Transitioner throwback! I was feeling my big-ish hair!

Article also available on Black Girl with Long Hair!

When it comes to transitioning, there are three questions I am asked most frequently:

1. How do I transition to natural hair?
2. What hair styles can I do?
3. Is there a regimen I can follow?

Right now, we're going to tackle question number 3. For answers to 1 and 2, click the questions to find those answers!

Although I never developed a rock-solid regimen during my transition, I did have some general ideas around how frequently to do certain things based upon maintaining the health of my new natural hair, and salvaging what was left of my stringy heat damage. Here's an overall guide to regimen building, stemming from how I handled things during my 21 month transition to natural hair:

Note: These are merely suggestions based upon my transitioning experience. These suggestions are meant to help new transitioners develop a system for managing new growth alongside older relaxed or heat damaged hair. This is by no means gospel, or a strict set of guidelines. Feel free to add, remove, move around, or completely ignore some of the suggestions -- every head of hair is different, and will respond differently!

Pre-Poo Treatments, Detangling, and Cleansing
As a transitioner, I found that pre-pooing, detangling, and washing my hair on a weekly basis was optimal in terms of managing breakage, tangling, and giving my hair and scalp a clean slate. Although overmanipulation is the enemy of transitioning hair, going too long between washes is an even more egregious offense. Transitioning hair is more prone to tangling and knotting, because the ends of the hair that are relaxed or heat damaged tend to have rough or raised cuticles and get caught in one another. To help protect strands, a pre-poo treatment is highly recommended before washing. A hydrating treatment with virgin unrefined coconut oil, Infusium 23 Renew and Repair Leave-In Treatment, or a conditioner of your choice left on the hair for at least 30 minutes before cleansing will help strands glide past each other in the detangling process. Even if you choose not to wash your hair weekly, detangling it at least once a week will help prevent unnecessary knotting and tangles while sufficiently hydrating your hair along the line of demarcation to prevent breakage. Infusium 23 Repair and Renew, Kinky Cury Knot Today, Lawrence Ray Concepts Shake & Go, and Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip are all great pre-shampoo and midweek detanglers.

Deep Conditioning
Deep conditioning absolutely vital in terms of hydration, moisture retention, breakage prevention, and length retention. No wash day should pass without a deep conditioning session. Even if it can only last the duration of your shower, that is better than skipping entirely. Hair that is properly and regularly deep conditioned is softer, shinier, smoother, retains moisture better, and is less prone to breakage. Protein or strengthening treatments are only necessary on a once every 1-3 month basis, depending on the health of your hair. Click here for some great deep conditioners for transitioning hair.

Moisture, Sealing, and Styling
Hydrating and sealing in moisture before styling are also integral to preventing breakage along the line of demarcation. After pre-pooing, cleansing, and deep conditioning, layering a leave-in conditioner and a creamy moisturizer onto the hair will help ensure maximum hydration and improve elasticity in the hair. Click here for some of my favorite moisturizers for transitioning hair. If your hair can handle additional oil or butter on top for sealing, you can definitely do so. I recommend jojoba, argan oil (blends, pure can be quite expensive), and apricot oils for sealing transitioning hair, as the are the lightest.



Nighttime Routine and Refreshing
How often you rehydrate and seal moisture into your hair is totally dependent upon how you style it. If you keep your hair in a bun or updo for most of the week, you can afford to add moisture and seal your hair as many times as you wish, because water or water-based products will not have any impact on the outcome of your style. If you prefer texture blending styles like braidouts, twist and curls, or bantu knot-outs, refreshing and nighttime maintenance gets a little tricky. For the duration of your texture blending style, adding any products with water signals instant demise. If you can work enough moisture into your hair prior to styling (prepoo, cowash or sulfate-free shampoo, deep condition, hydrate and seal in moisture, air drying hair), you will be able to successfully avoid adding more product for the duration of your style. However if you must, I suggest using as little as you can get away with -- rubbing that infamous "dime size" amount in your hands, and scrunching it delicately into the areas that need it the most. Or if you're feeling fancy, the Q-Redew is a great way to rehydrate and refresh the hair without ruining transitioning styles.

