Frequently Asked Questions

**Perkisha** · 11-11-2007, 07:53 PM

hey bk2, and congrats on your decision, I transitioned for about 6 months before my big chop, and have been natural for 4 years and my suggestions are this since I have been through it ALL, and this is advice for all the ladies in general about transitioning and natural hair

These are kinda added on the original post, and is adapted from my PERSONAL experiences as a Napptural

1-MOST IMPORTANT, throw out ALL your products you used as a relaxed head, your natural hair you will find will need a different set of products to combat common things such as dryness, frizziness, etc. You will also find that you can now use "white people" products such as Suave, Pantene, etc with no problem if you want too and it will truly make your hair feel glorious at a lower cost

2-As a transitioner try to get a protective style for yourself that will protect all strands of your hair such as weaved braids, sengalese twists(which I did and was easier to take out as well), wigs, whatever. Your hair will be EXTREMELY sensitive and your relaxed hair will tend to want to break since it will be more fragile than your natural hair.
3-now is the time to stop daily combing, AGAIN NO DAILY COMBING,you are no longer relaxed! because not only will it hinder growth, but it can also cause breakage on your already sensitive hair. Adapt the process of finger combing your hair while wet or with conditioner since that is how most nappturals detangle our hair. Try to only comb your hair with a comb to refresh it possibly 1-2 times a month

4-Less product is definently more! Don't overdo it, All I have is shampoo, conditioner and a cream leave in conditioner and that's it!, enjoy the fact youll be saving money and looking good

5-You can now shampoo and condition your hair everyday if need be, even thuogh I think everyday shampooing is overdoing it cause I dont need that much hair clarification , but you can now do it more than you did as a chemical fire cream so also embrace that fact!
6-Finally to B2K-you may need to just switch your dandruff shampoo and focus on how your moisturize, and also switch the gel you use.also when I was transitioning I got huge flakes, I dont know if it's the result of maybe my old skin flaking off due to me no longer using relaxers, I don't know, but I do know that when I big-chopped and changed my mosturizing routine it helped to kinda combat that. I get dandruff still but no longer big flakes and if i do get dandruff its after me not washing it for weeks on end. I think the best way to combat dandruff, from my personal experimentation is to get a very good mosturizing shampoo, and a wonderful moisturizing conditioner. I use softsheen carson super protecting shampoo(which also detangles hair) and suave professionals humectant conditioner, and also my FAVE black and beautiful organic tea tree conditioner with vitamin e and keratin to strengthen the hair, I believe Tea Tree can naturally combat dandruff. Also use a gel designed for natural hair that doesnt produce flakes, i don't use gel much because my hair kinda stays in curls after twistouts and the gel kinda serves no purpose, but If i need gels for updos try lock and twist gel by organic root stimulator. You will find that leave in conditioner will do the trick just as good as Gels most times and leave your hair feeling better
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Sooooo helpful! Ive been keeping all my relaxed hair products around and realizing that they are full of petroleum, mineral oil and such...I know from reading this site but I cant bear to part with them. I think this post may have been the motivation to grab my trashbag and throw em out!

**allmine444** · 11-23-2007, 12:46 PM

You know one day i was reading one of the articles about staying away from certain chemicals ( like mineral oil for example) I was looking at some of the hair products in my house and i realized most of them have those products in it!!! Except for Root Stimulater Carrot Oil. Thats the only one. Even this moisturizer I was using has mineral oil in it. So what products should I use for every day moisterizer? Should i use olive oil?

**littlethings** · 12-13-2007, 05:45 AM

Thanks for the info... greatly appreciated it
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i've just started my transistion to natural hair, my last chemical fire cream was actually Oct. 1 2007. i want to keep it braided for at least a year so it can grow out right now i wearing cornrows is this safe.

