6 Things That May Surprise You About Going Natural

I thought I knew a lot about hair before I went natural. I also thought I knew a lot about my hair when I was a relaxed girl. What I didn't know before I started transitioning was that almost all the hair rules I knew as a relaxed girl didn't apply to my natural hair. Below are six things that totally surprised me along my transitioning journey and have also happened to other transitioners I know.

Transitioning Surprise #1: I actually DO have thick hair!

As a natural-haired child, I had a head full of long, thick healthy hair. This is true for so many of you, also I'm sure. But I relaxed my hair throughout middle school, high school and college which changed my view of my hair and actually changed  my hair itself. No matter how healthy it was, it always looked too thin.

How wonderful it was after I'd transitioned for about 6 or 7 months when I discovered that I actually have VERY thick hair! At the beginning of my transition, I straightened my new growth using a flat iron and wore a few clip-in hair extensions for added volume. If I straightened my natural hair today it would be so thick you'd think I was wearing hair extensions even though I'm not. That's how thick and voluminous it is now! That was one of the best surprises about going natural. 

Transitioning Hair Surprise #2: Washing/wetting my hair frequently is a good thing

As a relaxed girl, I tried not to wash my hair more than once a week for fear that it would become too dry. I always heard and read that black women shouldn't wash their hair too often because it tends to be dry. Well, it's true that kinky/curly hair tends to be more dry and porous than straight hair. However, it's actually good to wet my natural kinky hair frequently.

Water Didn't Dry My Hair Out. My Shampoo Did. 

One of the reasons my hair was so dry after washing as a relaxed girl is the type of shampoo I used. Regular shampoos, yes even the ones marketed to relaxed-haired women, contain sulfates (the soapy agent) that strips our hair. So I'd strip my hair of it's natural oils, then try to put the moisture back in later (unsuccessfully). I found out later that 1. I need to use a sulfate-free shampoo and 2. I didn't necessarily need to use shampoo every time I cleansed my hair.

Is Your Face Any Less Clean If You Use Dove or Noxzema Instead of Zest?

Does avoiding shampoo sound counter-intuitive to you? It did to me at first, too. I get the most puzzled looks whenever I try to explain this to people but bear with me for a moment while I explain. Using a regular shampoo versus sulfate-free shampoo is like washing your face with Zest versus washing it with Dove. Now do you get it? You don't need to strip your face dry to clean it and the same applies to your hair. Now I wash my hair about every other day using a cleansing conditioner with a low lather. If I get product build-up then I use a sulfate-free shampoo.

Transitioning Hair Surprise #3: Heavy oils are helpful for styling

 As a relaxed girl with semi-thin hair, I avoided oil-based moisturizers at all costs. They made my hair feel great, very soft indeed. But they weighed my hair down and made it look sort of...stringy for lack of a better term. So I did my best with water-based moisturizers such as leave-in conditioners and/or water-based creams such as Liv.

What I discovered while transitioning is that some heavy oils are actually essential for natural hair and can penetrate them, moisturizing from the inside out. My favorite natural hair oil is coconut oil. Other oils that are good for natural black hair are argan, jojoba, castor, and olive oils. Besides applying these oils before styling, you can use them with whatever rinse-out or deep conditioner you like to enhance the product. Don't mix it in the original bottle, though. Instead, mix the two in a separate container then apply to your hair.

Transitioning Surprise #4: I don't have dry hair

I thought my hair was naturally dry. The truth was that it can become dry if it's stressed from heat and chemical treatments such as relaxers. It had been dry for so long while I was relaxed that I didn't think there was much I could do about it. However, after skipping only two relaxers (about 4 months total), my hair was surprisingly soft. The ends weren't as damaged as they used to be either. I noticed that the spot in my hair that was notoriously damaged and breaking off for years was about an inch longer and the ends looked fine. I was shocked. Which leads me to the next surprise...

Transitioning Surprise #5: I hardly need to trim my ends

My hair grows about as fast as anyone else's does. Human hair, on average, grows about 1/2 inch per month. One person's hair might grow a little more than that. It just depends on your DNA, nutrition, etc. Still, I was losing length from cutting split ends off about as fast as my new growth was coming in while I was relaxed. It was pretty frustrating sometimes. But now that I don't relax and rarely, if ever, use heat to style my hair, I hardly ever see a need to trim my ends. They look great. From time to time, I straighten my hair and dust the ends to keep them healthy, but I don't need to nearly as often as I used to.
 