As far as nighttime routines go, things get even stickier. The key here is to accept that in some way, shape, or form, your day 2 style will not look exactly like day 1. Whenever I rocked buns (a staple for me in the first year of transitioning, I kept my nighttime routine simple by adding a little water-based moisturizer and keeping my hair stretched with a few chunky, loose braids or by banding. But if you're looking to preserve a braidout or twist and curl, a little more ingenuity will be required. I never, ever, EVER advocate that transitioners pineapple, because it will stretch your braided, twisted, or bantu-knotted hair back straight. You can re-curl, twist, braid, or knot the hair for bedtime if you wish, but I personally find that to be a little too much on the manipulation front. As a transitioner, when I slept on braidouts or bantu knot outs, I pushed my hair back, and covered it with a satin scarf, and left the ends out while I slept on a satin pillowcase. Yes, some strands will fall flat, but with a little fluffing or a bobby pin here and there, the style comes back to life the next day.

Trimming
There is not set schedule for trimming transitioning hair, or even how much to trim. You can trim monthly, every 4 months, or every 6 months depending upon the health of your hair. But to give you a general idea of frequency, barring any major incidences of breakage or hair fall that would suggest a more immediate need, trimming every 3-4 months is sufficient. Depending on the overall health of your ends and the growth rate of your hair, trimming anywhere from 1/4 of an inch to an inch of hair should do the job. Of course, if you want to accelerate your transition, trim more. To stretch it out, trim less. For more general trimming guidelines and tips for transitioners, click here.

A note about protective styling:
Many ladies turn to protective styling as a means of length retention and busting over length retention plateaus. There is nothing wrong with wanting to tuck your hair away from time to time, for convenience and length retention reasons. But doing it excessively and repetitively can lead to scalp trauma, breakage, and traction alopecia among other things. I do encourage all transitioning ladies to spend some time learning and working with your hair. Loving, learning, and understanding your hair throughout the transitioning process makes embracing the natural hair journey and eventual chop that much easier. 

Happy transitioning! Be sure to visit "All Things Transitioning" on my blog for more information on the journey!

One of the most labor intensive aspects of the natural hair journey is detangling. It can also be the most confusing. Let's go ahead and break it down:

Hair Assessment
When trying to decide the best course of action for detangling your hair, it is always best to start with an understanding of how your hair behaves. Without getting too complicated, ask yourself is your hair:

• curly, or tightly coiled?
•  transitioning or completely natural?
• incredibly tangle prone when loose in water?
• weak, brittle, or easily broken?

Those four points will help you understand not only what tools will likely work best for your hair, but also what products and methods.

For all the tools, products, methods, and tips -- head on over to NaturallyCurly.com

There's been a lot going on, ya'll! But now let's dig back in to this transitioning series. In case you missed 102A, here it is.

Now that we have a good handle on breakage versus shedding, we can move right along into how to prevent breakage, as transitioners are more susceptible. Prevention is the best cure, by all means. There a few key ways to prevent transitioner breakage:

• Gentle Hair Handling
• Low-Tension Styling
• Moisture Retention
• Moisture/Protein Balancing

Gentle Hair Handling
If you care to do so, I have a video here that you can watch where I ramble on for about 15 minutes on gentle hair handling. You'll have to excuse how incredibly bootleg it is. But if you prefer the straight, no chaser route to gentle hair handling, here it is:

Detangle Gently and With Patience. The further along you are in your transition (like 6 months and beyond), the more difficult and frustrating detangling becomes. Don't give in to your irritation. Slow, steady, with care, and with the right products is the way to go. I'll elaborate more on this in 102C, the drama-free wash day post.

Wash the Right Way, With the Right Stuff. Of course, I will go into more detail in 102C of this series, but there are two main things you can do to suck the drama out of washing your hair. Both involve section washing. If your hair is prone to tangling and matting easily, keep hair divided in loose braids to section wash. More on that method here. If your hair is less tangle prone, washing in free sections, one at a time (my current strategy) is another option. Just remember to twist, braid, or clip each section back up after you're done washing it.

Comb, Brush, and Style With the Right Tools. Finger comb if you can, wide tooth only if you must. I do not advise Denman brushes and fine tooth combs for transitioners. This is a surefire way to encourage breakage. To sleek edges, I recommend using your hands, but if you must use a brush, use a soft bristle brush sparingly. Make sure your scrunchies do not have any rubber exposed, or have the little metal fasteners on them. Ditch cotton scarves, satin and silk only.

