Natural Hair Tip Series Part I (Going Natural)

                                  
Hey Everyone,

I get a lot of questions from ladies that are newly natural, transitioning, and even contemplating going natural.  I decided to do a little series on some tips that may help you during the different phases of your hair journey. I will share a few tips throughout the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for them.

To jump start this thing, I want to start of with my top 3 tips for those transitioning to natural.

I. Do Your Research - Just like with anything in life that you want to start, you should research it out first.  You need to find out what being natural entails, how to care for natural hair, what products are recommended, what ingredients to avoid, how to style your hair etc... There are many natural hair forums on the web as well as many websites and blogs focused around natural hair that can provide you with tons of information.  If you are a more visual learner you can watch YouTube videos from some of the Natural Hair Guru's that can help you as well.  If you go this route you still need to do a little research to verify and or confirm the information they are giving for yourself. If you received your first relaxer at an early age, you can talk to your mother or someone else who may be able to tell you how your natural hair.  That didn't work out for me to well, I got my first relaxer in the 1st or 2nd grade and my mom couldn't even remember what my hair was like. Smh!!!

II. Make a Decision and Stick with it - After doing your research, analyze the information, and then make an informed decision about your hair journey.  Once you make the decision do your best to stick with it.  It may be difficult, you may get frustrated and want to give up, but hang in there.  Find someone that you can talk to about your hair.  It can be a friend that is already natural, a local natural hair group, natural hair board forums, a family member etc.. You just need to be able to get encouragement and advice from someone to help you keep going. Go natural with a friend if you can. You have to understand that "being natural" is more of a lifestyle change than you think.  Natural hair can be high maintenance to care for and it can be overwhelming in the beginning, but you will get the hang of it.  I would not like to be someone who transitioned for a few mths, then put a relaxer on, then decided to go natural again just to put another relaxer on again.  That could be a waste of time and could be damaging to your hair, so "Make a Decision and Stick with it".

III. Be Patient - Patience is so important on your hair journey. You need patience while you grow your hair out.  On average hair grows about 1/2 an inch a month, so you can expect about 6 inches of growth per year.  Please don't check your hair growth daily or weekly for that matter as that will discourage you.  I suggest taking a length check picture every three months to document growth.  In between that time, just take care of your hair and monitor your ends for damage.  You will also need patience on wash day.  You can't just go cray when shampooing and detangling your hair.  You must have a method to the madness and section your hair off before shampooing and really work the shampoo onto your scalp.  When detangling you must section it off and work from the ends of your hair up.  Take your time with this step to avoid pulling a lot of your hair out.  The line of demarcation in your hair is very sensitive and could snap easily if your brush or comb to aggressively or detangle the wrong way. FYI: The line of demarcation is the point where your natural hair or new growth meets your relaxed hair.  So just remember patience is  key and your hair will grow. 

I hope this helps you. 

Take Care ~
Tiffany N.