One of my new favorite bathroom fixtures: Carol's Daughter Transitioning 1-2-3 Kit.
This is why the brand-new Transitioning 1-2-3 Kit from Carol’s Daughter is like the response to all my hair-related prayers. When they heard that I was transitioning, they sent the box right over for me to try and I tell you now, it was like angels had dropped it into my possession. SOMEONE HAD HEARD MY CRIES. The kit contains everything you need, whether you’re maintaining length like me (for now) or you’ve already gone through “The Big Chop” and cut off your processed hair. Let’s discuss how it works:
The Transitioning Kit contains three items to help nourish your hair. The first is a Purifying Extra-Gentle Cleaser, which helps remove product residue from the tons of leave-in products we use for moisture and manageability. The product helps gently remove product build-up, and delivers hydration with incredible shine. The amount of manageability delivered from this product alone sold me.
The second item in the kit is the Renewing Scalp Spray, which helps exfoliate the scalp and stimulate the follicles for overall health and hair growth. Relaxers can damage hair follicles over time, so this treatment is a godsend when it comes to promoting a healthy scalp. You work the product through in sections, massage it in gently and let it sit for 15 minutes. You should exfoliate your scalp as you do your face to ensure its health and this product not only works, it feels AMAZING.
Finally, the piece de resistance: the Restoring Anti-Breakage Treatment. This is where the magic happens, people. The product helps heal your hair at its weakest points because, let’s face it: your hair is incredibly fragile between the new growth and the relaxed ends. Also, please note that it takes 6-8 months after a relaxer for your hair to grow in without trauma, so fragility and breakage can be a problem for a while. This product helps build strength and delivers a booster shot of moisture to give your hair strength and a gorgeous supple texture. Apply, then seal it in with a shower cap or sit under a hood dryer for 15 minutes. I personally took the kit to the gym and sat in the steam room to allow the product to work its magic, which was amazing. Rinse and style as usual.
The kit creates something that’s hard to find with transitioning hair: manageability, less breakage and incredible softness. After using the product for about 10 days, I’ve experienced less hair loss (I check my elastics as a gage) and my hair has softness and shine. Believe me: I’ll be using this throughout the grow-out phase and well into The Big Chop, which is scheduled for this summer. I’ll keep you posted.
GIVEAWAY ALERT!!! The transitioning kit launches on Carol’s Daughter’s website on May 30th (that would be tomorrow) and I want you to experience the love. I’ll be giving away one kit per week from now until July 9th, 2012. Just comment on the post below on your own hair transitioning story, and I’ll pick one winner at random each week on Friday.
Good luck and don’t fret your transitioning period. Thanks to Carol’s Daughter and the Transitioning Movement, help is finally here!
This is such a great review! I decided to transition myself (after years of wanting to go natural but lacking the commitment). I just wanted to go the easier route and relax it, but my hair said enough is enough. The relaxers started to take its toll, and I rather keep the strands on my head than worry about if it is straight enough. Haha. I would love to use Carol’s Daughter transitioning kit to help make this process easier…until I have the guts to take the big chop. Like you, I am growing it out now. And I had no idea I had to exfoliate my scalp, but it so makes sense! Thanks for running this giveaway!!! I’m happy we’re going through the journey together
I am a curly haired girl who regularly (and I mean REGULARLY) ends up dropping big coin on Brazilian Blowouts. I get my Deva Curl cuts, so I’d like to finally give my hair the opportunity to be curly and stop fighting its natural look.
Hi, my name is Sheila i’m 14 and I am currently transitioning to natural hair and its been really hard and frustrating I don’t know what else to say except its a huge downer on my self esteem which never has really been the best.. Which is why I’m going natural as a step to learning how to love myself. I know this sounds like a sob story but I honestly I would really love something to help heal my damaged hair which seems like it grows in damaged and split lol, and this sounds perfect but I can’t afford it anytime soon.
I just found your blog this week! I’ve done some back reading and it’s been added to my reader.
I’ve decided to do a transition just recently. My last chemical process was in January. I had an appointment for another last month but when I went in, I decided not to go through it. I just haven’t been happy with the result and wanted to try something different.
My stylist has been supportive and gave me a bunch of tips. I don’t plan on “big chopping” until necessary, so any products that would help in the process would be great!
