Transitioning 101 by IntelligentBeauty (Part 4)

HAIRSTYLING TECHNIQUES

YAYYY, finally the fun part!!!
This part is all about starting to do naturally curly styles. Never mind the flat irons and blow-dryers to try to blend the curly hair to the straight hair. Think opposite of this and try to blend the straight hair with curly hair. Make the straight hair curly. There are plenty of creative, protective styles for you to try to blend the 2 textures. You want low manipulation and protective styles to minimize breakage. Surf you tube, hit all the natural hair blogs, books and magazines. Check out transitioning and natural curlies journals on fotki (www.fotki.com/intelligentbeauty is mine;-).

Some of my favs were:
DOUBLE STRAND FLAT TWISTS
TWIST OUTS
ROLLER SETS
BUNNING
BRAIDS (no extensions)
BRAID OUTS
FRENCH ROLLS
BANTU KNOTS
BANTU KNOT OUTS………and there is so much more!!!!!

When styling, remember that certain gels are drying and should be avoided, use butters instead (shea or mango butter). Do not brush you hair. This will cause the hair to break at the line of demarcation. Try to use only your fingers or a wide toothed comb if you must and then a smaller comb of smaller sections. If you must brush your edges, use an old tooth brush, some butter and water, and a light hand. The use a scarf to hold the edges down in place for about 10-20 mins. Then you can have nice smooth edges.

Well this concludes my transition tricks and tips.
My final words to you are congratulations on your choice to go natural. Stay encouraged through your journey. Remember why you are doing this in the first place. There have been plenty of women before you that have been successful and you will be too!!! There is a lot of info out there on the web compared to years ago. Don't be afraid to ask questions on the blogs. Big chop only when YOU are ready!! Join a community of curlies on the forums and get support from them. Be patient with yourself and your hair. Be consistent with your regimen and products that work. Concentrate on your new head of curls, and not your neighbor's. Let your uniqueness and beauty shine through, like only you can do.

HAVE A TERRIFIC JOURNEY, DOLLS!!!!

Transitioning 101 by IntelligentBeauty (Part 3)

REGIMEN/ROUTINES

Toward the end of my transition journey, I had develop a way for me to stay organized on what I was doing and with my hair every week, from products I will use to styles I wanted to try. On a regular laid out calendar, I wrote down exactly when I would do my hair and with what products. It was a simple, clear approach to finding and maintaining a good regimen. Regimens can be very simple or quite complex with treatments and different types of rinses. However, for the sake of simplicity, I will write about a regimen that will, over time and with consistency, improve and maintain the health of your hair.

STEP 1---PRE POO- I don't think people would ordinarily recommend this in a simple routine. But I think it is an easy and fabulous way to boost moisture and softness to the hair. Prepooing simply means adding a natural oil of your choice to your entire hair from root to tip and leaving it on overnight or for several hours before rinsing out. Once I started this during my transition phase, my detangling sessions were cut shorter and that was definitely a plus!!!! You can use a little shampoo to rinse out or cowash with conditioner. (I like to cowash out). It is best to do some detangling with your finger hair as you smooth the oil into your hair.

STEP 2---COWASH- Wet the hair thoroughly, pour a dime size amount of conditioner (CO) in your hand and use the pads of your fingertips, apply to one spot of your scalp and massage well, just as you would with shampoo. Repeat until you have scrubbed all over. Rinse ALL the CO out with plenty of water, still gently massaging with the fingertips so the friction will dissolve any residue. Next, pour more CO (use another richer CO) in your hand, rub palms together and apply over the full length of the hair. Leave on for a little while and continue your shower. Then, detangle with fingers or a VERY wide toothed comb in sections, using clips to help separate the sections you have done. Finally, set the water to a cool temp comfortable to you and rinse your hair out and gently squeeze out excess water.

STEP 3--DRYING--Dry hair with a t-shirt or curly cloth. Also micro fiber cloths are good too. DO NOT USE A TOWEL, as using one will use cause frizz to occur.

STEP 4--LEAVE IN CONDITIONER--This is an important step as well. Leave in conditioners are lighter weight conditioners and adds moisture to the hair making it easier to manipulate into the style of your choosing.

