The best thing I can say to any budding naturalista eager to let her mane shine & let her afro rise is just like my favorite board game, Monopoly - you gotta start from GO. And where is "GO" located? Prominently placed between "Reality Blvd" & "What Did I Get Myself Into Lane." In other words, you cannot transition from relaxed to natural hair without being real with YOURSELF.
When I worship God through dance, I am coming from a place of reality. It may sound strange, but that's the same place of hibernation I had to find on the map of my journey.
For starters, no amount of Cover Girl or Maybelline is going to transform Drew Carey's Mimi into Halle Berry. (Or in Mimi's case, how much makeup she scrapes off. But I digress). This is the same for natural beauty. We can't force our hair into something it simply ain't. For 17 months, I thought I had Curly Nikki's tremendous coif attached to my struggling noggin. Until I chopped off my relaxer, revealing....just plain ol' ME. And MY hair didn't look like HERS. Or anyone else's I'd seen for that matter.
Let's just say I began my transition pleasantly perched in a place of dreams: What if my hair is as long has hers? What if it's wavy like that model's? Good googly-goo, what if THAT mass of beautimousness is shooting out from my very own skull?
My thoughts traveled to all those places because as I researched what to do to serve myself a well-planned, meaningful, EASY transition - I fell in love with every head of hair I came across. Not a good look; you can drive your curls to drink doing that! My personal reality set in quickly, upon my first (and only) nightmare detangling session. If I was going to renew a realtionship with my hair, I was going to have to romance it first. And the first step in a successful romance is ACCEPTANCE - without conditions. Quickly followed by getting to know one another. It takes time to find out what makes your curls rock & what makes them throw up a little. Trust me, I KNOW.
So, Tip #1 - Don't try to recreate someone's curls because you might just achieve their drama coming along for the ride.
#2 - Find a great conditioner to co-wash &/or deep condition. (Two of myown staples: Aussie moist & V05 Strawberries & Cream Moisture Milk. Both cheap & leave me feeling secure in their loyalty to my strands.
#3 - Ditch the heat. Point blank period. (Yes, I watch The Braxtons). Air drying helped my shoulder length tresses bloom to bra strap length during my transition.
#4 - Find a styling method void of high manipulation, & easy to maintain. Braid outs were my saving grace during this time. Lots of folk thought I was already natural, which was a super A+ !
#5 - Mositurizer is you best friend...find different ways to keep those thirsty locks out of the desert!
#6 - Commitment! Without it, you may as wel slap on a Dark & Lovely now.
#7 - Accesorize! Don't be afraid to dress up your coif with headbands, flowers & the like. Our dance company had a craft party for Christmas, creating our own delicious hair candy that we rock all the time! Glue guns, fabrixk & old earrings can turn out a mean headband!
#8 - You Tube it! While yoy can't take guru's every word as the gospel, you can find some mighty fine hairdo's to tickle your frizzies.
I'll continue giving you curlies ideas/tips & pictures along the way. While our hair may not be the same, the stage is. And if you'd like to share our own tale of transition, contact the Frizzness; we'd love to have you!
There's 2 sides to every Frizz,
natural dancer
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