I must admit I am truly in Awe of this young lady. A few years ago she had thick hair flowing down her back and today...well I'll let her tell her own story.
1. What was your routine growing up?
Growing up I had really long and thick hair. It would tangle easily so I hardly ever had a chance to really wear it down. I found it really difficult to manage my hair texture in tight curly form. It was impossible for me to detangle it on my own as a teenager I would often coax my grandmother or mother to press my hair with a hot comb to get it straight. I would shampoo and condition it, followed by blow drying (not a good look after blow drying, think Whoopi Goldberg). This is when I would beg from someone to press it with the hot comb. I LOVED my hair straight at that age. My hair was midway down my back and I wanted to show it off on a regular basis, so I opted for a relaxer.
2. When did you get your first relaxer?
I relaxed my hair for the first time in 8th grade (European Desire). I will never forget how excited I was to get the relaxer and be able to wear my hair straight all the time. This the first time I didn't have trouble detangling my own hair without a pile of hair on the floor.
3. How often did you get a relaxer?
I generally got a relaxer every 6 weeks or so. Sometimes if funds were low I would stretch it to 8 weeks. I was displeased with the appearance of the new growth that I really tried to stay on top of it as often as I could.
4. When did you get the "itch" to go natural?
I first considered going natural a few years ago for just a short time. I never really got too far with taking any serious steps though. My excuse for not going through with it was not wanting to pay the up charge my stylist charged for a press and curl. So I continued pretty happily with my relaxer until last Spring. In the spring of 2010, my hairline in the front thinned dramatically. It may have been due to a number of factors. At the time I was in my final quarter of my master's degree, working, not eating well, house hunting, and just stressed in general. I received a relaxer in April and my hair did not do well with it at all. I had no scabs or burns to the scalp but it was pretty clear that my latest relaxer had done a number on my hairline. Despite this devastating event,I continued to relax, with much hesitancy. My last relaxer was January 2011. In March of 2011, I decided once and for all I was done with relaxers. My hairline was still very thin and brittle and I knew it would not get better while continuing to relax so often. I had so many friends that were already natural so I decided I could do it too.
5. Why the big chop?
I transitioned from January to November of 2011 then I did the big chop. During the transition, I did micros twice during the summer and 1 sew in in early fall. As I mentioned before, my hairline is now REALLY thin, so I didn't feel like braids were a great long term solution during my transition. The sew in seemed to have caused less tension on my hairline but both options were kind of costly, so definitely not my ideal situation. After the sew in, I just decided wash and flat iron my hair at home, which actually didn't look too bad. The biggest challenge was the frequency in which I had to do it. I was washing and flat ironing at least 2x per week because of how often I was working out. Major dilemma! So while working out one day with a lady that happens to be natural AND a hairstylist, she suggested I big chop. I initially thought I would never look nice with a really short style, but she definitely planted a seed. I started searching Google, YouTube, and various blogs about teeny weenie afros and big chops and felt very curious. I made an appointment with my own hairstylist to share my thoughts. She gave me complete encouragement to move forward with my big chop. At the time, I had a little over 3 inches of natural hair so I felt confidant I could do the big chop. I told myself that before my birthday in December, I would schedule the appointment. On November 2,2011, I chopped! I was completely terrified and actually didn't know whether I liked the new style for the first few hours. After playing around with it that evening, it started to grow on me.
6. What is your current routine? (include products)
Unfortunately, my current daily routine takes about 45 mins :( I am still trying to figure out how to manage my curls. For the last week, I have either been washing/co-washing in the morning followed by Aveeno Nourish +Condition leave-in treatment ( don't know how well it actually works but it smells great!) Im using a combination of Taliah Waajid curly curl cream and regular ecostyler gel for better curl definition. I section my hair into small section and apply the curl cream and gel and work the product from root to end. I separate small strand of hair and wrap around my finger to really make my curls pop. My curl definition in the back is pretty good but the front of my hair is a very different story. I am using perm rods on the front to achieve curls. I spray on some glosser for sheen...and 45 mins later, I'm finally done. I'm hoping the more and more I play around with it, that I can shorten the length of time to 20 minutes.
7. What's next? Do you have any goals?
I would love to try some twist sets. No real definitive goals at this point, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with what I have.