STEP 5--OILS--This should be used on top of your leave in conditioner to add shine and reduce any frizz, once styling is complete. Again, these should be natural oils.

Here is another important tip; heavy-handedness with product is usually a problem when first starting out. It is important to curb that tendency to use a lot of a product to see results. The only step where heavy handedness is welcomed is in the prepoo step, to apply the oil to the entire head. Other than that, using more product than normal will cause more harm than good to your end result hairstyle. Also being rough with your hair in the wash and detangle phase can cause unwanted breakage and holes in the hair strand. So be gentle, take your time, and remember the line of demarcation is very delicate.

Transitioning 101 by IntelligentBeauty (Part 2)

PRODUCTS

When talking about products to use during the transition it is important to note that what you used for your relaxed hair, very often, will not work as you transition into naturally curly hair. The reason is there are many ingredients in relaxed hair products that do not agree with our natural curly hair. Many of those products are loaded with synthetic ingredients that give smoothness, shine and make the hair

look moisturized. But they also tend to block out moisture, build up on hair strands, and disguise the healthy of the hair. Naturally curly hair thrives on moisture, but water is not enough. There needs to be quality natural ingredients in the products you purchase. Avoid products with mineral oil or petrolatum oil (petroleum) in them because these are synthetic oils that coat and suffocate the hair shaft, blocking moisture and drying out the hair. If applied directly to the scalp, these ingredients can actually retard growth.

Silicones are also another synthetic ingredient to avoid, especially in transition. Silicone ingredients are usually used to give smoothness to the hair. However silicones also tend to disguise the health of the hair, making the hair appear healthy, shiny, and moisturized therefore creating a dependency on them. Ingredients like these tend to cause build up on the hair as well, therefore causing you to use sulfate shampoos. Sulfate containing shampoos are not a good option to clean hair because it is a harsh chemical that tends to strip the hair of all moisture as it cleans. Also with prolonged use can ultimately make the hair dry, frizzy and cause breakage. The concept here is if you use harmful synthetic ingredients in your conditioning products weekly, or even daily, on you hair, then you must use the harmful sulfate containing shampoos to remove the build up. However, if you use natural conditioners (oils, butters, creams, milks) on your hair, then you can use other harmless methods to clean your hair, such as baking soda, acv rinses, and cowashing.

Cowashing is using conditioners as another method of cleaning the hair; I will talk about this further later. Conditioners do have mild surfactants (soap) that, along with the rubbing action of your hands on the scalp, can clean the scalp and hair very well. It can be done as often as you like and it boosts your hair's moisture level. Moisture is so important because when you hair is moisturized, it will not frizzy, dry, and becomes extremely soft, great sheen, and is manageable. Also you would not have to be dependent on bad ingredient products to give you these results. Side note: healthy natural hair has sheen, not so much a shine. However the shine can be accomplished by adding natural oils like jojoba oil, extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, sweet almond oil, etc.

So how should we be using these natural quality products? What should our regimen be?

IntelligentBeauty will address those questions in Part 3 of Transitioning 101

Transitioning 101 by IntelligentBeauty

As a newly natural (last relaxer March 17th, 2009), having transitioned for 1 yr prior to my BC. I have experienced the trials and triumphs of transitioning. I was asked to share with you some of my tips and tricks on surviving through the transitioning phase to help ease your journey to embracing and unlocking the beautiful curls hidden under the "creamy crack (aka perms/relaxers/texturizers)." Through a dear friend, that was also natural, as my only support in the beginning and my determination to become a naturalista, I began to explore this new subject matter of natural curly hair. It is really important to think about the reasons you want to go natural. These same reasons will help you in the difficult times when you may want to reach for that box of relaxer.

There are 2 ways to become completely natural. Big Chop (BC) right away at the length of your naturally curly hair or transition and gradually cut the relaxed ends off.>My decision, to transition instead of BC right away, came from taking a simple 4 question transitional quiz that helped me take a realistic approach of how to start my journey as a nautralista.

Here is the link:

http://www.nappturality.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=64&Itemid=67

There is short term and long term transitioning. The success of long term transitioning (greater than 3 months) depends on how resilient your hair strands are. It is possible to minimize damage with the use of correct products and techniques.

