Are you currently navigating the journey away from relaxers, or recovering from heat or color damage? If so, you’re likely familiar with the challenges that come with transitioning your hair. This phase is not just about change; it’s a process of rejuvenation and embracing your hair's natural beauty. Transitioning requires patience, dedication, and the right strategies to ensure your hair remains healthy and vibrant throughout.
In this blog, we’re here to support you with our top 5 strategies for achieving beautifully transitioning hair. From nurturing your hair with nourishing products and gentle care routines to embracing protective styles and maintaining consistent trims, each tip is crafted to empower your hair during this transformative period. Let's embark on this journey together, ensuring your hair not only survives but thrives through this exciting transition.
Strategies 1: Keep your hair moisturized
Ｍaintaining moisture is crucial throughout any hair care regimen. Consistently washing your hair helps replenish moisture, as water itself is a primary moisturizer. It's especially important for natural hair, which tends to be drier, to maintain moisture levels by using the LOC (Liquid, Oil, Cream) or LCO (Liquid, Cream, Oil) method to seal in hydration. Additionally, incorporating weekly scalp massages with your preferred oil not only conditions the scalp but also promotes hair growth by stimulating the hair follicles.
Strategies 2: Trim your ends regularly
In simpler terms, ensuring healthy, long hair requires regular trims. It's essential not just for maintaining length but also for the overall vitality of your hair. Trimming every 4-6 months helps maintain fuller-looking ends and prevents split ends from spreading. While it might be tough to part with some length you've worked hard to grow, leaving split ends untreated can cause damage to travel up the hair shaft and affect your new, healthy growth. Starting your hair journey with well-maintained ends sets a solid foundation for continued health and growth.
Strategies 3: Deep condition
Deep conditioning is essential during your wash day routine to replenish moisture lost during shampooing. You have the option to deep condition with or without indirect heat. Indirect heat aids in opening the hair cuticle, allowing the conditioner to deeply penetrate the hair shaft and provide nourishment. This process results in shinier, smoother, and stronger hair, enhancing overall hair health. For an added boost, consider mixing in a spoonful of your favorite oil with the conditioner to further enrich and nourish your hair.
Strategies 4: Protective styling
In simpler terms, protective styling can be a game changer during your transition journey. It allows your natural hair to grow and thrive without frequent manipulation. Personally, I often opt for box braids, but there's a wide variety of styles to choose from, including weaves, cornrows, buns, twist outs, and many others like faux locs or crochet braids. The beauty of protective styles lies in their ability to help you retain length and track your hair's growth progress.
Strategies 5: Limit the amount of heat you use
Minimizing direct heat can greatly benefit your hair's health during the transition process. Allowing your hair to air dry naturally helps reveal your new curl pattern as it grows. If you typically blow dry after every wash, consider reducing frequency to every other wash day initially, then gradually decrease further. It's also beneficial to eliminate the use of curling and straightening tools altogether. Over time, these changes will noticeably improve the condition of your hair, leading to healthier and more vibrant curls.
I know it's painful to go through TRANSITIONING from a relaxer, heat or colour damage and you're desperate to get your stunning hair back. But some things can't be rushed, so take advantage of the five strategies above and wait for time to ferment and you'll be able to nourish your beautiful hair.