Hey Bombers!
So in light of Solange’s courageous cut, I thought it would be cool to tap Erin from the dope blog Scandalous Beauty to tell us how best to transition from permed to natural hair.
Enjoy!
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Hey Fashion Bombers!
I’m so honored to be here and give you advice for your potential transition from relaxed to natural hair. I’m amazed at the increasing numbers of women who are rocking afros, locs, twists and things of the like. I transitioned to natural hair 3 years ago, and needless to say, I’ve had quite an interesting journey.
I loved sleek styles, from curly up-do’s to short crops. But, I had to take the leap to natural hair after I noticed my hair was getting thinner and breaking off constantly.
To transition to natural hair you have so many options! You can simply stop getting relaxers, and let your natural hair grow while taking care of your relaxed hair. If you’re feeling really bold, you can chop it all off and sport a low cut!
Hey, it’s quick and easy!
What I opted to do was to wear braids, cornrows, weaves and wigs while transitioning. I would cut off a few inches of relaxed hair and then cover it with a different style. I transitioned for almost a year without ever wearing my real hair out in public. I spent hundreds of dollars trying to find the best products for my hair. Here are a few of my faves:
1. Carol’s Daughter Hair Balm ($12, www.sephora.com) was one of the products that I loved to use on my ‘fro:
It made my hair soft and shiny while adding moisture. My hair loved the shea butter and oil mix, and it worked best when my hair was damp.
2. Even though this costs an arm and a leg, I used the Miss Jessie’s Baby Buttercream ($58 for 16 oz, www.missjessies.com) as a moisturizer:
It smells heavenly and a little definitely goes a long way.
3. My holy grail hair care line is Oyin Handmade ($10-$20, www.oyinhandmade.com):
I was on a quest for all natural products, and this line came highly recommended. I started out using their sample pack, which included Honey Hemp Conditioner, Greg Juice, Whipped Pudding and Shine ‘N Define. I haven’t looked back. As the years went on I bought more and more of their products, and in February I made the switch to using their products almost exclusively.
Once your hair is fully natural, there are a lot of things that will change from your old beauty routine. You should only comb your hair with a wide tooth comb while wet, preferably while drenched in conditioner. There may be times that your hair feels extra dry–this can be a major deterrent, but don’t give up! Try adding oils to your conditioners, and occasionally spraying your hair with a mix of glycerine and water.
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Thanks Erin!
I’m already a Carol’s Daughter and Miss Jessie’s devotee, but Oyin is a new one. I’ll check it out!
For 24/7 beauty buzz, visit Erin’s dope blog, Scandalous Beauty. She has the best in product recommendations, hair how to’s, and even step-by-step makeup videos!! It’s the bomb!
Smootches!
PS Check out this video featuring Erin’s different hair styles! Fittingly, the background music is by Solange. Dope!
July 28, 2009 7:27 am
your hair is absolutely gorgeous!!!! i love carol’s daughter (just discovered the awesomeness of her loc butter for my twists) and oyin’s too, although i’m a little unsure about miss jessie as their products contain petroleum which isn’t always great for our hair.
for deep conditioning, neutrogena’s triple moisture deep recovery mask is also amazing.
July 28, 2009 9:31 am
Her twists are adoreable! I went au naturale 5 years ago, but pretty much just flat ironed my hair until the perm grew out. I have tried Carols Daughter products, but the loc butter was a bit too heavy and greasy for me, I don’t do greasy hair. Also like Puff, I don’t use anything with petroleum or mineral oil in it, so I’ve never tried Miss Jessie’s. I do like and use Jane Carter Solution’s products a lot though. It’s light and smells wonderful, non greasy or sticky, but it can be a little pricey ($15-$22).
shesgottahaveitstyle.blogspot.com
July 28, 2009 10:13 am
I’ve been transitioning for nine months now after having permed my hair for 3 years. Although I loved the way my hair looked and felt when it was permed, I reallly realllllllly love my natural hair (minus the very bad hair days). However, since I’ve moved to France from Canada, I’ve been struggling to find great products for natural hair. Des pistes?
July 28, 2009 10:37 am
I have played with idea of growing out my relaxer for a year or so now and after receiving a touch-up 2 weeks ago I’m starting to think this was my last. Prior to getting my touch-up I had 4 months of grow out, and now that it is permed it is way tooo straight so while my hair grows out I am going to be doing a lot of experimentation.
I have really thick hair I can’t wait to see how my transition goes.
July 28, 2009 12:00 pm
It’s so hard to find products good for natural or relaxed hair. I had natural hair for a long time, but I prefer relaxed. Anyways, great article!
July 28, 2009 2:43 pm
How appropriate that this would be posted today. I’m going to get my relaxed hair cut this evening and can’t wait to rock my natural hair again. I did the BC about 7 years ago and rocked a ‘fro for about 2 years after. I relaxed my hair because of some self-esteem issues I was having but now that I’m back to me, I’m ready to go back to who I really am. Thanks for the product suggestions!
July 28, 2009 3:17 pm
I’ve been natural for two years. Hurray fashion bomb for yet again being a “cut” above the rest. Thanks for the tips.