Transitioning Series: How and When?!!?

Hi Ladies

Let’s talk a bit about transitioning.Put quite simply transitioning is the process of cutting out the use of relaxer with the intention of not relaxing…EVER… and growing out your natural hair.
I have said this before, don’t think for a second that this is easy.. I have been here before and let me tell you it’s no joke!! But it CAN AND WILL be done, you just need to figure out a few things along the way. I’ll start with these two. Know HOW AND WHEN.

How ?
There are different ways to transition and the choice is yours- the key however is to keep your hair as healthy as possible and to minimize breakage even though it’s bound to happen.
You can long term transition over an extended period of time by stopping the use of relaxers and gradually cutting off processed hair, or you can dive right in and big chop by cutting it all off (the relaxed hair that is) to start growing your natural hair.
If you choose to long term transition protective styles are of utmost importance. Even low manipulation styles can be used on moderation.

When?
When you are READY … mentally, knowledge, and product wise. Don’t make the mistake of tricking yourself into thinking you are ready when you have not fully done your research on transitioning, you will be wasting your time and effort and you actually end up damaging your hair so DO YOUR HOMEWORK please….
The best way to get info is to read blogs, watch videos and to talk to fellow natural haired ladies about their hair journey and transition. You in turn will also need to share your hair journey as a way of progressing. You will come to realize just how fun it is to talk about hair :-p and it’s great to know you are also helping others along the way.

When you have your staples products. The same way athlete prepare for game day you need to prepare for your transition. You can’t start your transition or any hair journey for that matter without your staple products. What are they??
• A natural oil for your scalp ie JBCO,
• Shampoo – sulphate free*
• Deep conditioner
• Protein treatment
• Daily moisturiser (water based)
Now it might sound like a lot but there’s a reason why you need all of them and if you read the blog you will see the posts that explain why.

So food for thought for all my ladies that are on the fence…. Think long and hard on what you want to do. Regardless all types of hair can be healthy and the awesome thing is there is never a “WRONG” choice when it comes to hair 

~XoXoXo~
K.

Feedback Friday (Late post)

Hi ladies,

So you all know I did a wash day last weekend right? The process was the same as my last one but this time I made my own detangling spritz with aloe vera juice and olive oil 🙂 I liked it… maybe because I am a fan of aloe vera juice but in terms of the results I felt like my hair was very soft after detangling it. Everything else was the same but for those who didn’t get  a chance to read the last washday post here’s a summary of my routine.

Detangle- on moist hair with a paddle brush and wide tooth comb. I use detangler or a homemade spritz …

Prepoo- (2hrs)I used them same tea tree, olive oil and strongs roots pimento oil mix. I the oil on my scalp so that the tea tree oil can disinfect my scalp and then strong roots pimento oil penetrates the scalp to strengthen my roots

Wash- in four sections but not in braids. My hair and scalp was a lot more dirty so I used shampoo this time instead of co-washing to prevent build up of dirty on my scalp. I gave my scalp a good scrub and may have contributed to a few tangles but I was willibg to comb them out gently for a clean scalp 🙂

Protein treatment- I skipped the protein treatment again this time and when right in to deep conditioning. I will use my protein treatment on my next wash day. Every two months is fine for my hair especially with all this growth. the matting is not my friend. 

Deep conditioning- I remain OBSESSED  with my JBCO deep conditioner. I think it may be the castor oil component but it leaves my hair feeling amazing and soft… it’s sensational!!! and I don’t even have to apply too much …This time I even deep conditioned with out heat. I just cover with my shower cap and left it in for about an hour and a half, but the results as always were amazing. oh and all this was in sections.

Blow dry- I moisturized my hair then applied argan oil as my heat protector and blow dried in sections using the tension method.

With the more growth I’m getting the more shrinkage I’m experiencing but I know it’s all worth it !! Have any of you done washday recently ? Please share YOUR Wash day regimen with all of us 🙂  

 

  

Results from my wash day- pre wash and detangle, during blow drying, final results and after.

My go to protective and growing style-WIGS

Those that know me well would be shocked to hear me say I wear wigs and I wear wigs OFTEN …. Prior to my hair journey and also at the beginning of it, I always used to wear braids and weaves as my go to protective styles. However, after coming across various bloggers who use wigs to grow out their hair I decided to give it a shot. I have not looked back since! Now I’m in love with using wigs as my protective and growing style, here’s why:

Flexibility:

Because I blog about hair care and growth the demand to “see my hair” is quite high… I tend to disappoint people quite a lot because my hair is always braided up. However with wig regimens I have the ability to wear my hair out every 3weeks when I have wash days. I usually keep my hair out for3-5days so I can please my followers and at the same time maintain low manipulation during stretches. There is also flexibility in hairstyles. I can be long haired one minute then short and curly the next. So it’s great for my ladies who get tired of the same hairstyle after 4 weeks of having it.

Accessibility:

Wigs are the best of both worlds. I can have nice protection with my hair covered during the day and yet I can pay attention to the health of my hair 100% during my regimen because I have full access to it at whenever I need it. The one thing I did not enjoy about WEAVES is that as much as I can oil and moisturize and seal my hair, I always feel like it’s not effective enough. There are too many “hard to reach areas” that I can’t get to give to and I can never work on my ends and give them TLC. However with my wig regimen I can put my hair in box braids then moisturize and seal the length of my hair. I can also keep my scalp clean and even dry condition on those braids whenever I want.

