Lauren's Story: A tale of two transitions

My first attempt at going natural began in March 2006, two weeks after relaxing for Mardi Gras. I attempted to transition after Leah made her natural announcement but was incredibly discouraged by comments suggesting that my hair wasn't “good” enough to wear in its natural state. That, coupled with every new stylist telling me to cut my hair, became too much and I gave in to the goodness of the Affirm no-lye relaxer. After months of wraps and roller sets, I became more and more bored with my hair. I got sick of seeing the same person in the mirror each day; sick of no variety in my look. Plus, the relaxers started making my hair limp and lifeless. No matter how large the rollers, I couldn't achieve the body and fullness I craved.

In 2007, I gave it another go; my official last relaxer was in January 2007! I put the Chi irons to use and started my long journey to naturalness. By May, I'd gotten plain old sick of all the new growth and got my hair cut into a neat bob. This was around the time Rihanna started cutting, so it made me feel all trendy and whatnot. Lame, I know...but my bob was cute!

I continued getting my hair trimmed in that bob throughout the summer. I would faithfully wash and restyle my hair each week which was becoming tedious, not to mention all that heat was bad for my hair. Once I got enough hair for a decent bun; it became my everyday style. I went from doing my hair weekly, to once every two and a half to three weeks. Somewhere around Spring of 2008, I went in for a simple trim and ended up with another cut; however all of my relaxed ends were GONE! That had me so giddy and excited, I just had to start wearing my hair all natural. Zarinah introduced me to the famous Curly Meringue by Miss Jessie's, and I did my first twist out in March. It was something like a hot mess. I was too scared to wear my new style to work, but I had no choice...deadlines prevented me from calling in. My boss walked by my cube three times before stopping to see who was sitting at my desk. She didn't recognize me in all my natural glory. Those kinks and curls threw everyone for a loop that day. That awful style was probably the best thing I could have done because I could only get better in my styling.

Back then, I didn't know anything about regimens and what my hair liked and didn't like. I would just wash it with whatever shampoo I had under the sink, and condition likewise. I'd snap my hair trying to detangle and would even blow dry and flat iron without a proper deep conditioner. My poor strands were thirsty, and my ends would split with the change of the wind.


After lots of online research, I hit pay dirt and discovered the wonders of unrefined shea butter. It made my twists fat and shiny, and my twist outs held for days. I could get two weeks of wear by switching up one style.


A nice lady at Aveda, also named Lauren, helped me find the best products to help protect when I would straighten. While I still switch my products all the time (I'm a fly by night PJ), I make sure they provide as much moisture as possible. I am now on a new kind of natural hair journey...maximizing health and maintaining length.