In my opinion, I find the transitioning phase to be the most difficult phase in the natural journey, because it's the beginning. During this phase, you are experimenting with 2 different textures of your hair, with products, treatments, and hairstyle techniques to see what works for you. Trying to get to know your hair, it's likes and dislikes, as well as trying to make both textures blend well. However, you are also experiencing a myriad of emotions, fear to frustration, excitement to elation. You may struggle with long held beliefs about your hair and beauty. You may even have family, friends, and coworkers chiming in positively or negatively about YOUR decision. As your hair begins to grow and change, your way of thinking will (and must) change as well. The transitioning phase is more a transitioning of the way you think and view your own beauty than a manipulation of the hair, as we will soon explore. There will be a point during your transition that you feel a sense a freedom, things will make sense and follow easier for you, that came during my 4th or 5th month. Then during my 8th and 9th month, I would start staring at the scissors to cut those relaxed ends off...….lol. But it is very important to BC when you are ready. And I really wasn't mentally ready so I continued for a few more months.

Also let me point out that there are several ways to transition. I transitioned without heat (air dried), salon help or added hair. However, one can transition with braids, wigs, weaves, or with salon help. It is just important to keep in mind to treat your new growth well and keep it healthy whatever method you use.

Six Weeks Post Relaxer

Before we dive in this business of transitioning in more detail. I would like to share with you some very helpful tips.

--First, please erase everything from your mind that you have ever learned about treating chemically processed hair. Caring for naturally curly hair is a totally different approach, as you will soon see. Everything from the way you use a comb and brush, shampooing, styling, and products must be erased.

--Second, get hold of a good camera and a journey notebook (or join fotki). This is important in keeping clear and accurate accounts of the products, hairstyles, techniques and treatments that work and doesn't work for your hair. The camera is for you to see your progress and growth over time. Hopefully, you will only go through this once in your life. So keeping a pictorial journal is a treasure. (www.fotki.com/intelligentbeauty is where you will find my pictorial journey)

--Third, you must NOT judge your natural hair as it begins to grow. Resist the urge to classify it into a curl category, or type it as a specific curl pattern or texture. Naturally curly hair is unique and varies from person to person. You will not be able to get a true typing on your hair until you cut it off, because sometimes it can look totally different once the relaxed ends are off. So just leave it alone and let it grow!!! Concentrate on hair health and hair response to what you are doing to it. The hair that is growing out of your scalp is what God gave you. So concentrate on your hair, and not your neighbors!!

--Lastly, HAVE PATIENCE AND BE CONSISTENT. If you are able to endure this transition process, you will be so happy to have a full healthy head of curls. So you read in the link above, all hair grows so we must be patient with this transition process. The consistency in regimens (like deep conditioning (DC) weekly) and sticking with products that work are important as well. Product junkism(Pjism), hopping from product to product line looking for a miracle product, is wasteful and can potentially cause more harm than good.

Ok, so let's begin with natural hair 101. The basic knowledge of hair, then more specifically curly hair. This is where I began in my journey to get a clear understanding of the cycle that ALL types of hair goes through.

Here is the link: http://www.pgbeautygroomingscience.com/the-hair-growth-cycle.html/

Now, more specifically curly hair during transitioning. As your hair grows out you may see a clear difference (depending on how loose your natural curl pattern is) between your natural hair and your relaxed hair. This is called the LINE OF DEMARCATION. This is important because this is the weakest part of the hair strand and will break easily if not handled carefully. You must handle your hair like silk.

The use of heat in transitioning should be to cut to a minimum if a must. Heat could potentially damage new growth. And this damage, like a relaxer, is permanent. You would have to cut it off again. So be very careful with your blow dryers and fat irons. At this point you should be focusing more on curly styles: roller sets, 2 strand twist and twist outs, etc. We will get into those later.

Next time, we will discuss products/ingredients, regimens and styling techniques

Q&A: Transitioning

I get a lot of transitioning questions and I am not afraid to admit that I am clueless. So I have requested the assistance from the person I have learned the most from when it comes to transitioning. Stay tuned for what she has to say!

