Natural Born Austin

So ironic how we got to this point.  I remember when Austin was a toddler.  I hated combing her hair.  It was thick, curly and took at least 1 1/2 hours to comb and style, especially after a wash.  My mom came to visit when Austin was about six.  I begged her to perm Austin's hair for me.  My mom was reluctant, but she did it for me anyway.  So for nine years I have been touching up her hair to keep it straight.  It didn't get any easier.  In fact, it became more difficult to handle.  It was now longer, thicker and took about three hours for the whole process.  The funny things is now that we've been on this natural journey since October, her hair is more manageable.  Getting through this first stage below is the most difficult, but once it's combed through; the rest is a piece of cake.
So if you've seen her poofy hair lately in pictures, it's probably weather related  or we just decided on a braid-out style.

This is after a wash and blow drying w/out  combing through.  We both use Pantene Naturals for relaxed and natural hair.  If she washes her own hair, I prefer that she doesn't comb it while blow drying.  In our case, we see more hair loss that way.  I prefer to section it, comb it through and then flat iron it.  BTW..I had to fight to take this picture. She said I was going to ruin her life. 
She's funny...  :-)

I work my way from the nape of her neck to the front of her head.  This picture shows the last section and the difference in the new growth and the straightened sections. Right now, I use Blue Magic Coconut Oil to help get her hair straight.  Once she is completely natural, I'll switch to some natural  products (currently researching) and allow her to take care of it herself.

This is the finished product after flat ironing.  Austin is still coming to grips with the fact that she's going natural.  I think she thought it meant wearing her hair in a curly poof-ball at all times.  And even the thought of cutting the perm out of her hair and wearing a low 'fro would, again, "ruin my life!"

To compromise, I cut it a little every month or so.  I'll keep doing that until she has a enough new growth to reach her neck.  It's probably going to take a year or so to get to this point.  We're just going to take it one day at a time.