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Disclaimer

The hair tips, advice and recommendations given on this blog are given based on the experiences of the authors. These tips may not work for everyone and every hair type and it is important to acknowledge this since we are neither hair specialists nor trichologists.


Also many pictures on this blog belong to the authors but there are others that we do not have ownership for and thus we do not claim ownership of the ones that do not belong to us.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

So I did the big chop, now what?





Honestly there really isn’t much to do after a big chop except, wait for the hair to grow ( that's if you plan on growing it out). The TWA ( teeny weeny afro) is one of the easiest styles to take care of while natural. Though it is easy and stress free that doesn’t mean you need to neglect it. It still helps if you do these basic three things to help it grow healthy.

1.) Wash Regularly: Clean your hair with a good shampoo that is free from sulphates. Sulphates dry out curly hair like crazy. When I had a TWA I actually experimented with a variety of shampoos. I also tried a few shampoo bars. I liked the shampoo bars a lot because I could just grab them and rub around my head. When you have short hair it’s easy to wash hair often. To get all the scientific low down about sulphates and shampoo, check out Jc of Natural Haven

2.) Condition: After you wash with a shampoo, always follow up with a good conditioner.  When my hair was short, I often just did a conditioner wash daily. I only used shampoo once a week or every 10 days.  
No matter how gentle your hair shampoo is, it will still end up stripping hair of its natural oils. Conditioners help to reintroduce moisture, soften hair and make hair easier to comb.  See Curly Nikki's post on hair conditioners

3.) Moisturize your hair often: We cannot over emphasize the importance of a well moisturized head of hair. It makes all the difference in the world. Naturally curly hair can get DRY. This means that whatever opportunity you get, you have to moisturize. So you may try experimenting with a variety of moisturizers to find what best suites you. Many naturals use natural products like shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, olive oil to lock in moisture. So you will have to do your research to find what works for you

So while waiting for your hair to grow long take this time to educate yourself as much as possible on natural hair and what to expect along the journey. Read blogs, and look at other naturals experiences. Hopefully you’ll learn from their mistakes and avoid them yourself. 

10 comments:

Unknown said...

when you grow out of it, you start missing the care-free live you had. At this stage, you can use a wide tooth comb within seconds and off you go. I miss those months!

Lollysexy said...

My natural unpermed hair is 5cm long when stretched out, I have a very odd receding hair line, Solange's pic was the inspiration i had when i got my BC done. Now i struggle with what to do with my hair every day... :( i want it natural oo, my hair is stronger this way.. but it doesnt look pretty enough, so i stick to weaves and braids and am tired!

Anonymous said...

I finally did the big chop two weeks ago, and it's been such fun. The feedback from people had ranged from shocked to impressed.
I guess I will use the waiting period too experiment and learn more about how to manage it, though I hope it remains as soft. I've been using shea butter, and a combination of oils and aloe vera juice to moisturize

Anonymous said...

I did the big chop a few months ago, my hair has grown 3.5 inches what do I do now?

Omozo said...

congrats on your big chop. Follow the steps outlined in this blog post so that you have healthy hair and so that these practices become easy for you. As for products, you can start with the natural products mentioned: shea butter, cocoa butter, castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil. You would have to try both commercial and natural hair products to see which work best for your hair. It is a journey, don't be anxious - enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

So I transitioned from permed to natural hair one week ago. I wore protective style for 8 months time and then one decided that it was time for the CHOP!!!!! I'm not use to my look just yet. I'm trying different products to see what I like. I'm just wondering-is my mini fro suppose to be the same length all over or what. Mine is not. I cut it at home and at this point questioning what to do now!!!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!

Omozo said...

@Anon: :D Many of us pat down our afros or use a scarf to get it to look "even". I think it is difficult to get natural hair even because of the curls and kinks. Check out the post on Funmi Iyanda- her afro is short at the back and long in front. I also put up a blog post about how my back hair is longer than the rest of my hair. So don't worry: uneven hair is not a problem. Work on learning the healthy hair practices mentioned in this post and in our other posts and you will be loving your hair more: even length or not. ;)

Unknown said...

I finally had my BC after 5mnths transitioning and I gotta admit I kept shouting cuz my hair kept falling off. But m getting more confident and my family keep telling me I look beautiful. But nw I noticed my edges keep receeding and I don't knw y n ryt from time v nt bin a fan of tight hair do cuz m alwyz scared of my edges falling off. Plzz wat do I do

Unknown said...

I finally had my BC after 5mnths transitioning and I gotta admit I kept shouting seeing my hair falling off. But m more confident nw nd my family keep telling me I look beautiful. But I noticed my edges are receding and I don't knw y n ryt frm time v nt bin a fan of tight hair do cuz m alwyz scared of my edges falling off. Plz wat do I do

arabawright said...

This blog has left me empowered! Natural hair just got better!