8. Any words of encouragement or anything else you want to share?
Go for it! Don't be afraid. You can dress up your natural hair with hats, accessories, make up,etc . Don't get too caught up with wanting your curl pattern to be a certain way or like someone else's...just see what you are working with and WORK IT :)
1. What was your routine growing up?
Growing up I had really long and thick hair. It would tangle easily so I hardly ever had a chance to really wear it down. I found it really difficult to manage my hair texture in tight curly form. It was impossible for me to detangle it on my own as a teenager I would often coax my grandmother or mother to press my hair with a hot comb to get it straight. I would shampoo and condition it, followed by blow drying (not a good look after blow drying, think Whoopi Goldberg). This is when I would beg from someone to press it with the hot comb. I LOVED my hair straight at that age. My hair was midway down my back and I wanted to show it off on a regular basis, so I opted for a relaxer.
2. When did you get your first relaxer?
I relaxed my hair for the first time in 8th grade (European Desire). I will never forget how excited I was to get the relaxer and be able to wear my hair straight all the time. This the first time I didn't have trouble detangling my own hair without a pile of hair on the floor.
3. How often did you get a relaxer?
I generally got a relaxer every 6 weeks or so. Sometimes if funds were low I would stretch it to 8 weeks. I was displeased with the appearance of the new growth that I really tried to stay on top of it as often as I could.
4. When did you get the "itch" to go natural?
I first considered going natural a few years ago for just a short time. I never really got too far with taking any serious steps though. My excuse for not going through with it was not wanting to pay the up charge my stylist charged for a press and curl. So I continued pretty happily with my relaxer until last Spring. In the spring of 2010, my hairline in the front thinned dramatically. It may have been due to a number of factors. At the time I was in my final quarter of my master's degree, working, not eating well, house hunting, and just stressed in general. I received a relaxer in April and my hair did not do well with it at all. I had no scabs or burns to the scalp but it was pretty clear that my latest relaxer had done a number on my hairline. Despite this devastating event,I continued to relax, with much hesitancy. My last relaxer was January 2011. In March of 2011, I decided once and for all I was done with relaxers. My hairline was still very thin and brittle and I knew it would not get better while continuing to relax so often. I had so many friends that were already natural so I decided I could do it too.
5. Why the big chop?
I transitioned from January to November of 2011 then I did the big chop. During the transition, I did micros twice during the summer and 1 sew in in early fall. As I mentioned before, my hairline is now REALLY thin, so I didn't feel like braids were a great long term solution during my transition. The sew in seemed to have caused less tension on my hairline but both options were kind of costly, so definitely not my ideal situation. After the sew in, I just decided wash and flat iron my hair at home, which actually didn't look too bad. The biggest challenge was the frequency in which I had to do it. I was washing and flat ironing at least 2x per week because of how often I was working out. Major dilemma! So while working out one day with a lady that happens to be natural AND a hairstylist, she suggested I big chop. I initially thought I would never look nice with a really short style, but she definitely planted a seed. I started searching Google, YouTube, and various blogs about teeny weenie afros and big chops and felt very curious. I made an appointment with my own hairstylist to share my thoughts. She gave me complete encouragement to move forward with my big chop. At the time, I had a little over 3 inches of natural hair so I felt confidant I could do the big chop. I told myself that before my birthday in December, I would schedule the appointment. On November 2,2011, I chopped! I was completely terrified and actually didn't know whether I liked the new style for the first few hours. After playing around with it that evening, it started to grow on me.
6. What is your current routine? (include products)
Unfortunately, my current daily routine takes about 45 mins :( I am still trying to figure out how to manage my curls. For the last week, I have either been washing/co-washing in the morning followed by Aveeno Nourish +Condition leave-in treatment ( don't know how well it actually works but it smells great!) Im using a combination of Taliah Waajid curly curl cream and regular ecostyler gel for better curl definition. I section my hair into small section and apply the curl cream and gel and work the product from root to end. I separate small strand of hair and wrap around my finger to really make my curls pop. My curl definition in the back is pretty good but the front of my hair is a very different story. I am using perm rods on the front to achieve curls. I spray on some glosser for sheen...and 45 mins later, I'm finally done. I'm hoping the more and more I play around with it, that I can shorten the length of time to 20 minutes.
7. What's next? Do you have any goals?
I would love to try some twist sets. No real definitive goals at this point, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with what I have.
8. Any words of encouragement or anything else you want to share?
Go for it! Don't be afraid. You can dress up your natural hair with hats, accessories, make up,etc . Don't get too caught up with wanting your curl pattern to be a certain way or like someone else's...just see what you are working with and WORK IT :)
Before picture/Relaxed hair. It looks really good Ashley.
Post Big Chop Picture...and she went and got a nose ring to go with the new DO! Love it! Work it girl!
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