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.
