Hi beauties...
Elle here. You know, I have lots of people come up to me and asked “how do you get your hair to do that?” My response is always that I stopped getting perms/ relaxers went natural, and I regularly condition my hair and blah blah blah. Well, most of these people will react by: (a) Saying “oh my hair does that, but its too much work” or “my cousin’s sister cousin’s has hair like that… but hers is longer than yours”, or (b) by saying “my hair doesn’t do that, are you mixed?”
My classmates from high school do not know me as a Natural Beauty, so it’s even harder for them to understand what’s going on on my head! This was my motivation to write this post... which may or may not become a rant. ☺
SO... I want to start off by saying I absolutely hate to hear black women say that their hair does not look good natural. In my opinion, we should seriously reconsider the standard by which we judge beauty. Popular culture would have us think that unless our hair is straight and silky smooth, it doesn’t look good. Well I obviously disagree.
That being said, lots of people that say they have tried going natural didn’t actually give it a chance. They stop getting perms, but they throw a weave or wig on it, or press it straight.
Which brings me to my next point...
Tips for the transitioner:
EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR HAIR- until you find the right products for your hair, experiment with different styles and tools, and use different styling techniques, we don’t really know what our hair has the potential to look like. Get to know your newly natural hair. Find out which products work for you, and which don’t. For example: I know that my hair does not like Garnier Fructis products. It leaves a film on my hair that looks greasy and just plain horrible LOL (I love the smell tho).
Surround yourself with other naturals or transitioners- There is something about having a support system that is comforting ☺, so find other transitioners (they are everywhere, in every neighborhood hiding behind braids and protective styles) and work together! Exchange tips, ideas and styles. CurlyNikki has a cell phone app for her forums that connects you with curlies from all over the country, and it is AMAZING!!! The natural hair community can also be found on twitter and Facebook. Search #naturalhair on twitter and enjoy.
Be patient and persistent- it’s hard to get used to seeing your hair different from its “normal” state, so you have to create a new normal! It is particularly hard when your relaxed hair is halfway grown out. There are many tips and videos on YouTube for styling transitioning hair.
Do you guys have any more tips for the transitioner? We would LOVE to hear from you!
Love you gals!
Elle
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