I have helped a good bit of people start their transition and helped them on their journey. While doing this, i have noticed alot of the same mistakes that they all make. Learning how to take care of your hair is something new for most people so it takes time. But it just so happens that every single person i help makes these exact same mistakes.
- Overspending on products because they are trying to buy everything “all natural”
For some reason when people say “I’m going natural” they automatically associate it with this holistic way of living so they go out and find all natural products, which are usually the most expensive, to use on their hair. This is just not true. If you refer to my older post, “You Use White People Products?” you will see that i dont use all natural products myself. Whatever you use in your hair when your transitioning, you can use those same products when you cut the permed ends off. Dont be fooled into thinking that you have to use products from “Mother Earth” because of the word “natural”. Do research on products and look up product reviews to see what others are saying about a particular product. DONT assume.. please - Cutting your hair too soon because you think that your hair is way longer than what it really is.
I cant even began to count the times i have seen this and the times i have just shook my head. There is always ALWAYS this misconception that their hair is way longer that what it is not realizing that its natural AND permed hair their looking at. Before you chop, do yourself a favor, grab a ruler, and measure your new growth then google hair with whatever inches you come up with. THAT’S how long your hair is and that’s not even counting shrinkage. If your one of those people that don’t mind short hair, cut away. But if your one of those people that can’t imagine, don’t ever wanna see, and would cry if you had short hair, transition for as long as possible. 1 year of hair growth is not what you think it is. - Flat ironing your way to natural
The first thing i ever say to anyone considering transitioning. GET RID OF THE HEAT. STOP.IT.NOW! I say this because your not even giving yourself a chance to get to know your own hair. Flat ironing natural hair and flat ironing permed hair are 2 different horses. Since your hair is already straight with a perm, you can’t lose your curl pattern from heat damage because its already gone. But for a natural, you CAN AND YOU WILL lose your curl pattern if you don’t know how to properly use heat or use it too often. Most people don’t know that you can cause heat damage on natural and transitioning hair. So my advice is until you learn how to use it the right way, don’t use it at all. There are so many heat-free hairstyles and not using heat often causes your hair to flourish as well. Learn about moisture/protein balance, make sure your hair is getting enough of both, and spend a little time with your unaltered hair before you decide you want to flat iron your way to natural.
