After the Big Chop: Act I

...so, after my abrubt decision to cut my relaxed hair off...how did I manage it...(lol).

First, after thinking about it, I believe my last relaxer was two weeks before my wedding so the very beginning of November in 2007. I remember wanting my hair straight, but not bone straight for the wedding so my stylist suggested coming in two week prior to try out the hair style and put in touch-up (touching up only the new growth with chemically altering substance to permantely straighten hair).

So, now that that minor detail is out of the way...how did I "do" my natural hair...well, I didn't!

The evening I did the big chop, I headed over to Target and picked up a three pack of ouchless head bands. For some reason, that made me feel a little bit better about the process...can't really speak on how it looked on my head!

I also headed over to curltopia for the very first time to see about getting some products...so now, I was the one in the hot seat knowing little to nothing about how to care for my natural hair.

Prior to doing the big chop, I researched and looked a pictures, etc. I wasn't too familiar with you tube, although that has proven to be a great resource. I kept hearing suggestions for miss jessies, so that's what I tried first. I purchased a sulfate free shampoo - deva curl no poo, miss jessies butter creme (2oz) and jane carter's conditioner. ...grand total right around $50.00! I thought to myself, this is going to be expensive.

Product Review:
1. Deva Curl no poo - I used until I ran it...it was good, but you have to get used to the no suds effect
2. Butter Creme...gets a D- from me. I eventually used it on my little girls hair when I braid it up - I put it down for the baby butter creme which is lighter and not so heavy
3. Jane Carter Conditioner...great!!! I use it still...and actually stopped using it for a while -just because I didn't have any, and saw a difference in my hair (for the worse) - I'm all stocked up now...so I will begin using it again

That night, my sister invited us to dinner. I told her we would come, but not to be shocked because I had just cut all my hair off...Upon my arrival she said I needed to do my makeup and look right, because now, my hair wasn't going to be able to pull that off for me...I don't wear makeup...unless I'm going somewhere or have something to cover up!

She suggested I do some twist...the proper name for that length is coils...I worked on them while I was there. Honestly, I thought I had done a decent job...but looking back, it was pretty bad!

I started to post pictures on facebook (private album of course) to document my hair growth...and my comment was "join me as I pray my hair grows quickly"...I was pretty sad about my hair being gone and thought I had made a bad decision - but, like I said, once you've committed...the only thing you can really do is stick it out...some people last a few months and then perm it again...but, to date (December 2009, I haven't done that route...and I'm not past the point where I would want to)...stay tuned!