The Curl Journey: From Chemically Straight To Naturally Curly
Terms to know:
Transitioning / Transition - growing out your natural hair texture while the ends of your hair are still chemically relaxed and straight
Line of Demarcation - the line where your natural new growth and relaxed hair meet
Touch up - relaxing the new growth only
Curl Journey - a personal journey a learning, appreciating and enhancing your natural curl pattern through regular care + pampering
Big Chop - chopping off the relaxed ends of your hair
Transitioning from chemically relaxed hair to naturally curly hair can be an emotional journey as you learn how to take care of your natural hair and appreciating the beauty of it.
Throughout this transition, patience and acceptance is the key. Your hair will take time to grow out the chemical treated ends and while this is happening, making sure all your hair is getting the proper love and care it needs.
You could go with the “big chop” route, which can be emotionally jarring depending on how much your hair has already grown out and how you feel about rocking a short hairstyle. The other option is to go through the Curl Journey. This Journey can also be emotional, but possibly more rewarding and uplifting in the end.
The Curl Journey
Going through the Curl Journey means, instead of chopping off all your hair at the line of demarcation, you work with both the new growth and the relaxed ends, giving each part the love it needs to stay as healthy as possible. When you start, it might be very tempting to just give up and do the “big chop” or get a touch up. If you decide to stick with it, it is important to keep something in mind.
Keep it simple and be consistent!
Don’t overwhelm your with too much anything. Create a routine and follow it. It can be as simple as shampoo, condition, moisturize and style; and every so often deep condition or get a steam treatment and trim the ends.
2. Don’t expect too much too soon (keep realistic expectations)
This journey to your natural curls is a long and emotional journey. You will not see your natural curl pattern everywhere immediately, especially on those relaxed ends. And that’s okay! Don’t rush your hair and don’t get frustrated. Be patient, consistent and nourish your hair (as well as yourself), and you will get your desired results!
Don’t compare your journey to others, your hair grows at its own pace, and keep in mind, products / methods that might work for other people, might not work for you. And even once your natural curl pattern shows, remember, it still might take some time for your curls to be at their best and POP! The journey continues…
3. Keep up with regular trims
Get your hair trimmed on a regular basis to help manage split ends and minimized breakage. Look into getting a curly cut to give your natural curls a defined shape, but don’t worry, this isn’t the the “big chop”. A curly cut, sometimes called a “DevaCut”, will make your curls look more defined and healthier (it will also help with those straight ends, too!). And it will only get better as time goes on and you continue along your Curl Journey.
We recommend getting a Curly Cut once every three months and then if you can’t wait, get end trim in between.
4. Deep condition and get treatments
While your hair is transitioning, it will be fragile, especially at the line of demarcation. To make sure your hair is getting the love it needs to grow out healthy, deep condition regularly and get a treatment once a month. Staying consistent will help keep your hair moisturized and lessen the possibility of breakage due to dryness. This can be something to enjoy long after your hair has grown out into beautiful luscious curls.
5. Limit the amount if heat
While going through this rewarding journey, you should try to limit the amount of heat you expose to your hair. I know it’ll be hard at times and you might just wanna break down and straighten it, but doing that will hinder your curl journey. Heavy heat from the process of getting a thermal silkening (silk press) will loosen your natural curl pattern and could cause unnecessary heat damage to your already fragile hair follicles. Also, the extra heat could lead to more breakage at the line of demarcation and ends that are still chemically processed.
6. Protective Styles are your friendsss
If you are struggling with what to do with your hair while it is still transitioning to natural because of the different textures, protective styles is a good way to go. Twist outs/ twist sets, braids, flexi rods all use minimal to no heat, will help with breakage and is easy to manage on a daily basis.
If you are starting your journey to natural hair or even just trying to get your curls back to healthy and popping, check out our new Curl Journey Package. With this new package we help you get and stay on track to embracing your natural hair and keeping it as healthy and beautiful as possible!