For me, going natural was a fairly easy decision. I had pretty much stopped relaxing my hair for around 7 months, I'd taken my hair out and I looked like a troll doll (quiet literally lol) and at this point I was saying to myself 'it's not that bad, I can always relax it and it'll be fine...' But in reality, it WAS that bad. My sister had just taken the plunge and I had just helped her with her "big chop" and 1 month later in true 'YOLO' style she suggested I did it too and I said "Yes, why not?" and that was the start of my journey. It seriously was the best decision I made last year even though I didn't think it then.
Are you considering going natural? Have you already taken the plunge or are you currently mid transition? The best advice I can give is that you should really think about WHY you want to take this step, as you really need to do this for the right reasons. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "if you rush in, you'll rush out" and some of you might think 'no way does this apply to hair', but sadly it does... I have some friends who caught 'the fever' and thought "I'm ready to do this!" and sadly a couple of months in, they were seriously struggling and couldn't reach for the 'creamy crack' soon enough. I understand that 'natural' hair isn't for everybody, you might find that your hair is really thick and difficult to comb through and it just hurts or you just prefer the 'relaxed' look. The fact is that no ones hair is the same. Your friend's hair may be curly and soft and full of life and you may be expecting the same from your hair, sorry to disappoint you (and for some it's really a disappointment) but we all have different hair textures, not to talk of genes lol. So expecting your hair to be like that of your friends, or even sister (yes sister) is a big no no!
Yes, I took the plunge mainly because my sister made me do it. She had just 'bc'd' and she felt lonely, I wasn't really thinking about it and I went ahead and chopped it all off. I didn't know how to feel about it, some days I loved it, others I cried (yes I HATE cutting my hair, something about getting a trim or haircut gets me teary lol x_x) and on several occasions I wanted to reach for the relaxer because I missed having hair. Sometimes, I feel as though all of that could have been avoided if I had thought about it a bit more and done it for ME and not because my sister needed a 'buddy'. In all I'm very happy I stuck with it and didn't wimp out.
So have you decided to take this step (for the right reasons)? If so, then stay tuned and read through my suggestions.
I'm sure you will find this helpful. This is a truly rewarding journey (if done properly) and I'm confident that you will find as much joy as i have in seeing it through to the end.
1) To put it quite simply, if your newly natural, you need a hair Regimen. If not, you might find yourselves clueless and struggling, I know I did. It got to the point that I had no clue what to do, I was so used to getting my relaxers then a couple of weaves then relaxer again, that when it came down to me actually looking after my own hair, I struggled. Making a routine for yourself will definitely help and for that you might want a diary/calendar, anything you feel will help you remember when you're scheduled to do certain things.
2) Keep it simple. No doubt as a new natural, your bombarded with lots of products on the market and people telling you to get 'this' or 'that', "Trust me it works", "Your hair will grow loads". I'm not saying they are definitely wrong, but the one thing you don't want to be is a 'product junkie'. It will not only cost you money, but please save yourself the disappointment when a product someone swears by does little or nothing for your hair. I can not stress this enough we're all DIFFERENT. (I think that should be my motto lol).
3) Expensive doesn't mean effective. Don't be fooled, just because a product is marketed quite cleverly by a big brand doesn't mean it's more effective than a cheaper alternative. Do your research! A brand named moisturiser can cost £15 or so, whilst raw Shea butter, which costs less, can do the same if not a better job.
The basis of this is that you need to:
-Wash
-Condition
-Seal/moisturise
-Style
Now for most this is the hard part. It's all about trial and error, you're going to love some products and hate others . It can be costly and frustrating but once you get the right products you'll be good to go.
I feel like I've ranted enough (I get quite passionate when I start to talk about hair lol) my next post will talk about those 4 steps highlighted above and I'll delve into them a bit more.
Thanks for reading guys xxx
