How to Go From Relaxed To Natural Hair Going natural can be a long and arduous journey. It can be a test of your patience, your confidence, and self worth. However, if you make it through the hardest part, which is transitioning, you will see that the results are truly worth it. Friends and family members will be in awe of the gorgeous mane. However, this can take time. Follows these tips on how to go from relaxed to natural hair. Mental Preparation You will be starting all over, getting to know brand new hair. It could possibly take about 6 months to a year to grow out your hair, if you choose not to do the big chop. Even if you do, do the big chop, you will have to accept that you don’t have all the hair that you once had. You may encounter negative comments from friends, family and colleagues, so you’ve got to be mentally prepared to deal with this. Even once it grows out, people will continue to be fascinated with your hair. So be prepared to deal with people who have “hand in hair syndrome”, meaning they won’t be able to keep their hands out of your hair. Condition Natural hair can be sensitive to dryness. So you’ve got to pay extra special attention to moisturizing your locks. Make the commitment to do a deep moisturizing treatment on your hair each week. Look for conditioners that are specifically listed as a “deep conditioner” or look for conditioners that specifically say “moisturizing” on it. Deep conditioning the hair will ensure that your hair won’t be sensitive to breakage, particularly where the line of demarcation occurs, between the relaxed and natural hair. Trim Those Ends There are a lot of myths that state that trimming the ends of your hair will allow it to grow faster. There hasn’t been any direct proof of this, however, trimming the ends of your hair will prevent the strands of your hair from breaking. You may need to trim more often if you are growing out your relaxed hair, as opposed to experiencing the big chop. Consider trimming about 6 weeks to every 3 months. Wear Protective Styles A protective hairstyle is any style that prevents you from doing a lot of manipulation to your hair. Buns, twist outs, and braid outs are all really great examples of wearing protective, low maintenance hairstyles. Braids outs and twist outs are great because if done correctly, you should only have to style your hair once a week. Protective hairstyles also help with hiding the dreaded line of demarcation in the hair.
It’s important to remember to be extremely patient with this process. You are getting to know brand new hair, and so it may require brand new tools, products, and techniques. Stay strong during this process, and try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Most importantly, have fun exploring your new hair.