Help Advice Needed! Many Questions Needed Answered.

[cmw9603]

HI, I am CMW9603. I am new to nappturality and I am transitioning to my natural hair. I want to do this and I don't have the support from my husband to do this so I am going at it alone. I have not had a perm in 5 months. For the first two months, I kept it in a ponytail and got tired of that so I recently got micro braids. My hair is very long comes to mid of my back and I have always had long hair, so I know I won't be doing a bc at all. I plan on trying to transition for two years until I can get a good length and then chop off the permed hair. My question is my hair is very dry and I have it in braids and I plan on keeping it in braids or twist throughout my transition. What can I used to keep my hair moisturiized? Also, should I be doing some type of maintenance while they are in the braids to keep my hair healthy, conditioned and moisturized? Are micro braids and/or kinky twist bad on your hair period, even through the transitioning?

Also, my hair does not seem to be growing fast to me at all. I thought by five months I would have a good length of new growth but I don't. How long will it take honestly for my natural hair to grow the length of my permed hair? Sorry for the long note and introduction. I just have a lot of questons that I need answered and I have no one to talk to until now. Thanks in advance for all advice and suggestions.

cmw9603

[Lockolatte]

Hello CMW! Welcome to Np! I did a search on caring for extensions and came up with a lot of info for you. I hope some of it helps you.
http://www.nappturality.com/forum/index.ph...+for+extensions

[dtownjbrown]

I am far from being an "expert" on natural haircare, but I learn something about my hair everyday. To answer your second question...YES, YES, YES you should be doing some type of maintenance while in braids. I transitioned for a little more than a year and a half with kinky twists and box braids and my hair grew like crazy but I failed to keep in it moisturized so I didnt retain any of that length.

Which brings me to your first question (what to use to keep hair moisturized). This should be done daily, even with braids, but as far as what you should use you'll have to experiment to see what your hair "likes". There are a couple of threads on something called The Crown & Glory Method that might give you a wealth of suggestions so you should probably do a search on that. However, you might want to give braid or curl activator sprays a try. Apparently, these products contain glycerin which draws moisture from the atmosphere into the hair. Also, you should visit the homemade products forum, there are some "natural" ingredients that draw in atmospheric moisture too. I think honey is one of the main ones you can use to make your own water-based spray that you can use daily.

As for as how long it takes to grow your natural hair long....I think it depends on the general health of your hair. Ive been taking better care of my hair and it grew a whole inch in one month (which is double the "average" rate of growth). There is a thread in the Transitioners Discussion forum titled "so you say your hair wont grow" that gives a recipe for an herbal infused oil that promotes hair growth. I just started it using last night so I dont know how my hair will respond to it, but do a search on it and read the posts (its a long one, with three parts). Some people have reported growing as much as 2-3 inches in one month and thats a big WOW!!!

Another suggestion I'll make would be to visit a couple of Fotki albums (most people have links to their albums in their signature). I cant tell you how many times Ive thought about "giving up" only to view someone's fotki and see BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY, NATURAL, hair....that usually gives my the inspiration to keep on keeping on.

Good Luck, I know you can do it........and welcome :-)

[three_mom]

First, welcome to the site.

In response to your question about micro braids or kinky twists, I cannot help because I have never worn any type of hair extensions p.ermed or natural.
As far as hair growth, from what I have read, hair only grows about a six inches per year which is 1/2 an inch per month. There are many reputable places where you can find good information on human hair growth. This site may be of some help. http://dermatology.about.com/cs/hairanatom...hairbiology.htm
Some other sites you may wish to visit to help with researching moisturizing hair conditioners for black hair:

http://www.naturallyyoumagazine.com/
http://www.urbanbella.net/shop/curlycond101.html

And there are many more sites that you can find out there if you google 'kinky haircare' or 'natural haircare'.

Also as you are transitioning don't forget to stop by and browse the transitioners discusstion forum on this site.
http://www.nappturality.com/forum/index.php?showforum=4

Good luck and I hope some of this information will be of use to you.

[ajulover]

#1. Welcome to Nappturality.com! You could not have found a better place to ask questions, get answers, and connect with strong, beautiful, intelligent napptural women!
#2. Congratulations on deciding to go natural! It's one of the best and healthiest decisions a person could make.
#3. I can't answer all of your questions because I did not transition very long. I grew out my hair for a couple months and then chopped it all off. I was comfortable with that because my hair was damaged and I wanted to start fresh. So I'm sure that members who had long transitions will step in and give advice.

I don't know what types of moisturizers work for hair while in braids, but a few things I learned on this site is to make sure that your hair stays clean and moisturized. Don't keep the braids in longer than 2 months at a time; take your hair out, wash it, deep condition it, moisturizer, let it breathe for a day or two. When I had micros for the 1st 2 yrs. of college, it was torture on my edges, especially around the temples and nape. The only damage the braids can do is erase your hairline if it's too tight. So make sure not to have the braids too tight around your edges.

Everyone's hair grows at different rates, averaging 1/4in - 1/2in of growth per month. I've heard of women who may even go a couple months without any growth and then experience a spurt. It was around month 5 that I felt like my hair stopped growing, but it was just my shrinkage deceiving me. If you keep your hair clean and healthy, it will grow. If your re.laxed hair is at the middle of your back now, I'm guessing - based on some of the other members here - that it will take maybe 1.5-2yrs. for your natural hair to get there??? :dunno: Again, I'm not the expert. But don't be closed to the idea of getting to know your natural hair as it grows to that length. I hear from other members that it's a pretty fun ride. That's the only reason I decided to just BC instead of transition; I wanted to learn how to care for my hair as it grows and I'm looking forward to learning new ways to care for my hair at different lengths.

I'm a newbie, but I've been studying and researching relentlessly on natural hair care for the past 9 months. There's a difference, however, between growing natural healthy hair in theory, and doing so in practice. So, once again, I'm sure more veterans with experience will chime in with their advice as well. You may also learn some things in the Transitioners forum under Napptural Hair Discussion. Just try not to get discouraged and try to be patient with your hair and your journey. Again, welcome and congrads!! :clap:

[LadyRay]

Alright. I'll keep this short and sweet. I don't want to overwhelm you with multiple sites.

This link below talks about the hair extensions regimen. It has the link on how to add braid extensions on that page, also it tells you how long you should keep it in, what type of hair to use, and how to wash the extensions and take them out.

Braid regimen


This link is about transitioning with extensions:
Transitioning with extensions