Do I Need a Stylist That Specializes In Natural Hair Before I Transition?

You might already have a great hair stylist that's been taking good care of your relaxed hair for many years. She might be a hair care expert and if you've seen her for a long time, you probably have established a very good relationship which might make you feel a sense of loyalty to her. Still, it's important to find out what her natural hair credentials and experience are or you may come to regret seeing her exclusively.

There are four reasons you may need to find a salon or stylist in your area that specializes in natural hair care:

1. To prevent heat damage that will permanently alter your curl pattern.

If you decide to use heat styling to straighten your new growth at the beginning of the transition process, you run the risk of causing heat damage to your curly hair. Your stylist may be accustomed to using tools and methods that aren't suitable for natural hair. Heat settings that are too high or used too frequently may permanently alter your curls. This may be problematic later down the road if you decide you want to wear your hair curly.

I've seen this happen to many, many natural-haired friends/cousins of mine. They want to achieve certain styles and are frustrated when their is somewhat straight, but somewhat curly. It just doesn't look right and some of them have had to chop off the heat damaged hair and grow it out again. It's a waste of time and mental energy that you just don't need. That's why you should start the transition process with a stylist that knows how to straighten your hair without damaging your curls, possibly without using heat at all. For example, she may use roller setting or another stretching method instead of heat.

2. To learn about the best products for your hair type, hair style, and hair care regimen.

You'll quickly discover that the products you used as a relaxed girl may not work well for your natural hair. If your stylist isn't educated about which products work best during transitioning or natural hair, you may either not like the way your hair looks or leave it dry which makes it susceptible to breaking. So often women complain that their hair just "doesn't look right" or doesn't look cute while transitioning.

They end up forming a negative attitude toward their new growth when the hair isn't the problem at all. They approach natural hair with habits, products, and tools that aren't suited for it. Once they use the right products and tools, their hair looks amazing and they fall in love with it. A natural stylist will help you prevent the experience of an awkward or ugly transition process by advising you on the best products at the start of the journey thus preventing many, many bad hair days.

3. To discover transitioning and protective hair styles and/or receive a cut that suits heat-free styles.

If you're going to big chop, it's best you see a stylist to shape the cut just right for your hair length, type and the styles you'll wear each day. If you're not going to big chop, you'll need to learn hair styles that will help you deal with two hair textures at once. That can be a daunting experience for some women. So much so that many of them opt for braids, twists, wigs or extensions for a while until they grow out enough natural hair to chop off the relaxed ends.

A stylist with transitioning clientele will already have the scoop for you about how to get through the transition process and look good while you do it. You might wonder if a stylist might be willing to teach you about how to style your own hair for fear that she'll work herself out of a job. However, if your stylist seems reluctant to educate you on what to do when you don't see her then find another stylist. It's that simple. Still, I find that most good stylists aren't worried about losing money for teaching you what to do with your hair. If they're smart, they know that both of you stand to win when your hair looks great.

4. To learn how to care for your natural hair.

Washing, detangling, conditioning, deep conditioning and moisturizing natural hair is a whole different ball game than you were used to as a relaxed girl. You'll use a different type of shampoo, if you use shampoo at all (you can cleanse with conditioner and conditioning cleansers to prevent stripping your hair of its natural oils). You'll detangle your hair in sections in the shower while conditioning instead of trying to detangle it after towel drying. You'll use tools and styling methods that prevent breakage at the line of demarkation (where your relaxed and natural hair meet) since hair is weak at that point. You'll use water to style and moisturize your hair when the name of the game was avoiding water as a relaxed girl.

I think you get the point. You have to treat natural hair differently and a natural stylist can help you with that. She'll be well-versed in things that other stylists won't but they're critical to the health of your natural hair.

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.

 

How do you go natural with your hair if you're used to relaxers?

Quit the Creamy Crack

There's only one thing you have to do to go natural with your hair; stop using chemicals to straighten it. Chemical treatments like relaxers and texturizers permanently break the chemical bonds in your hair that cause it to curl, wave or kink. If you like wearing your hair straight, you can continue to wear it just like you do with a relaxer if you want to. Lots of black women with long, healthy, straight hair do not use relaxers to straighten it.

Their hair is 100% natural but you simply can't tell by looking at them. After I transitioned to natural hair I mentioned it to lots of people including family and friends. I was totally shocked at how many of my cousins, Facebook friends, etc. that stopped relaxing their hair many years ago and just didn't tell me. Every one of them have a head full of long, beautiful hair that was straight every time I saw them. And here I was thinking that if I just took better care of my relaxed hair, I could make my hair look like theirs when all along, their hair wasn't even relaxed!


If you're having problems with your hair, it might be because of damage caused by chemical treatments such as relaxers and color or from heat damage. If your hair is dry, grows slower than you think it should, dull, thinning and otherwise just blah-looking then you might benefit from going natural. One thing to note though is that stopping relaxers alone may not get you the head of hair you want. To make your hair as thick, shiny, long and healthy as it can possibly be, you'll need to take good care of it.

