The Don'ts of Transitioing

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If I had to do it all over again, there are some things that I would tell myself not to do when starting my transition. For those of you that are just starting your natural hair journey, I hope this helps!

1.     Don’t Go on a Product Buying Spree on Day 1

You will see a lot of product reviews all over the net. For some products, many naturals will agree that they are awesome. This doesn’t mean that you have to run out to the store the day you decide to go natural to purchase the products. Instead, spend the time doing research on products and determine the type of products you want to try from that information. I stupidly ran to the store on day one to try the products that I had heard so much about. Now I have a cabinet full of things that I will never use again. I have revisited some of these products now that I have more new growth to see how the new growth reacts, but for the most part, a lot of the products that I bought initially contain things that I don’t want to touch hair ever. Don't make the same (costly...) mistake I did.

2.     Don’t Assume that What Works For Someone Else Will Work For You

Each head of hair is different. That means that each head of hair will react differently to different product ingredients, even if two heads have similar hair types. If you know for a fact that your hair doesn’t like Shea Butter (for example), don’t try a product that contains Shea butter just because someone else with the same hair type swears by that product. You are just asking to frustrate yourself. In the beginning, a lot of frustration that I had came from trying products that others swore by but my hair just didn’t like at all because of one of the ingredients.

3.     Don’t Blindly Accept What Someone Else Says to be Fact

Always, always, always do your own research before making a change or trying a particular product on your hair that another person advocated for.  There are tons of people who claim to be natural hair experts on the web so it is extremely easy to blindly follow someone who is a self-proclaimed guru, especially if you are new to the natural hair realm and you don’t really know anything. I blindly followed some “suggestions” and my hair became so matted and knotted that I literally had to cut the knots out. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bloggers and vloggers who are right on the money when it comes to their tips, tricks, and advice. I’m not saying that you need to totally dismiss what others who have been through it said. What I am saying is take something that someone tells you, research it, and then take the advice only if your research backs up what you were told.