If you see me now it may be hard for you to believe that I was ever self conscious about my hair, oh but believe me I was indeed. I did my big chop¹ in the summer of June 2017 after ten months of transitioning². I felt like this was a fitting time because this was the summer before high school, it was time for a fresh start. So, I told my mother that I was ready. She got the scissors and she got-to-cutting. I looked in the mirror when she was finished and my first reaction was ‘What the heck?’ I mean I could not believe what I had done, it was so much shorter than I though it would be. My mother left some of my straight ends in the front of my hair because she said it needed balance. That didn’t make sense to me, but hey, she is the professional hairstylist so I just went with it.
Here are some pictures of my hair when I was transitioning to my big chop.
That whole summer I was really dedicated to my natural hair and focus on how I it could grow and prosper. I went through numerous natural hair products, and when I say numerous I mean TOO MANY and lord when I tell you it broke my bank ( really my mothers bank). See this is what they don’t tell you about being natural in all the you tube videos that you binge watch as you contemplate about cutting your hair. They don’t tell you how expensive all the good products are. I mean sure it’s some five dollars and below products that you can buy, however if you want that good-good, so good that you will see growth in under the month. All them products are expensive as heck. But of course I gave in, I wanted the luxurious all natural hair. It took me a while to find my hair texture which mainly 4B with some 4C mixed within. Which the hardest to maintain and on top of most natural products don’t cater to thick and coiled hair. I was very overwhelmed with the different types and styles. It was so much information that I could learn about my hair. I guess you can say that’s the beauty of black hair.
After I cut my hair, I saw growth in almost on two months! My hair was doing great! With the help of protective styles³ and Jamaican black castor oil my hair was out of the TWA stage quick.
Here are some pictures within the first year of cutting my hair. You can see the protective styles I experimented with.
I remember the first time I ever wore my natural fro out to school. I was still in the TWA ( teeny weeny fro) stage. The time prior all I ever did was stretch my hair into a high puff which I didn’t have enough hair to do. I was feeling so anxious about what people would say. I felt secured with my high puff, wearing my hair down exposed my insecurities. On the contrary on that school day the responses I got were unexpected. Everyone seem to love my hair, so why couldn’t I? It was then when I realize that I focus too much on what people cared about. My natural hair is something that I should be proud of. Instead of using it to hide my features I should use to embrace my beauty.
It has been two years since I big chopped and my hair has been doing tremendously well. It surpass all my expectations for it to be only a couple of years. Although I continue to get compliments about my hair that is not the reason I love it so much. My hair is representation on how I developed over these years. For all my natural girls, who either just cut their hair or have had natural all their lives… I know it can be too much work and sometimes you feel like you want to cut it all off. (Trust me, I’ve been there.) I just want you know that your beauty extends outside of your hair and even though it might be tough now, keep going and see how it turns out. And if you still want to cut all your hair… “Britney Spears- style”… go for it!
Below are some recent pictures of my hair from this year.
Glossary
Big Chop¹- The act of taking your natural hair journey from transitioning to officially natural in a matter of minutes. Usually by cutting off large sections.
Transitioning²- The process of growing out your natural hair before cutting of damage or chemical ends.
Protective Styles³- A style that protects your ends and your hair overall by protecting it from sun exposure, heat and constant manipulation. Most common protective style are braids.
This was a really cool idea for a blog post, and I learned a lot about hair and your journey with it. Thank you for including definitions because that was neat and helpful, and I appreciate the pictures. I love your hair so much, by the way. (:
CHILEEEE! The growth I need for my hair. I love this post so much because it is such a big part of my life. My hair is my life and I appreciate it so much. The sacrifices you have to make for good, heathy hair are so abundant and some people just don’t realize how much goes into it. What products did you use most? I’m 4C with 4B all around and I just want to know if any of those products will work for me. Very well written Steph!