Scalp Focus

When I am using wigs I can really focus on my scalp care and cleanliness. I put the box braids in securely with the tension that my scalp likes. There is never hair that will fall out because I pulled it too tight so this way I can always protect my hairline and nape from breakage. I can do deep massages on my scalp after oiling it and then do the greenhouse method over night which my hair loves!! I also tend to have a very sensitive scalp so I need to apply aloe vera and vitamin E to my scalp often. The box braids in my wig regimen give me full access to my scalp and any problem areas so I can treat them in time and clean my scalp often. 

3 tips when I use my wigs:

I never hook the band …. too much tension around my head and hairline. The friction will cause breakage and also just give me a headache

I use lace front wigs and secure the small combs as far back from my hairline as possible

I massage my hairline with coconut oil daily before I put on my wig to reduce breakage and itching along my hairline

Decision Time: long term STRETCH or long term TRANSITION????? (Part1)

OOOHHHH GOSH here I am on the fence again…. I really don’t know what my problem is? Lol … I never make a solid hair decision…  Now for those of you who are wondering what I am going about I’ll have you know that I have the biggest case of indecision when it comes to my hair… I’ve been texlaxing for almost a year now and I’m surprised I have even made it this far without changing my mind! Lol but I guess I cannot say that anymore because here I am!! Lol

Ok so my problem is that I am a lover of NATURAL HAIR. Everything about it! How it looks and feels etc  And I transitioned to natural over  a two year period from 2008-2010 HOWEVER … I have a super sensitive scalp so detangling and wash days when I was natural were the worst because of the pain. I sound like a baby but I’m really not, my scalp gets super sore! Any way you all know my hairstory, I texlax and even with texlaxed hair I struggle but here I am once more missing the feeling of my coily, kinky curls and I am yearning to be natural again!!! Especially now that I am so much more informed. (ps anyone who is natural or transitioning can testify that those little curls are addictive, your hands STAAAYYY in your hair.)

With all that said I’ve decided to embark on a long term stretch that could possibly turn into a long term transition, depending on how things go…You might now be wondering what the difference is since the hair experiences are pretty much the same….Well really, they are basically the same thing, just that:

•  Stretching – is extending the period of time between relaxers. it’s done with the intention of relaxing at some point. stretches can be as short as 10weeks to as long as 52weeks!!
• Transitioning– is cutting out the use of relaxer over an extended period of time with the intention of NOTrelaxing…EVER… and gradually cutting off processed hair to become fully natural.

Now don’t think for a second that this is easy.. I have been here before and let me tell you it’s no joke!! But it CAN AND WILL be done and in the healthiest way possible.. Below are just 2 of many things you can expect if you are doing either or. I will follow up with other posts because I wouldn’t want to bore you with a super long post right now. it’s Friday :-p

1) Breakage

Do you remember reading my post on the mark of demarcation? If not please do so because when you transition/ stretch there is nothing more live than breakage and that’s where all the action happens!! As a recap to what is –The texture difference between our relaxed hair and natural hair is so great and so the point at which the two meet (demarcation mark) is very weak and prone to breakage. So you will need to be very careful when managing your hair and limit the use of heat and excessive combing during these times. YOU WILL EXPERIENCE BREAKAGE so just get ready for it…. I’m already psyching myself out to not hit the freak out button. The aim though is to not let things get out of control. Stick with the same regimens and keep your hair as healthy as possible during transitions – but that’s a post for another day.

That’s a pic from my post of the demarcation point. So get reading. Difference in texture is very clear

 2) Multiple Textures

I’m lucky I get to manage 3 different textures during my stretch… Oh what fun (sigh) Not only do I have to worry about the health of my natural growth and fully processed hair. I also have to manage the texture and extra demarcation line with the texlaxed hair…Stress I tell you!! And every texture will be on the extremes. Extremely tough and kinky, or extremely straight and thin. So combing and styling is not easy. You may want to steer clear for a while and throw in a protective style.   Remember different types of hair have different needs so you need to be very mindful of that. You will find that wash days are the enemy when you are stretching… the thin relaxed hair all of a sudden looks  and feels so unhealthy and flimsy and it knots up every chance it get. Say hello to single strand knots and hour long detangling. A lot on caution and patience is needed on washdays as you can really damage your hair if you are not careful.

 

Don’t let all this stuff scare you I will post on tips for managing transitioning/stretch and how we can keep our hair healthy and reduce damage! All is not lost!!! Healthy hair is the number one priority…. Until next time

~XoXoXo~
K.

tHs Hair Consultations

Ladies,

As I am sure you have seen, when it comes to our hair there is SO much more involved than we EVER expected.  The sheer volume of information out there can really be overwhelming and you may end up with more questions than answers. Also you could have hair challenges that need discussion as reading alone may not help.

If that’s the case and you are anything like me a ONE-ON-ONE session where you can ask all the questions you have, and discuss YOUR HAIRSTORY and challenges at length will be really helpful to get you going. This is why I’m so excited to offer that opportunity to you all.

Hair consultations will involve a number of different things from hair assessments, regimen building, styling advice, product selections and more. They will be done on an individual basis as everyone’s hair and hair needs are different and we will work together to find the best regimens and products for YOU and YOUR hair. They really do make a world of difference to your hair care journey so let’s give it a go.

Email me on kundayimawema@gmail.com to schedule a hair consultation before/after working hours on weekdays and between 7- 10.00 am on weekends. Further contact details and pricing information will be given upon request. Looking forward to seeing you all soon and helping you start your Healthy Hair Journey!

 

~XoXoXo~

K.