I guess I can say that I was thrown into a transition. I was a relaxer girl my whole life! Every Saturday I was at the beauty shop it was my ritual, until one day it all came to an end. It seemed that over night my scalp went crazy! I went to several doctors and even under went a scalp biopsy. After the results of the biopsy came back my dermatologist looked at me and said “Ok, I’m going to give it to you straight. I know you’re an African American woman and this may be difficult however, you cannot get any more relaxers and you have to use minimal heat, if not you will continue to loose your hair.” I sucked in the tears while in the office, but as soon as I got in the car I was a crying mess. Immediately, I felt like my life was over! I went to my regular hair appointment the next day declaring to my stylist that we had to breakup our relationship. “He kindly replied, “No we don’t, we’ll make it work.” That day we came to the conclusion that I would begin a transition. He braided every piece of my hair sewed in extensions and ever since then we’ve been making it work. My transition has been nothing short of wonderful however now we have hit another bump in the road, I’m have some breakage but after reading your product review, I’m sure that the Carol’s Daughter Transitioning Kit could help me. Sometimes things happen for a reason and this transition has brought me a newfound confidence.
My hair story — I never thought that I qualified as having one but I’ll tell you my experience. I wasn’t allowed to get a relaxer until I was 16 years old. At the time, my hair was thick, full and almost brastrap-length. Everytime I got my hair pressed with the hotcomb though, I HATED it. The heat would burn me and my head would stay sore/throbbing for days with all of the tugging, pulling and burning. I cried for my mom to let me get a relaxer. I finally got one at 16. I was soo happy but a year later my hair was thin and lifeless. I decided to go online and figure out how to grow my hair. At the time, there wasn’t much information out there, but I found a forum that I became a dedicated follower to. My once thin, relaxed hair grew to be full and back to BSL. I would go on to keep getting relaxers for 6 years total (2 years in high school and all throughout undergrad) and my hair was thriving in the meantime.
Then as I was starting graduate school, I was out in Cali for a summer research position and didn’t have anyone to relax my hair. My field is also African American Studies and as I was learning more about the ways various parts of our beings are devalued, I decided I would try to transition. I transitioned for a year total during my first year of graduate school and it was the toughest experience ever (partly b/c I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted to do). I had so much breakage and shedding in the process. My hair did a complete 180 in 6 months. It went from full and thick to uneven and damaged. I ended up getting another relaxer a year into my transition by a horrible stylist which made me cry. I again swore off relaxers and then 4 months later, I got a BKT which left my hair feeling so coated and yucky. When I washed out that BKT using some conditioner with sulfates, I didn’t know what to do with my hair. Didn’t have anyone to relax it (I was in graduate school 14 hours away from home) so I stayed in buns for the next couple of months until this girl who goes to grad school with me told me about a natural hair group that she was forming.
She then mentioned to me how she makes her own u-shaped curly wig to help her transition and it blends her natural hair and the wig perfectly! I tried making my own clip-in u-shaped curly wig following the directions on a Youtube video. I would clip it in every morning and it looked really good. I also started using Youtube to find more hairstyles and products. Long story short (lol), I realized that I had to change my thinking first. I was still stuck in wanting my transitioning hair to be able to do what *I* wanted it to do instead of working with it to see how it behaves. I now use more conditioning products that work best for the two textures on my head and I have a completely different mindset this time into my transition. I am a year into my transition (again!) but it hasn’t been difficult at all this time around! I have learned about pH balance and different moisturizing techniques and I make a lot of my own stuff myself, including my leave-ins. What a difference it makes when all you do is change your mindset!
I tried transitioning a few times and gave up before the 3 month mark but I’m committed to sticking to it this time. I’m currently in the 5th month of transitioning and things are not looking so pretty. I’m excited to see my curls and natural texture but my once very manageable hair is now quite a pain. I have to wash my hair more than I ever used to because my scalp will start itching within 2 or 3 days after washing or co-washing. Breakage is another thing I worry about. I was extremely excited when I saw this and I’m SO looking forward to using a product specifically designed for hair with two textures and a scalp recovering from years of chemical damage. Despite my complaints, I’m looking forward to the rest of my transition and learning about my natural hair. I realize that I have to take the good with the bad. Be encouraged transitioners!!
I start transitioning when I was home on medical leave with a brain tumor. I was unable to do my hair and decided to give my hair a break and tried a natural style. It has been 3 years and a radiation treatment later and I am loving my hair. I have so much confidence in the person that I am and for the first time ever, I love myself just as I am and I am ok if someone else doesn’t like me as I am.
God is amazing.
Thanks for this giveaway
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Hello there My name is Fabia McDonald and this is my story. I grew up with a mother who was the queen of relaxers and she in fact threw me onto this throne at the age of 14. I was happy with the way things were going with my hair and never wanted a relaxer but at that poin in time that was not my choice. After my first relaxer my hair looked marvelous and felt the same way but after a year or two i started to notice my hair breakage which resulted in hair lose. I was extrememly devastated when this happened not only because it was not my choice but because i then became an addict. About every 6 months i would re relax my hair and not really thinkin of the damage it was causing me. But with a promise to myself i vowed not to ever relax my hair again and to become a natural once again. Now i have been relax free for 10 months and i am proud of myself and i will stay dedicated to bring life back to my hair once and for all:)