This decision is very important as this will be the start of your natural hair journey. A big chop means that you will cut all your chemically processed or heat damaged hair off and start your natural hair journey from scratch.

No need to panic! All it takes is a healthy hair routine and your hair will be growing beautifully in no time.

To transition means that you have made a decision to grow out your natural hair without cutting off your chemically damaged or heat damaged hair.

Once your hair has grown out for a while (perhaps a year), you may take a leap of faith and cut off your dead ends.

During transition you may opt for hair styles such as braiding protective styles, roller-sets, flexi-rods ect. to help you through this process.

Please note that there are no products on the face of this earth that will convert your chemically damaged hair back into curls. You mustcut it off at some point!

There are 3 hair types in the textured hair community i.e. Type 2 Wavy, Type 3 Curly and Type 4 Coily/Kinky.

Your hair type will determine how you style your hair i.e. Type 4 coily has a more tighter curl and is prone to shrinkage, therefore more often than not you will opt for hair styles that will elongate your curl such as 2 strand twists, roller sets, flexi-rods etc..

Type 2 & 3 have a looser curl pattern and therefore go-to hair styles would be wash n go or fingercoils.

Hair porosity is how your hair cuticles sit on your hair shaft. Picture the roof tiles on a house and how it is packed.

When you are low porosity your cuticles are tightly packed and do not let moisture in very easily. You will tell if you are low porosity if you see water sitting on top of your hair during washday.

On the other hand with high porosity, your cuticles are loosely packed therefore moisture enters the hair shaft easily but also loses moisture easily as well.

Your hair porosity will determine your hair routine and the products that you use. In a nutshell, if you are low porosity you should use products that easily absorb into your hair shaft, use steam or heat during your washday process to help lift your cuticles in order for product to be absorbed.

For high porosity, moisture absorbs very easily but escapes very easily as well. You will notice this when your hair is great after washday but super dry by day 2 or 3. When you are high porosity, you will often use heavier products such as oils to seal the hair shaft to prevent moisture from escaping.

Whether you have high porosity or low porosity, the stating point would be to get into a healthy hair care routine. The most important aspect to remember is how to get moisture into my hair.

Adding moisture to your hair ensures your hair is not dehydrated and prevents breakage thereby leading to longer hair.

Your routine will involve washday steps, moisturising & styling after washday and refresh steps during the week in between washdays.

1. Our hair grows from our scalp therefore always keep your scalp clean and free from inflammation. Do this by having regular washdays at a bear minimum of once per week.

2. Our hair needs hydration and moisture in order to prevent breakage and in order for you to retain your lenghth. For hydation, water is your best friend. Keep a water bottle to spritz your hair during the week after washday to add hydration to your hair.

3. Apply moisture after washday using a 3 step process after washday using the LOC method of applying moisture. LOC means step 1 - leave in conditioner, step 2 oil and step 3 curling cream or butter cream.

4. Be gentle with your hair. Use your fingers to detangle and only use a comb once your hair has been fully moisturised.

5. Protect your hair at night by using a silk bonnet or scalf. Cotton often absorbs all the moisture we have added to our hair.

6. Oils are used to seal in moisture. So if you add oil to dry hair, the oil will seal in the dryness.

1. Wash day will include a cleanser and deep conditioner. Oils can be used as a pretreatment before washday for extra care. Cleansers consist of Clarifing shampoo, moisture shampoo, detox clay or cowash. The cleanser you use will depend on what you need to do. If you often use heavy products for styling you would be prone to buildup and would need a more powerful shampoo to remove buildup. It is recommended that you use a clarifying shampoo every 6 weeks or just before a protein treatment. For weekly washes, a moisture shampoo is recommended preferably a sulphate free shampoo. Alternate between detox, moisture shampoo and co-wash.

2. Follow with a deep conditioner (except for when you co-wash). For low porosity, use a heat cap or steam after you have applied deep conditioner to lift the hair cuticle to ensure that moisture is absorbed deep within the hair shaft.

2. After washday, apply moisture using a 3 step moisture process. Either LOC or LCO method. Follow with styling products like gel/jelly or curl mouse only after your hair has been fully moisturised.

3. Refresh your style after washday by adding hydration. Often water, a light leave in conditioner, milk, mouse or hydrating mist and follow with oil to seal.

Oils are often used to seal the hair shaft so that we do not loose moisture during the week to prevent our hair from drying out.

There are 2 types of oils i.e. moisture oils and sealing oils:

1. Moisture oils are able to penetrate the hair shaft. These oils are used as pretreatment hot oil treatments before washday or during the deep conditioning process. Examples of this is Avocado crude Oil.

2. Sealing oils are larger oils that cover the hair shaft. These are used during the LOC method to seal in moisture to prevent dryness during the week. Example of this is fractionated coconut oil.

3. Other uses of oils are to accelerate hair growth. We do this by applying oil directly to the scalp 2 or 3 times per week. Examples of this are Herbal Growth Elixir and Pumpkin seed oil

Our hair is made up of protein and we often lose protein due to daily manipulation.

1. If you are low porosity, you would not need a protein treatment very often. You would know that you need a protein treatment when your hair feels limp and lifeless and lacks curl definition.

2. For high porosity, because the hair shaft needs to be rebuilt, protein treatments more often is required. You can do this by adding rice water or flaxseed gel to your routine as they contain high protein content.

3. Always remember to do a clarifying wash before a protein treatment as this will ensure the hair is free from product buildup and the treatment will cover the hair strand more effectively.

If you would like to add to this conversation, please comment below.