My Christmas Gift

For some of friends that have gone natural the one thing that has been constant is "I don't know what to do with my hair." Well, I never transitioned so I was almost clueless on suggestions and not always available when someone needed help. In an attempt to make this process a little easier for them, I created hair journals. I only provided very basic information, no product referrals, and no "you must do this" instructions. Instead, I created a space and provide background information that allows them to track their process and determine with products they want to try.

It's about 20 pages long and provides tables and charts to serve as guides throughout the journey. Compiling this information took a lot of research but it's the most meaningful gift that I have ever given...so it was worth it.

199 Natural hairstyles!!! (seriously)

I came across this link posted on another site: http://www.nappturality.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t118056.html viahttp://indulgenceiskey.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-do-i-need-to-do-with-my-hair.html
My jaw dropped!! Looks like I just might try them all and cross them off as I go :) Happy Stylin!

1. Bantu knots
2. Bantu knots in the front with a twist out in the back
3. Bantu knots in the front with a braid out in the back
4. Bantu knots in the front with bantu knot out in the back
5. Bantu knots in the front with braid outs in the back
6. Bantu knots in the front with braids in the back
7. Bantu knots in the front with braids pin curled in the back
8. Bantu knots in the front with braids set on curlers in the back
9. Bantu knots in the front with braids set on rods in the back
10. Bantu knots in the front with braids set on straws in the back
11. Bantu knots in the front with cornrow outs in the back
12. Bantu knots in the front with cornrows in the back
13. Bantu knots in the front with flat twists in the back
14. Bantu knots in the front with pin curl outs in the back
15. Bantu knots in the front with pin curls in the back
16. Bantu knots in the front with pin curls in the back
17. Bantu knots in the front with rod set in the back
18. Bantu knots in the front with rod set in the back
19. Bantu knots in the front with straw curls in the back
20. Bantu knots in the front with straw set in the back
21. Bantu knots in the front with twist outs in the back
22. Bantu knots in the front with twists in the back
23. Bantu knots in the front with twists pin curled in the back
24. Bantu knots in the front with twists set on curlers in the back
25. Bantu knots in the front with twists set on rods in the back
26. Bantu knots in the front with twists set on straws in the back
27. Bantu knots in the front with wet curler set in the back
28. Bantu knots in the front with wet set in the back
29. Bantu knots out
30. Bantu knots out with scarf around the hairline
31. Bantu knots with scarf around the hairline
32. Braid outs
33. Braid outs with scarf around the hairline
34. Braids
35. Braids pin curled
36. Braids pin curled with scarf around the hairline
37. Braids set on curlers
38. Braids set on curlers with scarf around the hairline
39. Braids set on rods
40. Braids set on rods with scarf around the hairline
41. Braids set on straws
42. Braids set on straws with scarf around the hairline
43. Braids with scarf around the hairline
44. Cornrow edges up with bantu knots in the middle
45. Cornrow edges up with bantu knots in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
46. Cornrow edges up with bantu knots out in the middle
47. Cornrow edges up with bantu knots out in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
48. Cornrow edges up with braid outs in the middle
49. Cornrow edges up with braid outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
50. Cornrow edges up with braids pin curled in the middle
51. Cornrow edges up with braids pin curled in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
52. Cornrow edges up with braids set on curlers in the middle
53. Cornrow edges up with braids set on curlers in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
54. Cornrow edges up with braids set on rods in the middle
55. Cornrow edges up with braids set on rods in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
56. Cornrow edges up with Braids set on straws in the middle
57. Cornrow edges up with Braids set on straws in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
58. Cornrow edges up with curled braids in the middle
59. Cornrow edges up with curled braids in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
60. Cornrow edges up with pin curl outs in the middle
61. Cornrow edges up with pin curl outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
62. Cornrow edges up with pin curls in the middle
63. Cornrow edges up with pin curls in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
64. Cornrow edges up with rod set in the middle
65. Cornrow edges up with rod set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
66. Cornrow edges up with straw set in the middle
67. Cornrow edges up with straw set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
68. Cornrow edges up with twist outs in the middle
69. Cornrow edges up with twist outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
70. Cornrow edges up with twists in the middle
71. Cornrow edges up with twists in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
72. Cornrow edges up with twists pin curled in the middle
73. Cornrow edges up with twists pin curled in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
74. Cornrow edges up with twists set on curlers in the middle
75. Cornrow edges up with twists set on curlers in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
76. Cornrow edges up with twists set on rods in the middle
77. Cornrow edges up with twists set on rods in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
78. Cornrow edges up with twists set on straws in the middle
79. Cornrow edges up with twists set on straws in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
80. Cornrow edges up with wet curler set in the middle
81. Cornrow edges up with wet curler set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
82. Cornrow outs
83. Cornrow outs with scarf around the hairline
84. Cornrow ponytail
85. Cornrows
86. Cornrows in the front with bantu knots in the back
87. Cornrows in the front with bantu knots out in the back
88. Cornrows in the front with braid out the back
89. Cornrows in the front with braid outs in the back