Will My Hair Fall Out If I Stop Relaxing It?

NO! No, it won't. That is one of the biggest misconceptions there is about going natural with your hair. Relaxers do not support the health of your hair. If anything, they make it more likely to be unhealthy. Still, if you stop relaxing your hair you do need to take a few steps to prevent breakage. At the point where your relaxed hair meets your new natural growth, the hair is somewhat weaker than it is along the rest of its length. However, it's not going to break off on its own. It could break off if you're too rough with it, though.

How to Prevent Breakage, Damage & Hair Loss When You Go Natural

Once you get to a few inches of new growth, you'll start to notice that it's harder to detangle it after you wash it. To make matters worse, hair is more fragile when it's wet. What you can and should do to prevent breakage at the line of demarkation (the point between your natural and relaxed hair) is detangle it while the conditioner is in it and it's soaking wet. The easiest way to do that is while you're in the shower. After you wash it (preferably with a sulfate-free shampoo), add a thick, rich, slippery conditioner and detangle your hair with a wide-tooth detangling comb. Then rinse the conditioner out.

When you shampoo, use hand motions that go from front to back being careful not to tangle your hair. Don't ball your hair up on the top of your head then attempt to detangle it later. That only makes matters more complicated. You can keep your hair relatively untangled while you wash and condition it which makes things easier later and limits breakage.

How to Go Natural Without Cutting Your Hair (The "Big Chop")

One of the most common myths about going natural is that you have to cut off all your hair and wear it short. This isn't the way I and many other women I know have gone natural from relaxed. There are lots of reasons you might want to transition to natural hair without cutting off all your straight hair. For starters, I'm just used to wearing my hair long and didn't want to drastically change my look overnight. You may have other reasons for wanting to transition slowly. No matter what your motivation, there are few things to keep in mind if you plan to go natural without the "big chop".

1. Stop Chemical Treatments That Alter Your Hair Texture

This may seem obvious but I have to state the obvious. Of course this includes relaxers but it also includes texturizers or tex-lax treatments. Texturizers permanently change your hair texture but not as much as relaxers do. If you really want to see what your own natural hair texture is and learn to style and care for it, you'll have to drop the creamy crack bottle and not look back. Don't worry. It may seem scary now but very soon you'll be so glad you did.

2. Use the Right Products & Maintenance Habits

If you don't take care of your hair (relaxed or natural) it's not going to look good at all. It's critical to do a few things differently once your natural roots start to grow in; mainly moisturize and protect your hair during styling and maintenance. Curly and kinky hair (even after it has been relaxed) is porous and tends to become dry and frizzy. It is very susceptible to heat damage and breakage.

Products to care for your hair while transitioning from relaxers: 

-Sulfate-free shampoo
-Cleansing conditioner
-Leave-in conditioner
-Rich oil that can penetrate the hair and keep moisture out to control frizz (coconut, shea butter, argan oil)
-Rinse-out conditioner with lots of "slip" (to detangle in the shower without breakage)
-Deep conditioner

Maintenance Tips:

-Detangle your hair while conditioner is in it. Use a conditioner with a lot of "slip" and a wide-tooth comb to prevent breakage. The thicker your roots get, the harder it is to detangle your hair after it's been towel-dried and has no product in it. Transitioning hair is prone to breakage at the point where the relaxed hair and natural hair meet; this point is called the line of demarkation.

-Cleanse your hair using a sulfate-free shampoo and/or a cleansing conditioner instead of regular shampoo. Sulfates strip your hair of its natural protective oils and leave it squeaky clean. Squeaky clean is not a good thing for natural black hair.

3. Protect Your Hair When Styling

Choose hair styles that require little to no direct heat and require gentle manipulation. For example, straighten your natural roots to match your relaxed hair texture by stretching while wet instead of using heat to straighten it after it's dry. Apply your leave-in conditioner, natural oil, and a dab of Eco styler gel throughout your hair concentrating on your roots. Brush your roots flat and pull your hair into a ponytail. Tie a scarf around your edges and let them dry flat and straight. Other types of protective styles that require minimal heat are braids, twists, up-dos or even wigs.

4. Be Patient and Consistent

 Human hair grows about 1/2 inch per month, on average. That means that in six months, you should grow about 3 inches of new growth. However, it might seem as if your hair is growing faster than usual because you will be retaining the length that you may not have when you relaxed your hair. If you're patient and consistent with caring for your hair as described above, you'll quickly notice your hair is softer, thicker, healthier, shinier and generally way more awesome than it was when it was chemically treated. Be warned that at some point in the transition process, you might get so excited to sport your natural hair that you decide to cut off all or some of your relaxed hair. :-)