I've reached a turning point & there's no going back!

curlycrocheter

Well-Known Member
I've flip-flopped so many times on whether or not I will ever straighten my hair or continue to use heat.

I've finally decided that I'm in a position now, where I am mentally ready to embrace my curls. It's taken 27 years, but I am truly giving up the flat iron after being a heat straightened natural for 94% of my life.

Now my dilemma is, I'm not sure what to do from this point. I have a lot of straight pieces from years of flat ironing. My hair is currently WL when straight. My hair isn't damaged, but I know as my hair continues to grow there will be a difference in texture. I want to reach HL this year, but I'm not sure if I should start the process of slowly cutting off the old "heatlaxed" hair, or wait until I reach my goal & go into maintenance mood.

What do you do when you reach a turning point in your HHJ? Do you make a quick decision, or just let things play out?
 

Froreal3

haulin hard in the paint
I thought you retained better with heat. I'd just let things play out as they will. I'd wait till I reached my goal if the ends aren't causing trouble.
 

curlycrocheter

Well-Known Member
^^I know I know. But to be honest, I'm just tired of straightening my hair.

At this length it's more work than I'm willing or able to do. Plus, I'm starting to not like how it looks straight. The last time I straightened, I washed my hair after 2 days. I couldn't take it any more.
 

toaster

Well-Known Member
Are you saying that you want to wear your natural curls but most of your hair length is now straight pieces or curls that are not your natural curl texture?

I'm sorry if I'm not understanding your question correctly, but if the answer is yes then I would be in for a long-term transition and would attempt to make the two/three textures blend as best I could (twist outs, flexi rods, bantu knots, etc) until I reached a length of curly hair that I was happy with.
 

curlycrocheter

Well-Known Member
Are you saying that you want to wear your natural curls but most of your hair length is now straight pieces or curls that are not your natural curl texture?

I'm sorry if I'm not understanding your question correctly, but if the answer is yes then I would be in for a long-term transition and would attempt to make the two/three textures blend as best I could (twist outs, flexi rods, bantu knots, etc) until I reached a length of curly hair that I was happy with.

Kind of. The straight pieces are mostly around the perimeter of my face, where my hair is most fragile. The rest of my hair is more so wavey than curly, which i realize is a symptom of the heat usage.

I've resigned myself to approaching this like a transition. So far braid outs have worked well. I'm trying finger coils for the first time & I really like them. I also ordered some flexi rods & I'm waiting on them to get here to start experimenting. Thank you for the advice!
 

toaster

Well-Known Member
Your hair is gorgeous and you're obviously doing something right! I definitely wouldn't cut hair that's not splitting for the sake of a style unless you really really wanted to. Enjoy your hair! I think the added length will help you with styling as well.

Good luck!
 

prettybyrd

Well-Known Member
I tend to be one of those quick decision types, and I have to admit, most of them I've regretted. If I were in your situation, I would handle it like you are. Treating this like a transition is smart.

Your hair is very pretty!
 

curlycrocheter

Well-Known Member
Thanks everybody. This is honestly something that's been weighing on my heart. Straight hair was a comfort zone for me and wearing my hair curly is really out of the box for me. Even my mom and sister were a little shocked/skeptical wheni told them my plan.

I don't think I will start cutting the altered hair just yet.
 
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