Stay Out of Your Hair For as Long As You Can. I am by no means saying you have to protectively style. I hate protective styling, although I would intermittently do it for 3 or 4 days at a time during my transition. For the most part, I rocked buns and banana clip styles, which caused for daily manipulation of my hair to some degree. Although I'd slick my edges, band at night, or make chunky twists before bedtime, I never combed my hair out more than twice a week, tops. Most times, it was once a week. That was just my general rule, you can adjust it to meet the needs of your hair. But the less time you spend combing and manipulating your hair, the less opportunities there are for breakage.

Low-Tension Styling
Although you don't have to style protectively, one thing I will recommend until I am blue in the face is low-tension styling for transitioners. Anything to place the least amount of stress on the line of demarcation and on your edges is best. My go-to low-tension tool was the banana clip...until my hair got too thick for it. Then I turned to double-looped headband buns (see here), and styles like satin strip braidouts (my all time favorite and go-to) on the weekends. Twist and curls, bantu knot-outs, curlformers, and flexi rods are all great texture-blending options for transitioners that don't place too much stress on the hair when done properly. All of these styles allowed me to have cute, versatile styles without taxing my hair too much. I'll update this section soon with a tutorial mashup of my favorite transitioning styles!

That's all for now folks! Hopefully this wasn't too much information. Stay tuned for 102C and How to Have a Drama Free Wash Day!

Article also available on Black Girl with Long Hair!

There is tons of information out there about how to tell when your natural hair needs a trim. Tapering ends. Rough ends. Breaking ends. Splitting ends. Ends that won't stay twisted or braided (that unravel).

The truth is, for a transitioner, all of that is a part of the daily deal. By virtue of transitioning from damaged hair, transitioner hair is tapered significantly from the newly grown natural hair. Because the hair is damaged by relaxer or heat, they are likely dry, and can be rough. And of course, there is the ever-present breakage, and not the slightest chance that a twist or braid will hold up without something holding it together.

Well, why not just cut it all off then?
I'm sure some of you are thinking that very thing right now. The truth is, not everyone wants to just big chop. I certainly didn't. In fact, I transitioned for 21 long and arduous months. It wasn't always pretty, there were more boring days than glam, but I don't regret the decision one bit. The payoff was worth the sacrifice, for me.

But back to the topic at hand. There is a wealth of information on trimming natural hair, and very little for transitioners. The first step to getting a handle on trimming transitoner hair is understanding the signs of needing a trim:

• split ends: Regardless of whether you're transitioning or natural, split ends are never good.
• "lone ends": This is the transitioner equivalent to tapering ends. Naturally, all hair experiences some tapering as it ages, this is a cumulative sign of aging, worn cuticles, breakage, and a general weathering of the hair. For transitioners, this often leads to what I like to call lone ends. Hair is tapered, but in an extreme sense - to the point of only a few hairs in an area reaching a certain length while the others fall behind. In other words, your tapered ends are tapering themselves.
• super tangled ends: Transitioner detangling is notoriously difficult. The damaged ends (and lifted cuticles) often find themselves ensnared, making raking fingers or combs through a complete challenge. If you notice that your detangling sessions are now more difficult than ususal, it is a sign that a trim is in order.

How Often Should Transitioners Trim?
Inside of your first year of transitioning, barring any major incidences of breakage or hair fall that would suggest a more immediate need, trimming every 3-4 months is sufficient. Of course every head of hair is different, and you should always assess your own hair and hair goals to determine what trimming schedule best suits your needs. If you are looking to get rid of more hair sooner, trim more frequently. If you are more inclined to hold on to length, opt for less frequency.

Long-term transitioners (1 year plus) often find themselves being a little more vigilant about trims, and doing them more frequently. This is because of the one-two-three punch of ends being weathered, damaged, and well, holding on to them past their prime. They tend to wear out, break, and split more often. After about a year and 3 months of transitioning, I found myself trimming away at some ends almost every 2 or 3 weeks. In between trims, I did mini search and destroy missions. Part of this was my ends needing more trimming, because they were breaking more rapidly. The other part was sheer impatience - I was able to see more of my natural hair texture, so I got anxious. Especially when I began wearing wash and go styles.  As I said previously, be sure to assess your own hair and hair goals to determine what trim schedule works for you.

 How Much To Cut?
This is also another one of those things that depends upon your hair's needs, and your own goals. It also depends on how comfortable you are individually with cutting your own hair. Some transitioners start of small, snipping away half an inch or less of hair. This is totally fine. With my less-frequent trims during my first year, I never cut more than an inch of hair at a time. My post 1-year trims were all around half an inch.

