Have you decided to grow out your relaxer/heat damage but don’t quite know what to do? Stay posted for some tips that I learnt back when I first stopped relaxing my hair.

 

1- Cutting

There are two ways to go natural, transitioning or doing the big chop. Transitioning is where you stop relaxing your hair and allow your natural hair to grow through, gradually trimming the ends of your hair until you have trimmed off all of your relaxed/heat damaged ends. This method gives you time to learn about your natural hair type before going fully natural and is ideal if you’re not keen on having very short hair. However, transitioning means dealing with two different hair textures (afro/curly roots and straight ends) so you’ll have to experiment with braid outs, twist outs, flexi rods etc to blend the two textures.

 

The other option, big chopping, is where you cut off all of your relaxed/heat damaged hair at once. This method is ideal if you want to be natural NOW and don’t want the stress of dealing with two different textures. Again, the downsides to big chopping are learning to care for a different hair texture on the spot, finding healthy styles for short hair and waiting for your hair to grow longer. Both methods eventually leave you with a full head of natural hair.

 

2- Moisturising

When I first went natural I didn’t really know what I was doing and just simply stopped relaxing my hair. While this seems simple, and I did grow natural hair, my hair was dry and breaking from where I didn’t know how to correctly moisturise my hair. When I learnt how to correctly moisturise my hair my journey became so much easier.

 

Invest in a good leave in conditioner to moisturise, natural oils such as Organic Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Castor Oil etc to seal in the moisture and a thick cream if you have coarse hair that soaks up product to lock everything into your hair strand. Use the L.O.C method (liquid/leave in conditioner followed by Oil followed by a Cream) to moisturise and seal your hair and use a moisturising deep conditioner every wash day.

 

Reduce your use of shampoos containing sulfates to once a month when you need a good deep clean, and on other wash days co wash (wash your hair using conditioner) to avoid drying out your hair from the harsh chemicals in shampoos. I like to use Aunt Jackies In Control to co wash, however I have read good things about The As I Am Coconut Co Wash and Eden Bodyworks Coconut Shea Cleansing Cowash  .

 

3- Strength

When dealing with two different hair textures on one strand your hair is weakened and vulnerable to breakage on the line of demarcation (The point between your natural hair and relaxed hair/damaged hair). To keep breakage at bay, use a protein treatment every 4-6 weeks to help strengthen your hair. Always use a moisturising deep conditioner after a protein treatment to restore moisture as protein can make your hair hard.

 

Protein treatments can also be extremely beneficial for damaged and chemically processed hair as these processes damage the protein bonds within the hair shaft. If your heat damage isn’t that bad, you may be able to reverse it with a strong protein treatment such as aphogee.

 

When styling/detangling, moisturse your hair first to avoid friction between hair strands which can lead to brakage and use a wide tooth comb or your fingers starting at the ends of your hair and working your way to your roots to work through knots. This will reduce the stress put on your hair from styling tools preventing further damage. If you have thick hair like me, I find that parting my hair into 4 and working in sections helps.

 

4- Styling

When dealing with two different hair textures, you’ll need to learn how to blend them together until you are completely natural. Even when you are completely natural these styles are ideal for creating different looks.

 

Braid outs/twist outs can be done on wet or dry hair after it has been moisturised. Cornrow, twist or plait your hair up in singles (after moisturising with the L.O.C Method) and then when your hair is dry, cover your fingers in a natural oil and carefully take down the braids/twists leaving you with with wavy / curly hair. The smaller the braids/twists the tighter the waves and the bigger the braids/twists the fluffier and looser the waves. I tend to moisturise and do my braids/twists at night and then take them down in the morning.

 

Weaves, Wigs and Braids (protective styles) are ideal as they keep your hair out of the way and give it a rest. They can be used to encourage hair growth as your hair isn’t put under the stress of daily styling. Just make sure that your braids/cornrows aren’t too tight and pulling on your hair follicles as this can cause damage and balding. Also make sure to be looking after your hair and keep moisturising it underneath your weaves/braids by watering down your leave in conditioner and natural oils in a spray bottle and getting between your tracks/plaits.

 

To preserve your braid/twist outs, at night put your hair up into a loose ponytail onto of your head (like a pineapple) and tie a satin/silk headscarf around your head, or sleep on a satin/silk pillow to avoid friction between your hair and cotton which can cause frizz and breakage. In the morning, let your hair down, lightly sprits with your spray bottle, and apply some natural oil to seal in the moisture.

 

Avoid heat tools such as hair dryers and straighteners as these dry out your scalp, hair and can cause heat damage. If you are going to use heat tools, start by using a sulfate shampoo to strip your hair of any product, deep condition, and apply heat protectant evenly. Don’t pass over the same section of hair with hair straighteners more than twice.