Transitioning 101: Everything You Need to Know About Transitioning to Natural Hair

As promised, here is the first installment of the Intro to Transitioning series, based upon requests you all made. Please send all feedback and questions to info@maneobjective.com 🙂

What is Transitioning?

In the natural hair community, there are two streams of thought when it comes to “going natural” — the big chop, and transitioning. I’m sure you already know about the big chop, which involves lopping off all of your hair into a short cut and growing it out. Transitioning is well, a gradual transition to going natural. So what does that mean exactly? It means that in pursuit of natural hair, you make the conscious decision to stop the practices that got your hair in the position it’s currently in. So if relaxer damage has your hair looking thin and brittle, you stop relaxing. If you have heat damage, you stop frying your hair with the flat iron. If you have color damage, you let go of the hair dye to get your hair back to optimal health. When you transition, you coddle along your tresses, both natural and damaged, growing out your hair until you are ready to cut the ends off. Transitioners enjoy the benefit of added length for styles, and avoiding those awkward growth stages that can frustrate many big choppers.

Whether to chop or transition is a decision of a very personal nature — and totally depends on your preferences, comfort level, and the condition of your hair. If you are used to having longer hair, chopping may be too traumatic and could inadvertently lead you to returning to straight hair. On the other hand, if you’re used to experimenting with your hair, and openly welcome change — chopping could be for you. If your hair is falling out faster than you can pick it out of the comb, you may not want to transition — some situations may be too severe for you to continue to hold on to your hair. Use discretion when deciding.

How Do I Transition?

Honestly, transitioning can occur consciously or by happenstance. I personally transitioned on accident (seriously). In March of 2012, I embarked on a 3 month “no heat challenge” in an attempt to get my hair right. After that 3 months, I realized I had been transitioning from severely heat damaged hair. Rather than give up on all the progress I had made, I kept the party going, and transitioned completely for 21 months (I just chopped my hair on Thursday, December 5th 2013). Here are some of my updates from transitioning:

As far as relaxed hair is concerned, the transition looks a little different. While relaxed, many women “stretch” the periods between touch-ups, effectively growing out their roots. This is essentially the premise of transitioning from a relaxer. The only difference is, the stretch is indefinite. There is no relaxer touch-up. The new natural hair just keeps growing, and growing, until you’re ready to rid yourself of relaxed ends.

So, how exactly do you transition? I can’t tell you what to do every day with your hair, or exactly what products to use. That entirely depends upon your preference. But I can leave you with a few pointers:

How Long Should I Transition?

How long you transition is totally up to you. Some transition for as little as a month, and work their natural hair from there. Some ladies transition for years, and others fall somewhere in the middle. Don’t feel pressured or rushed to chop your ends any sooner than you’re ready. Once I hit the year mark, folks were always asking me when I was going to cut. My answer never changed: I don’t know. When your hair reaches a comfortable length, and you’re really ready to let go — then you can! Some things to take into consideration when deciding how long to transition:

Click here for a breakdown of what to expect//look for in your first year of transitioning.

Do I Even Need to Transition? I Just Want My Curl Back.…

A continuing theme in a lot of the e‑mails I receive is an expressed desire for a curl or texture to return. Unfortunately, if your hair is damaged, that is not the case. There is no treatment you can do, no product you can buy that will make your curl return to you. Damage is damage is damage. Now, there is a caveat to this. Let’s say all along your hair has been healthy and textured, and you decide to flat iron it one time on a temperature that’s a wee bit too high. As a result, your coils don’t spring back to normal; they’re a little drab and stretched-looking. To help rehab your hair, you can pick up an intense restructurizing product like ApHogee 2‑Step Protein Treatment, or try any of these steps. Even with protein and moisture restoring products, there is no guarantee that your hair will be as it was before. But if you’re a chronic straightener (like I was), or had a relaxer, neither of these treatments will do anything for you. Instead of wasting time and money on products that won’t do anything but disappoint you, focus on what is working well for the new curls coming in that are replacing the long gone ones.

Just in case you *might* be in denial, here is what heat damage looks like:

Your hair may have some curl or wave to it. It may not even be as badly broken off, or brittle. But if it looks nothing like the roots of your hair, it is indeed damaged. Case and point:

That banana clip wouldn’t stand a chance against these tresses. Heat damage occurs when utilizing heat styling tools (either one time or on a repeated basis) that are in fact too hot for your hair. Too-hot flat irons, combs, and curlers basically melt the protein in your hair, causing it to become weak, thin, brittle, and prone to breakage and splitting. Because it is melted, your curl is gone, and it becomes difficult to absorb and retain moisture within the hair.

Just in case you *might* be in denial, here is what relaxer damage looks like:

Notice the difference between her natural hair and relaxed ends! Yours may not be as severe, but always remember: damage is damage. Not to mention the scars, baldness, and burns! Relaxers cause a swelling of the hair cortex, separating protein bonds. The broken bonds realign themselves into a straight configuration. If it sounds a little unclear, click here. Jc does a better job at breaking it down than I do — and she has pictures!

Just in case you *might* be in denial, here is what color-treated hair damage looks like (yes, there is such a thing, and it is just as bad as any of the two above):

Yeah, she’s white but you get the point. You see what those ends look like, and I’m sure most of her hair looks just as bad (not trying to be rude, just stating likely facts). Hair color (especially bleaching, blondes, or lighter colors in general) works by lifting the cuticle, and dissolving the melanin that gives hair its color. Thanks to these raised cuticles, dryness, difficulty with moisture retention, weaker hair, and breakage is almost always on the menu, to some degree. Jc explains this one better to. Click here for that.

So.…I looked at the pictures and I have _________ damage. What do I need to do?

Easy. Transition, chop, or wait until your hair decides for you via falling out/breaking (not recommended).

Happy Transitioning! Look for Lesson 102 coming soon! Of course, if you have any specific questions, feel free to e‑mail info@maneobjective.com!

For more transitioning and natural hair tips from Christina, check out her blog, The Mane Objective. You can also find her on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.