There is also the issue of the mini-chop. There are many transitioners who grow impatient and frustrated with their hair, and in an effort to rid themselves of more damage, they chop three or more inches of hair. While this can be incredibly beneficial, I do not advocate doing self mini-chops for a number of reasons. One, it is incredibly difficult to mini-chop accurately - meaning there is an increased likelihood that your cutting will not be consistent, and you will end up with unevenly cut hair. If it is not in your budget to seek a professional for a cut, at least have a trusted friend or family member help you out - especially at the back of the head and in the crown.

How To Cut:
Now that you've determined that you need a cut, and know how much to cut, there is the little matter of how to cut. Many naturals show how they trim their hair to create certain shapes and styles, and this works for them. Trimming transitioning ends is different, because more than style and shape, it is about getting rid of damage in a progressive sense. To trim your hair, you'll need 4 things:

• Sharp cutting shears. Do not use regular office/paper scissors. You'll just cause more split ends. Same thing with old/dull shears.
• Dry or damp hair. Don't cut your hair while soaking wet. When our hair is wet, it is more weighed down and elongated. There is a lot of potential to underestimate how much you've cut, and when it shrinks up, you've got much shorter hair than you anticipated. This has happened to me a few times.
• Hair styled how you normally wear it. If you wear your hair stretched, make sure it is stretched before you trim. If you wear wash and go styles, make sure your wash and go is styled and mostly dry. The idea here is to trim your hair according to how you will achieve the best results. Regardless of your style, make sure hair is detangled as much as possible.
• A mirror. But you knew that!

Ready? Let's trim!

• Method 1: In a small section, take your hair and place it between your index and middle fingers, forming a V. Close the V, and at a 90-degree angle, gently smooth your fingers outward along the length of your hair, stopping just before where you would like to trim the ends. Snip the ends from the bottom up. Repeat this process throughout your head, stopping frequently to ensure that you are not cutting unevenly.
• Method 2: Separate your hair into a number of small or medium sized loose twists. At the end of each twist, snip away the pieces of hair that are left hanging with nothing to twist around. This method does not guarantee the most even trim, but it will certainly rid you of the most damaged hair.
• Method 3: If you don't trust yourself with methods 1 or 2, the 3rd way is to incorporate scrunchies. Use several ouchless scrunchies to create multiple ponytails across your head. Gently slide each scrunchie down to the point where you would like to trim. By double-checking all the scrunchie end points before cutting, you can practically guarantee yourself an even cut that won't be lopsided.

Of course, you can always use the search and destroy method. Whatever way you choose to trim your transitioning tresses, just be assured that you are one step closer to all natural hair!

Originally, this post was supposed to cover breakage vs. shedding, preventing breakage, caring for broke hair, moisture retention, and a drama-free wash day. That is a TALL ORDER, and would be way too long for ya'll to read, and for me to write. So I'm breaking it up. Here's to Transitioning 102a: Breakage vs. Shedding.

Snap.
Pop.
Although no one else can hear it, breaking hair is akin to the deafening blast of a cannon for a transitioner. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic with the onomatopoeia. My apologies - I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy all week (and I just started Divergent yesterday), and my creative writing has been getting a tune-up. But in all seriousness, I can't be the only one who growls, huffs, and gets a little distraught when I hear or feel a strand of hair break. I become somewhat of a possessive, whiny, tween - it's mine, I grew it, I earned it, and you can't take it away. No, no, NO! Okay, again with the theatrics. Breakage is a pain, and it plagues naturals and transitioners alike. It's almost like a personal insult, every single time a strand breaks.

So, how do I deal with breakage and not go mad? I'll share those details in a few. But for now, let's clear the air a little and understand some key differences between breakage and shedding.

Breakage
Breakage manifests as the result of a number of causes, such as:

• dryness
• overconditioning (yes, there is such a thing)
• cuticle damage
• improper handling of hair

Hair that breaks can do so at any length. Some breakage may be tiny wisps of hair the size of a pinky nail, which are likely the result of split ends, mid-shaft splits, or even just a weak point in the cuticle of the hair. Sometimes, hair breaks closer to the root and can be easily written off as shedding. This kind of breakage is important to check, and I'll share more on how to spot the difference in a second. The main source of angst in terms of breakage for transitioners is at the line of demarcation. The line of demarcation is the area along the hair shaft where the newly grown natural hair, and the old damaged/relaxed/heat damaged ends meet up. Here's a visual:

