As I mentioned in my last post, even if you are a product junkie, it is important to do it in a controlled way.  You have to figure out the types of products that work for your hair.  Otherwise, you will end up throwing a lot of money down the drain.  A key step in figuring out the types of products that work for your hair and how to use them is learning your hair properties.  In my opinion, there three key aspects:

A large part of self love is accepting yourself for who you are.  I am a product junkie, and I have been for a very long time.  I used to call myself a "recovering product junkie", but I'm not sure I ever really recovered and I don't want to.

1.  Use a sharp pair of hair scissors.  Just like with trimming your hair, you must use sharp scissors or you will create split ends.  These should be scissors specifically dedicated to cutting your hair.  If you use them for other things, they may be dull.

2.  Saturate your strands to make the distinction between textures more apparent.  Personally, I preferred to use conditioner, rather than water, to do this because it really helped to clump my relaxed strands together.

3.  Do not assume that all straight pieces are relaxed hair.  Prior to doing your own big chop, you should have a good idea of how long your natural hair is.  Otherwise, if you have multiple textures on your head, you may accidentally assume that some of the looser curls are relaxed ends.  I made this mistake in a few places.  After I did my initial cut and I went back over my head to catch the straight ends I missed, I saw a few straighter ends at the top.  At the time, I thought they were relaxed strands, but they were not.  I didn't know that my curl is looser at the crown than on the sides, back and front.  A simple guideline for hair growth is 1/2 inch per month, but also look at your hair to locate the demarcation line.

4.  Take your time.  There is no hurry, and if you rush, you will either miss relaxed ends or accidentally cut your natural strands.   Start by cutting off the ends that are clearly relaxed, leaving about an inch of relaxed hair behind.  Then, using small sections, begin refining the cut.  Take each small section, gently pull it as straight as possible and then cut where you see the relaxed hair ends and the natural hair begins.  If you are nervous about cutting off too much, you can always cut down to where you feel comfortable, and then trim later as your hair grows out.

Now that you have those important points in mind, HAPPY CUTTING!  

Because of my hair's low porosity, it is really difficult to get moisture into my hair.  My hair was feeling a little dry, so I decided to give it a moisture boost.  Thus, this week, I decided to use my homemade oil/water spritz to do a personal baggy challenge.

If you do decide to transition, and even if you don't, you should do research on what to expect because natural hair is obviously not like relaxed hair.  Here are my top 4 things that I am happy I learned before I big chopped:

As I mentioned in my hair story, I big chopped after a seven month transition.  Some people transition for less time, and some people transition for longer.  One of the most difficult struggles in the transition is dealing with the two textures -- your relaxed hair and your natural hair.  The point in between them is called the line of demarcation.   If you have ever stretched a relaxer for a lengthy period of time, you know that the line of demarcation is very fragile, and your hair will easily snap here, if not properly care for.  Thus, is important to keep the following things in mind:

1.  Moisture is your best friend.  The moisture will help to keep the line of demarcation from snapping.  To keep moisture in, deep condition at least once per week; and use moisturizing products in between when your hair feels dry.  Also, consider sulfate-free shampoos because sulfate can strip the moisture from your hair.

2.  Strengthening treatments are also important.  You can use henna or protein.  I used a protein reconstructor because my hair does not like heavy proteins.  The strengthening treatment will reinforce your hair strands.  Just make sure that you do not overdo it or your hair will easily snap.  Also, follow-up any strengthening treatment with a moisturizing conditioner.

3.  Use blending styles and protective styles.  These include styles like twists, braids, twistouts, braidouts, rod sets, straw sets, rollersets, buns, and bantu knot outs.  You can look at my pinterest page for inspiration.  Black Girl Long Hair also has a great article on transitioning styles.  While you could blowdry, flat-iron or press your hair, you risk heat damage, which could ruin your natural curls and weaken the integrity of your hair.  Thus, if you do decide to use heat, use the lowest possible setting and use a good heat protectant.

4. Limit combing, brushing and styles that put too much stress on your fragile strands.   When you do comb, use a wide tooth comb.  Detangle very gently and in sections.  Expect that it will take longer than when you just had relaxed hair.  Also, while protective styles like buns and braids are great, make sure that you are not braiding so tight that your hair snaps from the strain.

5.  Slowly trim away your relaxed ends.  If the goal is to end up with all natural hair, then you have to start somewhere.  Trim at the pace you are comfortable with because you want to make sure that you are at complete peace with your decision to go natural.  Of course, if you change your mind on your transitioning goal and start to get impatient, you can always big chop the remainder, like I did.  Just make sure that you are ready.

6.  Join a support group.  Transitioning is more than just a physical change.  It is also psychological, and you may need some support as you go through the transition, especially if your family and friends are not on board.  There are some great forum threads out there to help you on your journey.  Like I mentioned in my hair story, I was part of the Long Hair Care Forum's Transition without BC'ing Support Thread.  There were women who transitioned for a short period of time, like 3 months, and some who transitioned for a long time, like 2 years.  Without the women in this forum, I may have given up on my transition before I was ready.

7.  Enjoy your hair and have confidence.  Enjoy experimenting with your hair or you may be miserable.  Know that you will have some breakage.  You are really just trying to minimize the amount of breakage that you have.  Know that you will have some frustrating days, but don't let every day frustrate you.  Above all else, remember why you are transitioning and have confidence that you are doing the right thing for your hair, or you will never make it.  Try taking a picture of your natural root to motivate you.  Here is the one I took about four months into my transition:

I was natural until my sophomore year of high school.  At the time, I had no idea how to take care of my natural hair, and neither did my mother.  However, because I kept it in two cornrows, it grew down to the middle of my back.  In high school, I "thought" that everyone else was getting a relaxer; and, with much convincing, my mother allowed me to get my first relaxer.  Unfortunately, I still had no idea how to take care of my hair, and it began to break.  After getting my first relaxer, my hair got shorter and shorter.