90. Cornrows in the front with braids in the back
91. Cornrows in the front with braids pin curled in the back
92. Cornrows in the front with braids set on curlers in the back
93. Cornrows in the front with braids set on rods in the back
94. Cornrows in the front with Braids set on straws in the back
95. Cornrows in the front with cornrow outs in the back
96. Cornrows in the front with curled braids in the back
97. Cornrows in the front with pin curl outs in the back
98. Cornrows in the front with pin curls in the back
99. Cornrows in the front with rod set in the back
100. Cornrows in the front with straw set in the back
101. Cornrows in the front with twist outs in the back
102. Cornrows in the front with twists in the back
103. Cornrows in the front with twists pin curled in the back
104. Cornrows in the front with twists set on curlers in the back
105. Cornrows in the front with twists set on rods in the back
106. Cornrows in the front with twists set on straws in the back
107. Cornrows in the front with wet curler set in the back
108. Flat twist edges up with bantu knots in the middle
109. Flat twist edges up with bantu knots in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
110. Flat twist edges up with bantu knots out in the middle
111. Flat twist edges up with bantu knots out in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
112. Flat twist edges up with braid outs in the middle
113. Flat twist edges up with braid outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
114. Flat twist edges up with braids pin curled in the middle
115. Flat twist edges up with braids pin curled in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
116. Flat twist edges up with braids set on curlers in the middle
117. Flat twist edges up with braids set on curlers in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
118. Flat twist edges up with braids set on rods in the middle
119. Flat twist edges up with braids set on rods in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
120. Flat twist edges up with Braids set on straws in the middle
121. Flat twist edges up with Braids set on straws in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
122. Flat twist edges up with curled braids in the middle
123. Flat twist edges up with curled braids in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
124. Flat twist edges up with pin curl outs in the middle
125. Flat twist edges up with pin curl outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
126. Flat twist edges up with pin curls in the middle
127. Flat twist edges up with pin curls in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
128. Flat twist edges up with rod set in the middle
129. Flat twist edges up with rod set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
130. Flat twist edges up with straw set in the middle
131. Flat twist edges up with straw set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
132. Flat twist edges up with twist outs in the middle
133. Flat twist edges up with twist outs in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
134. Flat twist edges up with twists in the middle
135. Flat twist edges up with twists in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
136. Flat twist edges up with twists pin curled in the middle
137. Flat twist edges up with twists pin curled in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
138. Flat twist edges up with twists set on curlers in the middle
139. Flat twist edges up with twists set on curlers in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
140. Flat twist edges up with twists set on rods in the middle
141. Flat twist edges up with twists set on rods in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
142. Flat twist edges up with twists set on straws in the middle
143. Flat twist edges up with twists set on straws in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
144. Flat twist edges up with wet curler set in the middle
145. Flat twist edges up with wet curler set in the middle and a pretty scarf where they meet
146. Flat twist ponytail
147. Flat twists
148. Flat twists in the front with bantu knots in the back
149. Flat twists in the front with bantu knots out in the back
150. Flat twists in the front with braid outs in the back
151. Flat twists in the front with braids in the back
152. Flat twists in the front with braids pin curled in the back
153. Flat twists in the front with braids set on curlers in the back
154. Flat twists in the front with braids set on rods in the back
155. Flat twists in the front with Braids set on straws in the back
156. Flat twists in the front with cornrow outs in the back
157. Flat twists in the front with cornrows in the back
158. Flat twists in the front with pin curl outs in the back
159. Flat twists in the front with pin curls in the back
160. Flat twists in the front with rod set in the back
161. Flat twists in the front with straw set in the back
162. Flat twists in the front with twist outs in the back
163. Flat twists in the front with twists in the back
164. Flat twists in the front with twists pin curled in the back
165. Flat twists in the front with twists set on curlers in the back
166. Flat twists in the front with twists set on rods in the back
167. Flat twists in the front with twists set on straws in the back
168. Flat twists in the front with wet curler set in the back
169. Flat twists with scarf around the hairline
170. French braid outs
171. French braids
172. Pin curl outs
173. Pin curl outs with scarf around the hairline
174. Pin curls
175. Pin curls with scarf around the hairline
176. Ponytail
177. Rod set
178. Rod set with scarf around the hairline
179. Single French braid straight back
180. Straw set
181. Straw set with scarf around the hairline
182. Twist outs
183. Twist outs with scarf around the hairline
184. Twists
185. Twists pin curled
186. Twists pin curled with scarf around the hairline
187. Twists set on curlers
188. Twists set on curlers with scarf around the hairline
189. Twists set on rods
190. Twists set on rods with scarf around the hairline
191. Twists set on straws
192. Twists set on straws with scarf around the hairline
193. Twists with curls
194. Twists with scarf around the hairline
195. Two French braids on either side
196. Wet curler set
197. Wet curler set with scarf around the hairline
198. Wet set your whole head part it and clip back the part with pretty hair clips
199. Wet set your whole head pull it back with a pretty scarf

