As you may or may not know I did my Big Chop on May 31st this year. I was planning on doing it next spring but constant weave n blending issues frustrated me to the point where I wanted all The Relaxer Gone. I was also concerned because my sister’s wedding is in the fall and she does not want me in fake hair for the wedding (though all my weaves were human hair :). All these thing promoted me to Chop my hair early. I was scared, excited, confused, but most of all I was ready or at least I thought I was.
My new found decision and frustration prompted me to cut a piece of relaxed hair from my leave out. This was partly because I just wanted it gone and partly to make it so that I could not back out of my decision. I cut the relaxed hair off my leave out and was left with some wavy looking natural hair. It took all my self control not to finish my big Chop myself but I did not trust myself to cut the back of my head so I had to wait. I anxiously tried to sleep but I kept looking at hair blogs and when I finally did sleep I was dreaming about my hair. I was so ready for the new me.
I woke up after only a few hours of sleep and knew it was time. Unfortunately my timing wasn't perfect because it was also memorial day. My options for hair cutting were limited because of the holiday but I knew it could not wait because my week was booked. Plus who wants 2 walk around with their track showing (mine did after I cut the front of my hair). I decided to try Hair Cuttery as suggested by my friend. I called Hair Cuttery. Not only were they rude but they wanted to charge me an extra $50 because my hair was going to be natural and no one had experience with natural hair. I decided against them. I then tried another Hair Cuttery which was located in a less urban area. I called and spoke to a woman with natural hair who said she could cut my hair as soon as I came in. I was so excited. I prepped my hair and went on my way to the salon.
I went to the hair salon and introduced myself to the hairdresser. I saw that her hair was much different than mine. More of a loose curl than a kink. But I had already decided I was going to do it regardless. I waited until it was my turn. My mom went first. She was already natural and just needed a trim. The stylist CUT her hair. She came in with 4 inches of hair and left with 2. Half your hair gone is not a trim. This made me a little nervous. My mom liked her hair and the lady seemed nice enough so I went along with it.
It was my turn. I hoped in the chair and my hair was slightly damp. She washed and blow dried my hair (which is strange because now it all looks the same texture). She then started cutting. She took off a few inches and I saw my hair on the floor. Slowly letting go of the old me as each piece of hair left my head. I was already in love. I told myself no matter what the texture was, no matter what it looked like I would love myself and I did. I was feeling good. I thought we were almost finished until...
She told me she would have to take a lot more off. I was confused. Before I got a chance to open my mouth and ask why she explained. She said my hair was uneven and that the front was a lot shorter than the rest. I knew this was true because I used growth aids on all of my hair with the exception of the hair left out of the weave. After she was done I lost another 2 inches of hair. If you know me you know I am not afraid of scissors. I have no problem losing length because my main concern is the health of my hair. But I do have a problem with losing inches of natural hair that I carefully hid and babied for months. I would not have gone through the pain of transitioning if I knew I was going to lose most of my progress anyway.
Then comes the styling. The stylist proceeded to wash and condition my hair. She then harshly towel dried it. She then suggested products to me and told me my products were wrong for my hair. She tried to tell me things that I know are not true. I understand basic chemistry so I know better. Our convo went a little like this.
Stylist: What do you use on your hair?
Me: I use all natural products mostly coconut and olive oil
Stylist: Those are too heavy for your hair and bad for your scalp. You should use salon products
Me: I tuned her out
Stylist: You know I could have put a texturizer in your hair if you hadn't wet it. Do you want me to put one in next time you come in?
Me: Again tuned her out. I had no plans of visiting her salon again lol
She then proceeded to put gel in my hair with no moisturizer and sit me under the dryer. I left with hard, short, dry unhappy hair (all things that could have been avoided with a more competent stylist) but I was still happy to be nappy:)
