7 Tips for Transitioning from Relaxed to Natural Hair Without the Big Chop
Firstly, congratulations on your decision to join the natural hair family! Welcome aboard and make yourself at home. Feel free to indulge in the food and drinks at the back of the room.
Now, let's get down to business. If you want to transition to natural hair without doing the big chop, it's definitely possible, but it's also a challenging process. However, I have faith that you can handle it like the confident and capable Black Queen that you are.
To ensure a smooth transition, here are seven things you can do to make your journey less stressful:
1. Try protective hairstyles
Combing your hair every day can be painful and damaging. To protect your hair and minimize pain, consider using protective hairstyles such as weaves, braids, Bantu knots, and wigs. These styles can help protect new hair growth.
2. Hide your straight ends with a well-placed curl
When transitioning to natural hair, you may have two different textures - your new natural hair and your old hair texture. This can cause people to stare, but there's a solution: try a two-strand twist-out or foam roller set. Both styles can completely hide the appearance of relaxed hair by making them look more uniform.
3. Use the right hair tools
Using the right hair tools can make a huge difference in your hair care routine. Consider using detangling brushes, wide-tooth combs, and silk bonnets. These tools can make combing and brushing easy and prevent hair breakage.
When using detangling brushes and wide-tooth combs, remember to start detangling from the bottom up. This will cause less friction and pain as you work your way up to the top of your hair.
Finally, a silk bonnet can help prevent the loss of moisture and reduce hair breakage while you sleep at night.
4. Minimize Heat Styling
Heat styling can damage your natural curl pattern, strip your hair of moisture, and cause damage. If you prefer to wear bone-straight styles during your natural hair journey, it's important to use a flat iron that does as little heat damage as possible.
Always use a heat protectant before applying heat to your hair to minimize damage. It can be difficult to transition to having two different textures in your hair, but it's worth it to maintain healthy natural hair.
5. Trim monthly
Transitioning from relaxed to natural hair requires patience, as you are dealing with two different hair textures. Managing two textures requires special care and attention to avoid unnecessary breakage.
Trimming at least once a month helps you get rid of processed ends and makes way for more of your natural texture to grow out. This keeps your hair healthy and thriving in the long run.
6. Deep condition weekly
If you have natural hair, you may have noticed that it feels drier than your relaxed ends. To keep your hair moisturized, it's important to deep condition it at least once a week. This will help keep your hair healthy and hydrated.
7. Avoid texturizers
Some products are not suitable for your natural hair. Texturizers are one of those products. Unfortunately, texturizers are not always clearly labeled on their packaging. Instead, they may use phrases like "give you added manageability" or "loosen your curl/texture." Some may even recommend using a flat iron after application. Don't be fooled by these claims, and avoid texturizers altogether.
Many texturizers claim to be natural products, but they are not. Texturizers contain chemicals that break down the protein bond in your hair, which makes it less curly. This is the same process that occurs with relaxers.
Transitioning to natural hair can be challenging, so it's important to be patient and gentle with your hair and yourself. Take it one day at a time, and soon you'll be proudly rocking your natural hair in all its glory.