**smithry2** · 12-20-2007, 04:38 PM

i've just started my transistion to natural hair, my last chemical fire cream was actually Oct. 1 2007. i want to keep it braided for at least a year so it can grow out right now i wearing cornrows is this safe.
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I transitioned once before for about 18months with a press-n-curl...bad idea. Went back to relaxers as a result. My last chemical fire cream was 7/29/07. I have been transitionong with cornrows since then & plan on transitioning for a year also (not gonna happen, too excited). From what i'm getting from my research there are definite benefits and a downside. The benefits include things like avoiding the two textures, acheiving your desied lenghth before your BC and they (cornrows) are protective styles. The downside is that you are less acquianted with your hair in its natural state after your BC and if the braids are too tight or in a repetative pattern, you risk getting alopecia.

**sharonguinn80** · 01-09-2008, 06:51 PM

hi Ladies please help me i am transitioning from perm to natural i have chopped my hair off .I dont know what shampooo to use or conditioner i really need a deep conditioner.I usually do the no shampoo i wash with conditioer but i need mosture my hair is dry and it itches dont know what brand to use .i live in a rural area and we dont get many products i have to drive 100 miles or more .I have a sil thats a beautician but she wont tell me how to take care of my natural growth she wont help me out with this problem and she wont do my hair i would love twists but i have to go out of town for this professionally she wants to use my products and she aint washing it or nothing she sadi she would only twists it and it would osts me from 50 -100 dollars i was like OMG so i am in a rut i love my natural hair that is coming in and i want to keep it.
we have a walmart and a walgreens but we are far from a big city to get the good stuff so i need a little ifo i anyone can help me Please. :unsure:

**adtheodore** · 02-06-2008, 05:23 PM

Hi everyone,

This is really hard, how do you keep the faith? I almost lost it today, watching everyone walking around with their straight hair. I am a student and the environments im in daily dont support natural hair, so everyday I have to explain myself. In May I'll be graduating for college and starting a new quest, I want my hair to be a part of that jourrney.

**adtheodore** · 02-08-2008, 11:34 AM

Hi everyone,

This is really hard, how do you keep the faith? I almost lost it today, watching everyone walking around with their straight hair. I am a student and the environments im in daily dont support natural hair, so everyday I have to explain myself. In May I'll be graduating from college and starting a new quest, I want my hair to be a part of that jourrney.
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**caramelaggie** · 02-12-2008, 06:30 AM

Personally I kept the faith by believing in me and what I was doing. When I stopped needing acceptance from other people and decided all I needed was mine my decision to go and stay natural was much easier. That and this community I think will help a lot. When I would find people would log on to np.com and find all the support that I needed. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know about you but this natural hair thing began as a hair journey for me but grew into so much more than hair. Stay strong and nap on!

**sassysharl** · 02-26-2008, 05:06 AM

Help

Hi all I have decided to go natural, I know I would probably go in the nappy group once all my chemical fire cream (2 months ago) has worn out. I am opting not to go for the BC is that bad? Also here is a link to pics of what my hair looks like now, I did this last night.

I need help cause I got rather little hair. I would love to wear my hair our but its hardly even curly, see my attempts at twisting. What do I do, I have twisted my hair, put on a stocking cap and put my wig over it. I co washed my hair, put some leave in conditioner I mixed with coconut and olive, it felt good but when it dried out it felt kinda hard? Also my hair is extremely dry what do I do? If anyone can help me, please I am so thirsty for help (pun intended)

Links to hair: http://public.fotki.com/Nappy-Sassy/my-nappy-ness/

**alyshanicole** · 03-23-2008, 10:09 PM

I would definitely try the following websites:

-IBeautyNY (http://www.ibeautyny.com)
-Sickbay.biz (sells most Dominican products-Suela Y Canela (Cinnamon & Sole) works great for managing new growth)
-Ebay.com (You can buy almost anything on EBay)
-Carol's Daughter (carolsdaughter.com)
-Curve Slon Products (http://www.curve-salon.com/products.htm) (they're pretty expensive- it all depends on how much money you plan on spending)

It all depends on what type of products you're looking for.

K
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Thank you so much for posting this. I am currently living in Okinawa Japan and have no idea where to turn.