Its a Hair Revolution ll : The Process

The process of going from straight to natural can be grueling and is big deterrent for many women who consider growing out their relaxer. Even those with the strongest wills start to waiver at that eighth week mark when those roots start showing and getting the comb through the hair becomes a task. Learning about styling options for this in between phase is key to a successful transformation.
The most popular option seems to be braided extensions. Whether it be cornrows or micro braids, braiding the hair allows you to be hair-worry free for up to two month. The one thing to be mindful of when it comes to braiding is to be gentle on your hairlines. For some reason unbeknown to me some people feel that braids are done well only if the client walks away looking like they just received a face lift. The goal is a full healthy head if hair with the hairlines intact. Each time you remove the braids be sure to do a deep conditioning treatment and trim ends about every 2-3 months.
Another option is to get yourself a blow dryer with a comb attachment. This must be one of the best inventions ever, but which few people seem to know about. It became my best friend when I went natural almost three years ago. So here is what you do. Shampoo and deep condition the hair with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Any moisturizing shampoo and conditioner by Mizani or KeraCare does the trick. I also suggest that you add natural oils (Khoret Amen hair oil by Carol's Daughter) to your conditioner and after combing through with a wide tooth comb, cover hair with plastic cap for about 30 minutes. You should do this each time you shampoo your hair, which honestly doesn't need to be more that once every two weeks. A good deep conditioning keeps the hair moist and healthy and also gets the new growth soft and manageable making the blow out much easier. After washing out the conditioner apply a thermal protection/blow drying aid which is very important if you want to maintain the health of the hair. I use, and highly recommend, Silken Seal by KeraCare. All you need is about a nickle sized amount(depending on thickness of hair) in the palm of your hand and work into hair making sure to get the hairline. Clear through with a wide tooth comb and begin to blow dry. I like to begin at the front hairline combing everything forward as I blow dry. The key is to get the teeth of the comb attachment all the way down to the scalp in order to smooth out the new growth.Finish by curling/bumping with flatiron or curling iron. I promise you that as long as you do this correctly you will be amazed at the results.You will not be able to tell the difference between the relaxed and unprocessed portion of your hair and the breakage caused by the friction of the two different textures will be minimized. As with the first grow out option, be sure to keep the ends of the hair healthy be trimming every 2-3 months until you are ready to cut off the balance of the relaxed hair.
I hope these two options are of some help for those of you straddling the natural vs. relaxed fence. Feel free to send me a comment if you have more questions about products or techniques.