Two Textures of Hair
Written in April 2011
To BC or Not to BC? That is the Question.
My goal to transition for a year is officially in jeopardy. At seven months post-relaxer I continue to find it challenging to maintain the two hair textures atop my head. The natural hair needs specific care that is in contrast to what the relaxed hair needs. Think water and oils for moisture.
I made a conscious decision to maintain all of my hair as natural and that hasn’t always produced the results I expected. Since my natural hair has grown out a few inches, it’s been hard to keep myself content with the styling options I’ve used. In keeping with wearing my own hair, my transitional styles have included roller sets, two-strand flat twist-outs, two-strand twist & curl or bantu knot styles and a few up-do’s. These styles have worked fine for me but I get bored easily and grow antsy very quickly if I don’t change things up.
On to the monkey wrench that threw my transition way off. I made a big conditioning mistake and became very frustrated. I washed my hair and after applying conditioner, thought it would be a great idea to leave it on longer than a few minutes to deep condition. Several hours later, it was late and I decided I could keep it wrapped up, sleep on it, and then rinse it out in the morning. The problem was I hadn’t detangled my hair yet. By the time I was ready to detangle the following day, there were several knots throughout my hair. Removing them was nearly impossible and I experienced breakage and some hair loss. At that point, I was ready to BC. If you are transitioning, I hope you’re taking notes on what NOT to do.
So being at a crossroad, you might wonder how I got myself out of the rut. Well, I decided to cut off several inches of relaxed hair. For now, this has solved some of the issues I was having and has added some time onto my transitional phase. I’ll see how far this will get me. Wish me luck!
Check out my video channel “LPShareTube” on YouTube. Follow along ‘My Natural Hair Quest’ there.
Thanks for stopping by.
What types of road blocks have you faced in your transition?
