Story Time: My Big Chop after Transitioning

I did the big chop! After eight months of transitioning, my relaxed ends met the trash can on May 20th, 2017. I’ve been relaxed for as long as I can remember.  My decision to transition from relaxer back to my hair’s natural state stated with YouTube. I follow lots of beauty and hair gurus and started feeling “bleh” about my relaxed hair. Everyone around me has thick,  flourishing natural hair! I wanted to embrace my coils and restore my hair back to it’s healthy and full state.

This isn’t my first relaxed to natural transition.

My first attempt at transitioning was in 2014 during my senior year of high school. I wore a mix of box braids and twists for about 6 months prior to giving up. I was impatient and decided to relax and cut my hair into a super cute bob (which I loved!).

Everything was great, until I entered college in the August of 2015. A mix of stress, rushing to class, and too much heat caused my hair to thin and break. Within a year, I hated my hair.

From November to May, I wore my hair in braids and other protective styles. However, I did not pay attention to the line of demarcation, AKA separation between natural ad relaxed.  Although my hair was growing fast, the relaxed ends were breaking off and the back, left, back corner of hair was completely natural while scraggly ends were still on the right!

The big chop date wasn’t even scheduled!

I tried to hang on to the scraggly ends, but my mother thought otherwise. I went to her bathroom, washed my hair, then prepared for my big chop. Unlike the hundreds of big chopped videos, I didn’t cry and I wasn’t the least bit sad. I was shocked to say the least. I hadn’t known what to expect – my hair was now short and tightly coiled. How do I style this? What will other people think?

After a few days of trying out products and attempting styles, the new look has finally settled with me. And, of course, compliments from others have boosted my confidence. Now, it’s been almost two weeks and I’m learning what does and does not work for me. In the process, I’m crafting my personal hair care routine to maintain health and growth. My “hair goal” is to get my hair to a length in which I can create more styles. Until then, I’ll be enjoying my TWA! Check out my Instagram to keep up with my hair journey.

Comment below with your hair tips and tricks!