At some point of our lives we have been here, dealing with damaged hair. Some people chop it all off, and some of us like to let it grow and try to nurse it back to health as much as we can.
To the ones who aren't afraid to chop it and start fresh, you go girl!
Anddddd to the rest, you got this!
Transitioning hair is no where near as easy as it seems. You will constantly deal with two, maybe even 3 different textures, breakage, porosity, moisture and protein imbalances. Im here to make this easier for you, and honestly I wish there was a blog I could've followed when I went through this myself.
Heres my list of the top 5 tips when transitioning.
1.Clarifying Shampoo
Clarifying shampoos are essential. This will carry on for the rest of your hair journey. Clarifying shampoos are known to remove all the buildup found in the hair. It can be product build up, minerals found in our water, or our natural oils. Often times we have so much build up in our hair we aren't able to properly moisturize the hair. Build up creates a barrier and starts to repel moisture, causing our curls to become dehydrated. At this point we typically add more product, or deep conditioners, DIY's, what ever we can find adding onto our buildup we already have.
We must remove the buildup to allow moisture into the hair.
Moisture is essential to curls.
WATER = MOISTURE
*When starting your journey clarify to remove all the previous build up, clarify once to twice a month, or as needed when you feel too much build up.
2. Deep Conditioner
A deep conditioner is a little different from your traditional conditioner. It is able to penetrate your hair deeper than your standard conditioner. There are two types of deep conditioners, protein or moisture. Most times our curls are lacking one or another. Becareful, you can easily imbalance your hair if you use more moisture/protein that your hair can handle.
You can combine your deep conditioner with heat for a more intense treatment.
* If you aren’t already, start deep conditioning once to twice a week.
3.Haircuts! Frequent Haircuts
I know this sounds weird since your probably trying to let it grow... Hair has about 4 stages and that is why you're constantly shedding every single day. On average you lose about 100-200 strands a day. As your hair sheds your curls become weak. There is not as many strands of hair forming the curl. Hair grows unevenly and eventually thins out at the ends, causing tangles, splits and your hair will break upwards.
*Getting haircuts frequently will help prevent excessive tangling and breakage. Try cutting your hair every 3-6 months during your transition.
4.Products Find what works for you... I need you to understand that whatever you favorite youtube star is using, your mother, sister, even hairstylist is using may not work for you. There are so many factors you need to establish prior to buying products for you. You must know your density (how thick or thin), porosity(how you absorb products)-this will save you tons of money, trust me.
Find what works for you and use it.
5.Patience
Last BUT not least. Patience! Learn to have patience. Hair only grows on average of 6 inches a year, depending on your curl type you may barely see a difference until you have a full year of growth. The curlier your hair becomes the more it will spring back when you pull it. The healthier it gets the more bounce you will receive which may even make the hair look and feel like it's not growing.
PRO TIP: Take pictures to follow your journey. I never notice how much my hair has grown until I look back at pictures.
This is just a start, check back in the next couple weeks as I dive a little deeper into these tips to help make your transition journey smoother.
💜
NicolesCurls