Natural hair update 2: Big Chop

I did it! Last weekend I got so fed up so I let my sisters cut my ponytail off! And it felt AMAZING! And scary…very scary! After laughing hysterially for about an hour I think I finally accepted what I’d just done. Thankfully everyone from my mum to my fiancé really likes my new look so I feel more confident about it. There was a moment afterwards where I got a little sad but now, a week later, I couldn’t be happier with my choice.

The big chop 

So I literally just put my hair in a super high ponytail and let my sister cut it off. Whilst effective it probably wasn’t the best way to do it as I had a mullet once I took my hair down. I wish I’d taken pictures of that stage. I looked mad! After the mullet stage my other sister then went in and cleaned it up so it was all (sort of) one length.

My ponytail looks like a powder brush…

My first TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro)

 

Wigging it 

I probably have about two inches of natural hair and the rest is just badly relaxed hair. Needless to say my hair was looking a bit crazy. On Monday I chickened out and decided to wear a wig to work and did so for the rest of the week until I could go to the hairdressers on Saturday.

Salon life 

I went to a salon called Afro Impressions (in Camberley, Surrey). If you are in the Hampshire/Surrey area and are looking for a good hairdressers then I highly recommend them. I had a wash, treatment, colour and cut. They were brilliant. I actually wanted to go blonder however because I still have some relaxed hair we couldn’t because it would just break off. My hair feels in much better condition and I can’t wait for another 4-6 weeks to pass for me to go back and have more of the relaxer cut off.

My hair looks super sleek at the moment but this will most definitely just be a temporary thing because I don’t want to go from relaxed damaged to heat damaged hair. So soon I’ll be rocking a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro).

 

They lightened my hair from about a 1b to a 2

Looking after my hair 

I’ve bought myself some new products including Creme of Nature Argan Oil Leave-In Conditioner (which smells divine) and a Mizani Supreme Oil Shampoo and Hair Mask (which cost a bomb but is highly recommended by other hair enthusiasts). I’m intrigued to wash my hair to see just what it’s going to look like now that it’s shorter. I’d like to try and experiment with some perm rods or something but I’m not sure my hair is long enough just yet. Either way I know that I want to keep heat to a minimum.

 

Doing the big chop was really scary but I’d been thinking about it for a few months and in the end I’m really happy with my decision. If I decide I want a longer do I’ll just pop a wig on anyway. If you are thinking about doing the big chop definitely take a look on Pinterest and Google for some natural short hairstyles so that you can be realistic with what your hair will look like. And then take a deep breath and just do it…after all it’s only hair and it will grow back…

JG x