Posted by Dalilah,

Most women planning to transition consider the big chop as a way of moving from relaxed hair to natural hair. Below are some tips to help confused women to make good decisions on whether to transition or just go for a big chop. 1. Decide the hair style you want

In this you should consider the effort you want to put in relation to your hair. If you want a quick and efficient routine, then the big chop is your perfect thing. But if you enjoy long and luxurious hair routines then your better consider transitioning. 2. Analyse your pros and cons This factor does not only apply in hair matters but in all decision making processes. This should be a detailed list entailing all the negatives and positives concerning the big chop idea. 3. Why do you want to retain permed hair

The decision to a big chop requires a deep and wide critical thinking. Think on the reason you don’t want to let your permed hair go. It could be that you are only nervous or you are relating length to beauty which is certainly wrong. 4. Decide and stick by your decision Deciding on whether to do a big chop or not can bring a lot of anxiety with it. I want you to understand that there is totally nothing wrong with the decision you choose to make, as long as you are personally comfortable with it. Never regret or let guilt haunt you for a decision you have made. 5. Consider the health of your hair

The health of your hair should be on the top of your priority list. Whether you decide to chop it off or not, do not compromise your hair’s health. For instance if your hair is very damaged, then there is nothing to contemplate about, the big chop is the solution. Going natural is different for everyone. Always remember these tips to help you make wise and easy decisions.

Posted by Dalilah,

  One of the most common grievances I hear from my fellow naturals is the inability to keep natural hair moisturized and soft to touch. For those who struggle with this, I recommend trying the LOC method. First things first, LOC stands for Liquid, Oil and Cream. According to Natural Hair Rules, the LOC method is scientifically one of the best ways to moisturize natural hair. It’s a technique, or series of steps, that involve hydrating your hair with a liquid, sealing in the hydration with oil and then closing the hair cuticle with a cream product to prevent moisture loss. I recently started using this method about four months ago and it has literally repaired my hair from all the damage that I’d done to it. If you don’t currently use it, you can try it without having to break the bank because you probably already have all the products you need. Liquid We all know water equals moisture. You can stop here or you can mix other liquids to your water or use an entirely different liquid altogether. I use water and aloe vera juice for my liquid. The aloe vera juice has healing properties and my hair loves it. Oil We all know that oil and water don’t mix but that’s what makes this part so effective in my opinion. When using the correct oil, you can penetrate your hair shaft enough to hold on to that moisture. I like to use olive oil and coconut oil. This keeps your hair strong and your ends from breaking so much. Cream The most important thing about this final step is to make sure your cream of choice is moisturizing or will act as a sealant. I like to use my leave-in conditioner or shea butter for this step. My best results are with the shea butter products. If you don't have a cream on hand, you can also use any oil that will act as a sealant like castor oil, grapeseed oil or jojoba oil. Have you ever tried the LOC method? Tell us how it worked for you in our comments section below.

Posted by Dalilah,

Image credit: Black Hair Information, Alyssa Forever YouTube

There are several twist-out methods available for naturals to try - wet twist-outs, dry twist-outs, flat twist-outs, chunky twist-outs and the list goes on. Most recently, I've seen more and more naturals try out the 3 Strand Twist-Out. Never heart of it? Here's what it does. According to Black Hair Information, three strand twist-outs' most attractive featuring is their lasting power. Three strand twist-outs are known to last longer because the twists are tighter and more defined. In this extremely detailed tutorial, Alyssa shows us how to achieve a perfect three strand twist-out. Hug My Hair has all the products you need for this lovely look. HugMyHair Youtube  

Posted by Dalilah,

Natural hair, in all its versatility, can sometimes get boring. There's only so many ways you can rock a twist out or an updo before you want to try a new style. Instagram is a great source for natural hairstyle inspiration. With all the naturalistas uploading photos throughout the day, there's an insane amount of styles to choose from whether you're rocking a TWA or a waist-length blow out.  Check out five of our favorite Instagram accounts. 

Posted by Dalilah, 

The natural hair community is one where a woman can feel liberated and embraced for making the decision to wear her hair in its natural state but whether or not people want to admit it, there is a lot of discrimination within the natural hair community as well. Not only is there lots of discrimination, there are these unofficial rules about what it means to be "natural" as well as commandments that you had not better break or risk being ousted from the community.  Take me for example. I have been natural since I did the big chop in April 2011. Since then I've colored my hair more times than I can remember, I've bleached it twice, I've cut it, I've neglected it and I've repaired it. For the first two reasons alone, some women don't consider me to be natural. It's OK, it doesn't bother me. What does bother me though is the assumption that all women go natural in order to have long hair or that once you're natural, you can't ever apply another relaxer to your hair.

You would've thought that a war had begun when https://www.youtube.com/user/SimplYounique YouTube vlogger SimplYounique revealed that she had decided to relax her waist length natural hair. When she posted the video of her relaxed hair, she explained that she could not devote the time to her hair that it needed and required. I mean could you imagine washing, conditioning, detangling, styling and maintaining waist length hair? I'm sure that was a full-time job! She stated in the video description that she would be learning how to care for relaxed hair again. As a result, the comment section under her video blew up. Some of her 200K + subscribers said that they would be unsubscribing from her channel, people criticized her harshly for her decision and some even felt that she had betrayed her followers.  Then, when she uploaded another video, her hair was gone! She had done a second big chop within two months of posting her relaxed hair update. Even though she says that her second big chop was a spur of the moment decision, I'm not buying it. I honestly believe that the comments and scrunity people had subjected her to led her to chop off all that pretty hair of hers. But guess what? The initial comments weren't any better than those on the relaxed hair video and again, she offered an explanation for her decision. I went into all those details to say that no one can govern how YOU decide to wear your hair. There are no rules that determine whether or not you're natural and no one should feel pressured to wear their hair one particular way. Whenever I've mentioned that I was thinking about cutting my hair, I've been given crazy looks in return. It's MY hair and I can cut it if I want to, right? I love being natural and I love what my decision represents. What I love even more is the fellowship and connection I have with other women who wear their hair in its natural state as well. I'd like for us, as a community, to let go of some of the assumptions and notions we have about our hair. To be natural means to be free and when we place those assumptions on others and criticize them for the choices they make about their hair, we're taking away the very freedom that we promote.