Courtesy of: hairstylings 101 via YouTube

As promised, here is the first installment of the Intro to Transitioning series, based upon requests you all made. Please send all feedback and questions to info@maneobjective.com :)

What is Transitioning?
In the natural hair community, there are two streams of thought when it comes to "going natural" - the big chop, and transitioning. I'm sure you already know about the big chop, which involves lopping off all of your hair into a short cut and growing it out. Transitioning is well, a gradual transition to going natural. So what does that mean, exactly? It means that in pursuit of natural hair, you make the conscious decision to stop the practices that got your hair in the position it's currently in. So if relaxer damage has your hair looking thin and brittle, you stop relaxing. If you have heat damage, you stop frying your hair with the flat iron. If you have color damage, you let go of the hair dye to get your hair back to optimal health. When you transition, you coddle along your tresses, both natural and damaged, growing out your hair until you are ready to cut the ends off. Transitioners enjoy the benefit of added length for styles, and avoiding those awkward growth stages that can frustrate many big choppers.

Whether to chop or transition is a decision of a very personal nature - and totally depends on your preferences, comfort level, and the condition of your hair. If you are used to having longer hair, chopping may be too traumatic and could inadvertently lead you to returning to straight hair. On the other hand, if you're used to experimenting with your hair, and openly welcome change - chopping could be for you. If your hair is falling out faster than you can pick it out of the comb, you may not want to transition - some situations may be too severe for you to continue to hold on to your hair. Use descretion when deciding.

How Do I Transition?
Honestly, transitioning can occur consciously or by happenstance. I personally transitioned on accident (seriously). In March of 2012, I embarked on a 3 month "no heat challenge" in an attempt to get my hair right. After that 3 months, I realized I had been transitioning from severely heat damaged hair. Rather than give up on all the progress I had made, I kept the party going, and transitioned completely for 21 months (I just chopped my hair on Thursday, December 5th 2013). Here are some of my updates from transitioning:

• 6 Month Mark
• 9 Month Mark
• 1 Year Mark
• 19 Month Mark
• 21 Months + Big Chop - Coming Soon!

As far as relaxed hair is concerned, the transition looks a little different. While relaxed, many women "stretch" the periods between touch-ups, effectively growing out their roots. This is essentially the premise of transitioning from a relaxer. The only difference is, the stretch is indefinite. There is no relaxer touch-up. The new natural hair just keeps growing, and growing, until you're ready to rid yourself of relaxed ends.

So, how exactly do you transition? I can't tell you what to do every day with your hair, or exactly what products to use. That entirely depends upon your preference. But I can leave you with a few pointers:

• Relaxed ladies, throw away the creamy crack. Don't stash it, lock it away, or ask someone to hold it for you. Chuck it. There will be days when you feel like going back - so don't make the mistake of leaving a tempting tub of relaxer around. Heat damage sufferers, you don't have to throw away your tools (unless it's time - but we'll get to that later), but they do need to be stashed out of sight. If you can find someone to hold on to them for you, that's even better. During the first 3 months, my sister needed to borrow my flat irons, and I just left them with her the entire time. Even if I wanted to straighten, I'd have to go all the way to her house (traffic and parking were terrible), and that effort required alone was enough to derail that pursuit.
• If you're just starting out, focus on practices, not products. Make the necessary changes and get the right tools that will serve you better in the long run. Trust me. Product will ALWAYS be there. Now is the time to purchase a satin pillowcase, scarf, and bonnet. Now is the time to learn how to properly moisturize and seal your hair. Now is the time to clean house, and get rid of products that will no longer serve your hair. Learn whether you can wet, dry, or damp detangle, and if fingers or a wide-tooth comb serves you better.
• TREAT THE LINE OF DEMARCATION LIKE IT IS HAIR ATTACHED TO A NEWBORN BABY YOU'RE TRYING TO NOT WAKE UP. That may seem a little extreme, but I am so serious. The line of demarcation for transitioners (heat damage or relaxed) can literally make or break your transition. That line where new natural hair meets damaged is the weakest point along your hair shaft. It can break in the blink of an eye, and some of your hair will. I'll say it again: some of your hair WILL break. Not because you did anything wrong, but because you don't live in a dark bubble and never touch your hair. All naturals and transitioners suffer breakage, but the severity depends upon how you treat your hair. If you learn proper moisture techniques (click here for that info), and treat your hair like it is attached to a newborn baby that you're trying to not disturb while sleeping (I'll tighten that simile later), you won't have to worry about excessive breakage and hair loss.

