Transitional Difficulties

When I first decided to go natural, I looked at hundreds of natural beauties and became extremely excited to try twists out. I brought new clothes with the shoes to match; The only thing I needed to complete the ensemble was a mane full of goddess-like curls sprouting from the roots of my head. I expected to have these like my friend Stacey (@Steezey_ on IG):

 

She's been natural her whole life and is always rockin' some amazing hairstyle. I expected some of her crown's Queenlyness to rub off on mine the minute I stopped using chemicals! On that first day, I two-strand twisted my hair into bantu knots and to my greatest dismay, got something like:

  

I felt so deceived and discouraged, I almost slapped that creamy crack right back into my scalp. Moral of the story for those who've also chosen to take the transitional route: Please don't catch false hopes while looking at the manes of FULLY natural beauties like A. Elle from "The Good Hair Blog" and Nikki Walton from "Curly Nikki." Try to keep in mind that there are two different textures in your tresses that don't always agree with each other, so some modification for hairstyling will definitely be necessary. If I had a penny for every time my hair didn't come out the way I wanted...I'd only be able to buy  pack of gum, but still, it's heartbreaking!

It took me months to find the best products to use as my weapons of choice to achieve the best twist out results. I had previously tried JAM hair gel with bantu knots, big rollers, small rollers, just twists, this gel, that conditioner...let's just say it has not been easy. I'm still trying to perfect my curls, but the best products that I've tried thus far has to be:

 

1. Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream ($5)

2. Eco Styler Olive Oil Hair Gel ($5)

3. Some $2.99 hair rollers

4. Bobby Pins ($1.07; gotta add that NYC tax!) 

Let me tell you how I acheived my best over night twist outs:

Part hair into 6 even sections. Mix a dime sized drop of both the Cantu Shea Butter and Eco Styler Gel into your hands, and apply it to one section - too much gel or conditioner will leave your hair way too moist and will make your curls drop within an hour. Then two-strand twist it. At the end of the twist, swivel the hair up the roller and pin it down to secure its position. Repeat with every section and you should get something like this on both sides of your head:

 

Get a scarf and tie that bad boy down, and you're done! Easy right? In the morning, your curls should be bouncing in the wind like:

 

  

See, no more awkward, crinkled looking ends - pure curly goodness! I must admit, I only use these rollers because I've been too busy (lazy) to go and purchase the flexi rods. But I'm promising you guys here and now that I will get them over the weekend and share my reviews.  

Transitional hairstyles are all about trail and error. If this particular technique doesn't work for you, modify it to how you think your hair will like it. And just a quick little tip: don't try out a style right before a big event, you might end up having some transitional difficulties! 

                                                       Grae