New Year, New Hair (My Transition/ "Big" Chop

I have been wanting to cut off my relaxed ends for so long!!! You guys have no idea how I struggled not to cut off those relaxed ends. My main reason for not cutting was because I wanted my hair to be a certain length before cutting. Well I made the decision some time in November that I would be completely natural by January 3, 2015. I decided to big chop my own hair and completed 25% before realizing I could not distinguish between my natural hair and my texlaxed ends. I guess I left more texture in my hair than I thought during my texlaxing days.

First chop vs Second Chop

I decided to that going to a salon would probably be best. I went online and found a natural hair stylist one and a half hours away. For some reason I have not had success finding a stylist in my area  so I was willing to travel to see a stylist. Well this stylist ended up canceling on me the morning of my appointment. I felt this was very unprofessional since I had made the appointment with her personally 2 days prior AND she knew how far I was traveling for this appointment. I think her work is phenomenal, but she will not be getting my business.

My Hair after Transition Chop, but before 2nd Co-Wash

After that fell through I decided to just do it myself. If I were to cut some of my natural hair in the process, it was a risk I would take. I co-washed my hair with Pantene Pro V Truly Natural Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner. I jumped out the shower and with my hair soaking wet, added some Tresseme Moisture Rich Conditioner, and began cutting off those relaxed ends. It took me approximately 1 hour to big chop.  After I chopped off the relaxed ends I jumped back in the shower and co-washed. I then deep conditioned with an oldie, but goodie Creme of Nature Argon Oil Conditioner. I then styled my hair in a twist out using the As I Am product line. I will be doing a review on this line very soon! By the next morning my hair had not dried completely and twist out was a fail. I just put it in a puff and it actually turned out well. Below are the pictures of my natural hair. I'm so excited to embark on this new hair journey and share it all with you!

All Natural!

Revisiting Old Habits

Photo credit: Google Images

As I look back at old post I realize that my hair is more healthy now than it has ever been. I credit this success being from the products I used, but most importantly the techniques I used. When I first started my hair journey I washed and deep conditioned my hair every week and moisturized and sealed often. Pre-pooing, or pre-shampooing is the one technique I feel contributed significantly to my health of my hair. Pre-pooing is a treatment applied to the hair before shampooing. 

The purpose of a pre-poo is to maintain or add moisture to your hair after it shampoo. Shampoo is known to strip the hair of it's natural oils. Pre-poo is most commonly done with an oil or conditioner. However you can use other things such as honey. I have used them all and I feel they all work great. If I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be honey. Although it can be messy, it leaves my hair amazingly moisturized! When I pre-poo with a conditioner I MUST follow up with a deep conditioner in order get the best results. 

Some time ago I cut out pre-pooing my hair. I started deep conditioning on dry hair and felt this was the same thing as pre-pooing. I failed to realized that I skipped a key step, following up with a conditioner after shampooing. Even though I use a sulfate free shampoo, some of my hair's natural oils are still stripped. This leave my hair not being as moisturized as it should be. I am currently 8 months into my transition. As my natural hair becomes more prevalent, I notice my hair is more dry. I need to do everything I can to retain as much of my hair's natural oils and thus I have decided to make a few changes in my hair regimen.

First I will go back to deep conditioning after I shampoo. This will ensure that I'm adding the moisture back into my hair after it is stripped from the shampoo. Next I will begin pre-pooing again. I will probably pre-poo mostly with oils and/or honey because these two work best. I'm hoping that by adding these two steps, my hair will become more healthy and moisturized during my transition. I will have a post on my "revised" hair regimen soon. 

What are some techniques that you simply can not live without during your wash day? Do you Pre-poo? What's your favorite product to pre-poo with?

Hair Cut and Huge Announcement

Yesterday I posted a picture of 3-4 inches (my estimate) of cut hair on my Instagram account. The picture above is the one posted. I also sent a picture message to my best friends and they demanded to know what I had done. I know you to are dying to know what I have done. Before I share that story let me start from the beginning.

As most of you know my last relaxer was last June. What you didn't know was that after relaxing my hair I started to have regrets. My last stretch lasted 6 months and during this time I contemplated transitioning to natural hair. After finding out I was having a daughter I wanted to teach her all about growing healthy and long natural hair. I wanted her to be able to properly care for her natural hair so that if she decided to relax her hair it wouldn't be from a lack of knowledge. I then decided what better way to teach her than to show her. Later I decided this was not enough for me to make the commitment to transition. My hair was starting to break badly at the line of demarcation so at that time I felt the best thing to do was end my stretch

After texlaxing my hair I became bored with my hair and my hair journey. I found myself gravitating more towards those styles that look better with natural hair, well in my opinion anyways. After having a discussion with one of my best friends she shared with me that she had interest in going natural as well. Long story short I decided to make the commitment to transition to natural hair! I honestly didn't plan to share this information until I was a year post relaxer. I wanted to make sure I was fully committed to this journey and I am. I decided I want to do a long transition over a course of 2 years. Instead of big chopping I plan to do a couple mini chops. 

This brings me to my Instagram picture. I planned to do my first cut after my wedding in June, but now that I'm leaning more towards a sew-in, I figured the length of my hair wouldn't matter that much. I have been having the urge to cut some of my hair because I want to see what my natural texture will look like. Today after seeing some pictures on IG of beautiful natural hair of all textures I went to my bathroom and found my hair shears. I brushed my hair straight back and grabbed half my hair and cut. I then grabbed the second half and cut. After cutting I wasn't upset nor did I have any regrets. I actually felt that I am closer to reaching my ultimate goal of becoming fully natural. I actually thought "It's just hair!". My hair is a little uneven, but I am okay with that for now. I plan to do a 2 month no direct heat challenge so the next time I straighten my hair I will make sure it is even. My next mini cut will probably take place after my wedding. 

I can't believe I'm finally sharing that I am transitioning to natural hair! I hope you continue to follow me as I embark on a new hair journey. I will be sharing my ups and downs as I have been doing with my relaxed hair journey. I'll also continue to provide information on all hair types. This will not turn into a natural hair only blog. All information I have provided and will continue to provide can be applied to hair of all types.

About 3 weeks before mini chop

Post Mini chop