Transitioning from Relaxed/Permed hair to Natural hair

Deciding

People go natural for all kinds of reasons. For example: their hair can be damaged, they've learned to embrace their natural hair or it just may be more cost friendly than using chemicals.

Whatever the case may be, it's not all that simple, the uniqueness of the hair can determine how time consuming the transition will be unless the person is daring enough to start from scratch and go for the big chop!

Relaxed hair

When hair is relaxed/permed it has been chemically changed and the texture of the hair is no longer the same, and will never be the same unless it has been given time to grow out. Some say it is possible to have relaxed hair and still have healthy hair, but in fact, relaxing hair is only stripping hair, which is not healthy.

What many people don't know is that straightening your hair with heat also causes chemical changes. The more you use heat the more it changes the texture of your hair, which is why most people choose to stay away from heat when they go natural.

Acting

Many people start the transitioning process and come to find out that it's not as simple as it seems.

These are the different options:

1. Braiding the hair until the new growth reaches a desired length, and then cutting off the relaxed/permed ends.

2. Venturing different styles, and finding creative ways of disguising the natural and chemically changed textures.

3. The big Chop-cutting off your hair and starting fresh.

With plenty of patience and time, transitioning can turn into a good thing or bad thing. Just because hair is natural does not mean it shouldn't be cared for. There are individuals who choose to go completely natural and not put any kind of chemical products( shampoos,conditioners and etc...) in thier hair. Carol's Daughter is a new and wonderful hair product line that tackles this goal.

When a person has grown thier desired length of natural hair they may think that they do not have enough styling options, but to the contrary there are hundreds of natural hair styles. Braids are the most common because the natural hair is strong enough to handle the braids compared to relaxed/permed hair, which would break easier if braided.

For style tips Youtube is an excellent source, check it out! There are many individuals who have posted their journeys through transitioning, and they give advice about what works and doesn't work.

Remember any decision should be a concious one, so make sure you go natural for you and no one else, whatever your reason may be.