Did I Really? My Big Chop!

Of all my sisters, I'm the only one that does not have natural hair. Over the years, I watched them maintain their natural look. My sister Juliet was more serious than the other sisters. She bought oils and different products and made her own concoctions to take care of her natural hair. Personally, I'm a stress free person and it just all seemed so overwhelming. Why deal with all these extra steps when I can just slap a perm in my hair and keep it moving? I did steal some of her oils for my hair though. Smelled so good! Lol

I'll admit, I've never really been a hair person. My sisters and my mother always gave me a hard time about my hair. They feel like God blessed the wrong person with hair. Lol! I had a pretty good length but I hardly ever did anything fancy with my hair besides going to the Dominican salon and then wearing ponytails when the style wore off. 

After finding out that I was pregnant with MoMo, I didn't put a perm in my hair. I read about it and was also told you were not supposed to perm your hair while pregnant. I still went to the Dominicans though, because they straighten hair with so much heat that it leaves a permed look. In reality though, I grew my hair natural for about a year because I put in braids in my hair right before I had MoMo. About three months after she was born, I went to the Dominican salon and got a perm. I couldn't take it anymore!

I took the pictures below in December 2011, right before my wedding. This is what my hair looked like!

More than cutting my hair and going natural, I think I just got tired of my hair and wanted something different. It won't be the first time. In 2007, two days before I graduated from undergrad,  I woke up in the morning, went to the salon and put a permanent color in my hair. By the way, I didn't give this much thought prior to going to the salon. Yeah, silly me! First of all, I picked out a color I thought was golden brown but translated to an almost burnt orange color on my hair. Clearly, I  was also working with a clueless beautician. Months after putting the color in, my hair started falling out big time! I have very soft hair and I think part of the problem was the fact that the color was too harsh for my hair texture. Plus, I never took the necessary steps to take care of the hair with color. Anyway, I couldn't take it any longer and once again, without thinking much about it, I woke up, went to the salon and cut off my hair. I really had no other choice though, my hair was badly damaged.

I loved my hair short and I loved the look it gave me, but my hair did not stay short for long. It grew pretty quickly. I absolutely loved my hair when it was the length in the picture below. I think that's the perfect length. I should have kept trimming and maintaining this length but I let my hair keep growing and and before I knew it, I was back to my regular length.

So! All of this just to say that I once again I wanted something different with my hair! I asked hubby what he felt about me cutting my hair and he was fine with it, as long as I didn't start complaining to him and moping around after my decision. Lol. After watching several YouTube videos and talking to my sister Juliet and my friend Phoebe who is also natural, I made up my mind that I was going to go natural permanently. I knew I could slowly transition without ever cutting my hair, but I was REALLY itching to cut off my hair! I'm not sure why. Lol! Phoebe was really great help. Mid 2011, she did the big chop and prior to making that decision, her hair was longer than what mine was in the two pictures shown above.  Currently, I think her hair length is back to what it was prior to her big chop. 

I inquired and did my research for natural hair care here in Bentonville. I found a salon, made a call and went in for a consultation. After speaking with the stylist, I asked her if she had any clients coming in and she said "no". I looked at her and she knew exactly what I was thinking. Lol! She really tried to discourage me though! If my mind was not set on what I wanted, I might have changed my mind. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? Are you ready right now?", "Oh my gosh, I feel guilty cutting off all this hair.", "Have you really really thought about this?" ...

Yes I have and I'm ready!

On Thursday March 28th, 2013 I cut my hair.

BEFORE!

AFTER! 

I don't plan to scare or overwhelm myself with multiple hair products, like I see with most natural people. That's probably one of the things that put me off. Even while watching YouTube videos, I got so confused! Phoebe told me about the products she used right after her big chop. I went to get those, she showed me what to do over a Skype call and I loved the result. I plan to stick solely to those products for now. 

I am totally in love with my hair right now. I don't miss my long hair at all. More importantly, I do not regret my decision. 

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