm. By treating the hair gently and minimizing combing during the transitioning stage, you can minimize the breakage.

How to Make the Transition to Natural Hair
There are a few basic ways to make the transition to natural hair. The simplest is to just cut off the permed hair and live with a short hair style for several months. This is the boldest way. But, takes the least amount of work and there's no worry about breakage.

• Cut off the relaxed hair- depending on how much new growth and your preferences you have a few styling options. You can wear a TWA (tweeny weeny afro) or twists (two strand or comb twists) pretty easily with almost any length hair. For other styling ideas, see http://www.ourhair.net or http://www.hairweb.com

• Braids and/or extensions- you can have your hair braided until it grows to a length where you feel comfortable cutting off the new growth and going with other styling options

How Not to Make the Transition to Natural Hair
Transitioning to natural hair in other ways, like pressing the natural hair as it grows in underneath the relaxed hair, are going to make your hair prone to breakage and can damage the natural hair you're trying to grow in. Products that claim to revert permed hair might make it frizzy, but are not going to really make it natural. You do not want to put chemicals on top of chemicals in your hair. You will only end up damaging the hair and get even more breakage than you would experience otherwise. While transitioning, try to find a style that will accommodate the new growth coming in like twists or braids.

Finding a Natural Hair Transition Style
This may be the biggest challenge of all about going natural (besides the comments from your friend and co-workers). How do you style your hair when it's very short or when some of it is nappy and the rest is straight. There are several options. Here are a few:

• TWA- do the Big Chop and just wear a Tweeny Weeny Afro

• Braids or SisterLocks- SisterLocks can be started with as little as 1-1/2" of new growth at the scalp.

• Two Strand or Comb Twists- simple yet effective. If you decide to cut your hair, you can just use some styling gel (like Black Earth's Lock It Up Gel) and part your hair into sections. Either twist on a comb or take two strands and twist them around each other. Your hair can be worn like this for several days before having to re-style. CAUTION: Hair that is left twisted for too long can begin to lock. So, unless you want locks, take it down every once in a while.

• Straw Set- this is a great style if you want to keep your permed hair. The tight curls make the different textures (your roots and ends) less noticeable.
• Crinkle Set or Twist Out- by braiding or twisting your hair using a setting gel, you can create a wavy/crinkly look that minimizes the different textures of your hair. This is a very simple and very cute style. You can wear your hair in twists or braids for a while, then remove them and wear the "twist out" look.
• Flat Twists- basically the same as cornrows. The difference is you use two strands of hair instead of three.

I told my mother that I'm going to go natural and she laughed in my face. SO GUESS WHAT! Now its a done deal. I'm gonna prove her wrong. WISH ME LUCK!