How Long Should I Transition?
How long you transition is totally up to you. Some transition for as little as a month, and work their natural hair from there. Some ladies transition for years, and others fall somewhere in the middle. Don't feel pressured or rushed to chop your ends any sooner than you're ready. Once I hit the year mark, folks were always asking me when I was going to cut. My answer never changed: I don't know. When your hair reaches a comfortable length, and you're really ready to let go - then you can! Some things to take into consideration when deciding how long to transition:

• At what rate does your hair grow? The average rate of growth is half an inch per month. Your hair may fall above or below that rate, and that is definitely a contributing factor to how long you should transition. Although variables will invariably (haha) enter the equation, you can always roughly guesstimate that to end up with 6 inches of new natural hair, you'll need to transition for 12 months.
• What styling options are you looking for? If you're one of those lucky gals who can protectively style for months on end, then your transition may be a little more seamless and can go on longer. For those that can't (like me), determine what style options you'll be comfortable with rocking. The more options you have, the longer you'll be able to muster transitioning.
• Cut hair shrinks up a little more. I learned this lesson recently. I had gotten so used to my heat damaged ends elongating my hair, that when they were gone, the ends of my hair curled into themselves instead of just hanging down. So whatever length you think you want, go about half an inch or so past that point.
• How much patience do you have? Transitioning is literally a waiting game. Sure, you can do things like scalp massages, use essential oils, take vitamins, and work out to help accelerate hair growth and health. But they aren't gonna give you 15 inches of growth overnight. The more patience you have with your hair growth process, the longer you can transition, and vice versa.

Click here for a breakdown of what to expect//look for in your first year of transitioning.

Do I Even Need to Transition? I Just Want My Curl Back....
A continuing theme in a lot of the e-mails I receive is an expressed desire for a curl or texture to return. Unfortunately, if your hair is damaged, that is not the case. There is no treatment you can do, no product you can buy that will make your curl return to you. Damage is damage is damage. Now, there is a caveat to this. Let's say all along your hair has been healthy and textured, and you decide to flat iron it one time on a temperature that's a wee bit too high. As a result, your coils don't spring back to normal; they're a little drab and stretched-looking. To help rehab your hair, you can pick up an intense restructurizing product like ApHogee 2-Step Protein Treatment. Even with protein and moisture restoring products, there is no guarantee that your hair will be as it was before. But if you're a chronic straightener (like I was), or had a relaxer, neither of these treatments will do anything for you. Instead of wasting time and money on products that won't do anything but disappoint you, focus on what is working well for the new curls coming in that are replacing the long gone ones.

Just in case you *might* be in denial, here is what heat damage looks like:

Your hair may have some curl or wave to it. It may not even be as badly broken off, or brittle. But if it looks nothing like the roots of your hair, it is indeed damaged. Case and point:

That banana clip wouldn't stand a chance against these tresses. Heat damage occurs when utilizing heat styling tools (either one time or on a repeated basis) that are in fact too hot for your hair. Too-hot flat irons, combs, and curlers basically melt the protein in your hair, causing it to become weak, thin, brittle, and prone to breakage and splitting. Because it is melted, your curl is gone, and it becomes difficult to absorb and retain moisture within the hair.


Just in case you *might* be in denial, here is what relaxer damage looks like:

Notice the difference between her natural hair and relaxed ends! Yours may not be as severe, but always remember: damage is damage is damage. Not to mention the scars, baldness, and burns! Relaxers cause a swelling of the hair cortex, separating protein bonds. The broken bonds realign themselves into a straight configuration. If it sounds a little unclear, click here. Jc does a beter job at breaking it down than I do - and she has pictures!

Hair color (especially bleaching, blondes, or lighter colors in general) works by lifting the cuticle, and dissolving the melanin that gives hair its color. Thanks to these raised cuticles, dryness, difficulty with moisture retention, weaker hair, and breakage is almost always on the menu, to some degree. Jc explains this one better to. Click here for that.

So....I looked at the pictures and I have _________ damage. What do I need to do?

Easy. Transition, chop, or wait until your hair decides for you via falling out/breaking (not recommended).

Happy Transitioning! Look for Lesson 102 coming soon! Of course, if you have any specific questions, feel free to e-mail info@maneobjective.com!