Stopped the Relaxing and Started the Transition to Natural Hair...2000
In September of 2000, I decided that I would not put any more chemicals in my hair. I was ready to be natural. I went a good 2 1/2 months without putting any more relaxers in and I wore my hair in braids to grow it out.
I got tired of wearing the braids and took them out to give myself a break from them. I shampooed and conditioned my hair and blow-dried it. I curled it and it looked somewhat decent but after a day or two, it was not looking good at all.
I went to K-Mart to pick up a few items and ended up buying a 2-in-1 relaxer kit. I had "backslidden"! I went home and later that evening, I applied the relaxer and straightened out all my naps. Did I feel good? I felt good in that I would once again look "acceptable" when I went around certain family members. But inside, I felt terrible. I felt as though I betrayed my hair and myself. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that although I bought a double-kit, that would be my LAST relaxer... for GOOD!
So, after that, I applied no more relaxers to my hair. I went back to my braids and wore them for a little while. Once again, I got tired of them and decided to find a style I could wear without extensions. I tried two-strand twists. Yeah, they don't normally hold up in relaxed hair but I was determined to make them work.
My hair was already cut in long layers, so I twisted my hair. I hated it. It was stringy and just hanging there. There was no substance to it. So, I took some of my perm rods that I had from my days of being a hairstylist and I sprayed some setting lotion on my hair and rolled them up. Once dry, I LOVED the outcome! The twists were curly and the length in the back, I curled into a flip. It was CUTE! So, that was my transition style of choice.
The photo above is from around December of 2000. It's a hard to see the actual twists, but it was two-strand twisted in very small twists and I set them on rollers and rolled the back flipped up. That's my oldest daughter, Rachel, pictured with me. She's transitioning too! She has a good 7 to 8 inches of natural hair and about 2 to 4 inches of relaxed hair in this photo.