Transition from Relaxed to Natural Part 2 | Big Chop Disappointment?

Truthfully, I didn’t like my hair immediately after doing the big chop.

I did it myself, and smiled while doing so.  I was glad to finally get rid of inches and inches of damaged hair. I felt like I had turned to a new chapter in my life and was excited and hopeful.

I felt like there were endless hair possibilities available to me because I chose to go natural and yet I felt the way a deflated balloon looks.


It was kind of the way looking forward to giving Christmas gifts can be sometimes. You start shopping in September, devote all your free time to hunting down deals, and by the time November rolls around your closet is full to the ceiling with a colorful and noisy assortment of stocking stuffers and toys.

You are not only proud of your accomplishment; you begin to feel the warmth of joy growing on the inside of you as you think of how happy everyone will be as they rip wrapping paper from their gifts.

It’s just then that Christmas arrives and rolls by faster than an 18 wheeler on the expressway and you are left looking for something to fill the holiday shopping void.

That was the way I felt after I put down the scissors and attempted to style my hair for the first time.

Styling Nightmare. . .

After I did the big chop I tried a wash-and-go style. I thought I could apply product to my two inch long soaking wet hair and create large flat twists and that when I took my hair down I would have shiny, well defined curls.

Didn’t work.

I thought the product I used to set my hair was the problem so I rushed out to buy a non-alcoholic gel for natural hair thinking it would be the remedy.

Nope.

After trying a variety of hairstyles, I accepted the fact that none of them would work on my thick, coarse type 4 hair.

I had no clue of what to do next.

There's Hope!

I sat down and began to think of all of the ladies I had known who wore their hair naturally. 

All of them – the Avon sales representative, a former neighbor and an old classmate – had worn their hair in two strand twists. 

I immediately hopped on my laptop, did a Google Image search for two strand twists and came up with some style ideas. I had found the perfect hairstyle for me.

That day I learned that everything doesn’t work for everybody. The reality is that coarse hair has its very own set of needs. It must be styled using very specific methods in order to get the very best results.

I overcame my big chop disappointment by taking the time to get acquainted with my hair type.

I took the time to learn its strengths so that I could maximize them and its weaknesses so that I could do my best to neutralize them. Now, I test possible hair styles on my days off to find out if they will produce the results I desire before adding them to my hair style arsenal and I try to use only the best possible products on my hair.

Big chop disappointment can be a small bump in the path of your natural hair journey if you embrace your hair type and learn how to make it work for you.

Read Part 1| Transition from Relaxed to Natural | A Difficult Choice

Author:
Chanel Polk

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