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(¸.•´ (¸.• tia¸.•*´¨)

Question and Answer: Stuck in a rut

Question: ...OK, so I have been relaxer free for 1 1/2 years. I have not been able to find a product that doesn't dry my hair or may it hard and flake. I have tried a few things on my hair. A few of my friends have told me get Ms.Jessie products. I usually try a leave in conditioner and sheen. I just a few good products to test to see which is best for me. My hair has is naturally curly (cause I have Indian in my family lol.) I also need styling tips I try the twist and let them loose but during the summer this last about 1/2 maybe 1 day at the most. I need something that will hold my curl and not dry my hair out.Please help a sista out...

Answer:

When you say "sheen", are you talking about "oil sheen." That stuff is not good for natural hair-it tends to just sit on top of the hair and our (really all hair) craves moisture. As for Miss Jessie's, I have not bought any of her products so I don't have an opinion about them. I am nervous about trying new things when they are pricey.

For dryness I would recommend applying a leave-in conditioner to your hair nightly and then "sealing" with a light oil. Olive oil, Hot Six Oil, and Sweet Almond Oil are all good to use. I hear coconut oil is good but I have not tried it yet, it's next on my list.

Personally I love Suave Conditioners, I co-wash with them and leave a little in even though they are not leave in conditioners. Do you wash with shampoo a lot? Stop. You really only need to shampoo 1-2 a month or when you KNOW that your hair is dirty. Use conditioner in between the shampoos, that should help with a lot of the drying

To help with making a twist out last longer...I love using this recipe that I found on MotownGirl

Frizz Controller

Ingredients

1/2 cup conditioner

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon almond oil

The instructions say to wash it out but I prefer to use it like a gel and apply a little bit lightly when I twist each section of hair.

For styles, you have to visit FOTKI! The natural ladies on the photo site have endless styles you can choose from. Here are a few that I am addicted to:

Jenteel, PrettyDimples (she also has a YouTube channel with style tutorials), DeeCoily, KinkyCurlyQueen, Nigerian Queen

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¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.• tia¸.•*´¨)

Question and Answer: Transitioning a child's hair

This has got to be the hardest question I have ever gotten because 1-I don't have any children and all my God-babies are boys, 2-I was always natural as a child, and 3-I never had to transition.

Q: (after church) My daughter is 12 and she wants her hair all natural. She stopped getting relaxers but now her hair is really thin. What should I do?

A: (So, I was totally clueless and didn't want to look that way because I hate not knowing stuff. I told the lady I would bring her some information on Bible Study night...time to research). This is what I came up with:

Transitioning

Sources:

Long Healthy Hair Advisor

Curly Hair Salon

Treasured Locks