When I was in elementary school my mom got tired of me not doing anything to my hair. I'd wake up in the morning and not even touch my hair sometimes. I'd cry when she did my hair, not because I was tender headed, but because I just hated having my hair done! I couldn't stand it! I remember all the whoopings I'd get because I wouldn't sit still long enough for her to tame that beast of hair I had. It was a serious task to get me to stay still. She had all kids of clacker balls, borretts, etc to style my hair but I just couldn't stand it at all. I remember I was in class one day and decided to cut my bangs off. Biggest mistake ever. Talk about a whoopinggggggg! She took me back to the salon and tried to salvage what was left of my butchered bangs. So, my mom decided to start having my hair braided. Now, this is the era when "duky" braids were in style - now called box braids. She'd alternate between taking me to someone to have those done, those dreaded crochet braids, or just the regular corn rolls. I had those all the time from then on and loved it. I was into sports and it was easier to manage that than trying to do my hair everyday.When I got into middle school everything shifted. I mean, I went from having those all the time to this freaking jerry curl crap!! I hated that. My mom and the beautician had this bright idea that because my hair was so thick and the fact I had to have a relaxer every 4 to 6 weeks they wanted me to get a curl. I was so against it. They said because I never took care of my hair it'd be the best thing to do and the easiest for me to maintain. Me being dumb I went with it and boom they cut my relaxed ends off and here's the curl! I had hair on my head, they cut maybe an inch but it was a lot to me and I cried soooooo hard when I saw the end result. Reminded me of Bobby Brown LOL! I started throwing my hair up into a pony tail every single day if my hair wasn't in braids of some sort. After a while I got tired of that and went back to relaxers. I had relaxers from that point on but had braids, cornrolls, kinky twists, and micro braids all the time I was in high school.
When I graduated, I wanted a change so I went to the stylist my Aunt went to and told him to cut my hair like hers. It was in this style like Hallie Berry but a little longer. I wore that for quite a while. When I moved I had to find a stylist that knew how to deal with that type of cut so it would stay maintained. Only problem was the price. I went from having my hair done weekly wash/style for $25 and $45 for a relaxer/style to $45 for just a wash/style and $75 for the relaxer/style. I was like OMG no this is not working. So I started wearing kinky twists and micro braids 24/7 never giving my hair a real break unless I knew I had the money to get the relaxer. Because my hair is so thick when I got over 6 weeks without a relaxer they tack on an extra $10 because they have to keep it on longer and I have to come back a week later to get it touched up. I had to have touch-ups every two weeks, yes between relaxers I had to have touch-ups.... that's how thick my hair is.
In 2010 I met someone that had natural hair and I was fastinated to get to know how it all works, etc. I went into a whirlwind of searching for techniques, styles, etc because I wanted to know it all. After months of research she asked me why don't I go natural and I think it was the best idea ever. She told me to transition so that I don't have to go without having long hair considering that's all I've been used to. She got me into watching other naturals journeys and I became very intreged with it and decided this is what I wanted to do. Not just because of that but because I had NEVER wanted to take care of my hair until now and I wanted my hair to be healthy. I accepted my texture earlier in my life but never knew that was my "natural hair texture" because my mom would always relax it. After talking to my friend for a little I decided I'm going to chop it all off and just DO IT. I was extremely nervous but I did it and felt awesome afterwards. I did my big chop (BC) November 26th, 2010. I did my 2nd BC June 4th, 2011. Since cutting off my hair it has been a learning experience and a journey to say the least. I've been there where afterwards I was like wth did I do, I can't handle this I want to relax my hair, etc etc but I stuck with it! I'm going on 3 yrs strong in my natural hair journey and honey I'm loving it. The good, bad and ugly *flips hair*
Big Chop #2
**Click links below to watch live footage of my Big Chop's (BC)**
