Transitioning: Months 0-6

Happy Monday lovelies!

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! I spent my weekend back home in VA and let me tell you....it was a much needed trip!! This weekend marked 6 months since my last relaxer! This got me to thinking. When I started my blog, I documented the growth of my hair from a short cut to the length it is now (which is something you rarely see in the blog world) and even shared how I styled my hair at every length. Why should my transitioning journey be any different? Something that has helped me tremendously is knowing how to style my hair during this time and I think that by sharing my experience I can a) help those who are stretching relaxers and need a way to style their hair, b) help those who are transitioning but really don't know how to style their hair other than straight, and c) keep a log of my hair styles so that when I get deep in this transition I have something that I can reference. Either way it's a win-win

Now with out further ado, here are the first 6 months of my transition.

Months 0-3: The "This Is No Different Than A Regular Stretch" stage

This stage of my transition was really, really easy because I really just started out stretching relaxer like I usually do. During this time, I wore my hair straight but opted to keep my hair in buns the majority of the time ( I'm a teacher and most mornings, I'm all for styles that don't take too much time and won't irritate me by the middle of the day).

* Some of the styles I wore at the beginning of the year. I wore buns for the most part*


As far as a regimen goes, I washed my hair weekly with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo and did a protein treatment with Komaza Protein Strengthener. I would follow up with a moisturizing DC, would moisturize, and air dry my hair (except during the times I would straighten my hair). My hair pretty much thrived with this regimen and I noticed no significant difference in hair shedding or breakage.



Months 3-6: The "New Growth is Making Itself Known" stage


This stage of my transition really marked the beginning of me really taking the time to learn with my new growth responds to. Style-wise, I wore buns but twist-outs began to have a special place in my heart during this time. For me, twist outs are a style that blend my 2 textures flawlessly and it's a pretty easy style to get together on wash day. Every now an again I would do a bantu knot out or a braid out but I always come back to twist outs. In June, I decided that my hair needed a break and got box braids that should last me until August. I generally stay away from direct heat because I don't want to be bothered. However, I did have to blow dry my hair (on low heat) prior to getting brads.

*I'm going to spare you the multiple photos of me with a twist out but that was my main style. Other pics are of the box braids I am wearing currently*


My regimen has not changed (still wash, protein treatment, and moisturizing DC weekly) and my hair is still doing good with that. I'm thinking about doing a protein treatment weekly for the duration of my transition. I think that is was is minimizing any breakage that could occur along the line of demarcation (point where my new growth and relaxed hair meet). I'm finding that my new growth is easy to comb (when wet) but my relaxed hair gives me the most grief because it tangles. During this time, I found 3 hair products my hair loves: Oyin Hair Dew, Oyin Burnt Sugar Pomade and Oyin Juices N Berries. I've found that my new growth responds very well to these products (I mean they keep my hair moisturized for days!!). I do realize that as my transition progresses, I may need to shift my products to ones that benefit my new growth vs. those that benefit my relaxed hair.



So all in all, this transition has been pretty easy. I know once I'm out of these braids, I need to have a strong game plan in place for what I want to do to my hair and be open to any potential adjustments that I will have to make. Stay tuned to see how that turns out!