Transitioning Surprise #6: Kinky hair doesn't necessarily have to be nappy

Disclaimer: No offense to my sisters that like to rock nappy hair styles. I actually think it looks good on them. On them. It's just not the look I prefer to rock. I have kinky hair but I don't like to wear what I now know are simply undefined curls/coils. That's pretty much what nappy hair is; kinky/coily hair that is styled with little to no curl/coil definition. I never realized that a woman with an afro could define her coils and rock a head full of slick, shiny waves or coils. It's all in how you style it  and what products you use.

Kinky/coily hair is highly versatile. It can be stretched straight or semi-straight. It can be styled while soaking wet with oil and gel to make defined coils, waves, curls or whatever you like. Since kinky hair shrinks down to 25% of it's stretched length, it can be worn short or long. I prefer to wear defined curls and waves in what people call the "wet look". It works for me. I feel good and I get so many compliments about my hair that way.

Should I Go Natural? 5 Things to Consider Before You Decide

If you're debating whether or not you should go natural, you might have some conflicting thoughts or fears about the issue. Many black women are thinking about going natural with their hair but often what stands in their way are misconceptions, myths or mindsets. I'm just going to come out and tell it like it is in regards to what you might be thinking.

Do I Have the Kind of Hair That Will Look Good Natural?

After talking to countless women about transitioning to natural hair, I find that what's really holding them back sometimes is a fear that they won't like their hair. At the root of this issue is the mindset or belief that there's "good" and "bad" hair and that women with "good" hair will look good natural and women with "bad" hair won't. I do not subscribe to the notion that there is such a thing as "bad" hair. God made you with what He knew would suit you best. Period.

Natural Hair Isn't for Everybody...Or Is It?

People that believe or say things like "natural hair isn't for everyone" are really saying that God didn't get it right when he made you with nappy hair. If you believe this about yourself then I recommend you change your own negative thinking. But here's something else you might not know; just because you have kinky hair doesn't mean you have to style it to look "nappy". Kinky-haired women can define their curls, slick it back in a beautiful wavy style that just a sleek and sophisticated as relaxed hair styles. Kinky hair is actually very versatile and can be picked out like an afro, stretched straight, twisted or whatever else you can think of.

There's no such thing as hair that won't look good natural. However, if your hair isn't healthy it's very hard to make it look good whether it's straight, natural, relaxed, long, short or whatever. Unhealthy hair doesn't really look good on anyone. If you've seen a woman with natural hair and thought it didn't look good on her then one of two things might be the case: 1. She didn't achieve the look she was going for either due to inexperience with styling or because her hair isn't in good shape due to neglect. 2. She achieved the look she was going for but you simply don't think it's cute.

I'm Not Sure If I Can Rock the "Natural Look"

I've heard people say this for a very long time and I'm still trying to figure out what "the natural look" is. If you're trying to decide whether or not to go natural, do yourself one favor and examine your thought processes to check for biases and assumptions. Don't assume there's a such thing as "the natural look", especially since lots of natural-haired women straighten their hair. I see so many women with straight, healthy, gorgeous hair and later I find out that they're 100% natural. Their natural texture might be kinky-coily or wavy but they simply elect to wear it straight without using chemicals. When you take that into consideration, the whole notion of "the natural look" gets crumpled and tossed in the round filing cabinet.

There is no such thing as the natural look just like there's no such thing as the pretty look or the black look. Every black person is an individual. Every pretty girl is pretty in her own right and in a unique way. The same applies to natural hair. Every natural-haired girl wears her hair in a different style, has a different curl pattern, different color and a different flair that she might decide to change every other week. Actually, that's the thing about wearing natural hair; you suddenly feel so much more stylish, confident, funky or sophisticated when you rock what God gave you and your hair is healthier than it's ever been. You start to get a little more creative and expressive with your style. You simply become more into you.

I Don't Have a Lot of Time to Fuss With My Hair

If you don't want to spend a lot of time styling your natural hair then that's just fine because you don't have to. You can choose a style that doesn't require blow-drying, curling or whatever else. As a matter of fact, it's best to choose protective styles when transitioning to natural hair from relaxed. Still, there are other options to help you minimize styling time such as up-dos, sew-in hair extensions, micro braids, Senegalese twists, the list goes on. You can also opt to see a stylist that specializes in natural and transitioning hair for styles that are healthy for your hair and easy to maintain. Wet roller sets or flexi-rod sets are some examples.

I Don't Have Extra Money for Hair Products or Stylists

A limited budget will not stop you from transitioning to natural hair. I know plenty of product junkies that would beg to differ, but I transitioned by using a few simple, but good quality products that made my hair as healthy and amazing as I've ever seen it. Also, many women transition to natural hair without ever seeing a stylist. You can make up for limited funds by investing a little more time into learning about natural/transitioning hair care and styles.