When I decided to go natural I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into. Who would have thought that transitioning would involve so much? First, I should have invested in products prior to jumping into the "natural world". Doing so would have given me time to determine how I was going to style and care for my hair now. Second, I would have established a routine/schedule for maintenance. Wash day took on a whole new meaning! Let's just say, a simple wash, rinse, condition routine changed into a one hour long wash session (at least) that included prepping, sectioning, detangling, rinsing each section, twisting, blotting dry, moisturizing and styling. Whew!!! Third, I would have taken my time in learning all about how this transition would affect my entire life. Going natural became my lifestyle in so many ways.
I watched vlog after vlog on YouTube hoping to learn as much as possible and some really were helpful. Others weren't completely honest and caused discouragement. For example: I thought a wash-n-go meant just that...you wash (moisturize, add products) and go. However, what wasn't spoken about was how you have to train your hair into this...especially if you are transitioning and have relaxer remnants on the ends of your hair. My first wash-n-go was a complete failure! I looked like "who done it and why" all day long! At the time I was working in the corporate world in the corporate office...participating in multiple meetings per day in front of corporate managers, directors and VPs! One day I was so frustrated, on my lunch break I drove to the store and bought a texturizer thinking that it would tame my kinks without necessarily going against my natural transition. WRONG! When I finally grew out all of the texturizer I was able to see the beauty in my natural curls and the maintenance became much easier. Now, that's not to say I didn't have a few bad hair days...because I absolutely did. However, during those bad hair days I learned how to appreciate trial and error, turn a bad hair day into an opportunity to learn more about my natural hair and most importantly...enjoy the process!
