Big Chop! Now What?

I still remember the night I big chopped like it was yesterday. All my relaxed hair (the only hair I knew) was in my sink. A bald headed girl stared back at me in mirror and confusion set in. I literally looked like a 12 year old and my confidence was in the sink along with my straight hair.

I instantly started wearing loads of makeup and big earrings to soften the blow of having to wear a TWA (teenie weanie afro). However, about a week later, I came to my senses. I had already chopped off my hair, so my focus needed to be on starting my new journey and enjoying it. So, from that day onward, I was a new me. This is what I want for you too so here are some tips for those of you who have recently big chopped.

Enjoy Your Journey.

Before we can talk about hair regimens and products and techniques and all of that, we have to talk about your new journey. You took the plunge and chopped off your relaxed hair. Make this journey about you and only you. A lot of us had confidence with our long relaxed hair (with or without weaves*) as it is the only type of hair most of us knew.

So, staring at a completely new head of hair in the mirror can be intimidating. I know; I was once there. Try to find your inner confidence and love what you see in the mirror. Your hair is beautiful and it’s yours. Do not get frustrated; you have a community here at BlackHairInformation.com to help you at each stage of your journey.

Learn your hair

To be honest, this is the perfect time to learn and feed your hair what it needs. This way, you won’t make mistakes later that will cause you to do a second big chop. Enjoy your journey and don’t rush it. We tend to always stress on hair growth and want it to happen as soon as possible. However, what we need to do is work on making our hair as healthy as it can be. Healthy hair is the road to long hair.

Build a regimen.

To begin your journey to healthy hair, it is important to have a basic hair care regimen. Your natural hair might be new to you, so I suggest that you keep it simple. Do not overwhelm yourself with a long list of rules, products and techniques. As I said above, enjoy your natural hair journey. Try to not get frustrated. Having a simple routine will help you to take care of your hair better. You will see the fruits of your labor as time goes on; trust me.

Choose a shampoo

Maintaining a clean scalp and hair is the root of healthy hair, after all, that is where the healthy hair we want comes from. You need to choose a shampoo that is great for your natural hair. Most of the shampoos that you used when you had relaxed hair probably had Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or other sulfates as the first ingredients.

This ingredient will certainly clean your natural hair but will strip it leaving it dry and brittle. We don’t want that. So please select a sulfate-free shampoo; most SLS free shampoos will state it on the label. Brands like Shea Moisture and Cantu make great sulfate-free shampoos; they are inexpensive and sold at Target. Of course you should experiment with different brands until you find the one you love.

Familiarize yourself with Cowashing. Cowashing is simply washing your natural hair with a cleansing conditioner instead of a shampoo. This can be a great refresher for you hair in between shampoo sessions. Cowashing adds an extra boost of moisture to your hair.

Condition every time you wash

We all know that our hair needs conditioning however I have to stress it. Conditioning is very important in our healthy hair journey. Using rinse out conditioners, deep conditioners and treatment masks will give us the soft and manageable natural hair that we are striving for.

Having very-well conditioned hair will make your hair stronger and we know that stronger natural hair tends to retain length better and we can see real growth. Also, try to deep condition instead of quick conditioning every time you wash to further strengthen your hair.

Know what is in your conditioner. Water needs to be the very first ingredient and other ingredients to look for are Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Protein, Coconut oil* and Olive oil* just to name a few.

Detangle your hair while its wet and coated in conditioner as this is when your are least likely to suffer breakage. Finding a conditioner that is light and smooth when you apply it on your hair is important. This is what we natural girls call ‘slip’ – when a conditioner makes our hair supple and easy to glide through with a comb or our fingers. Detangle from the ends of your hair working your way up to the root so that you do not cause damage to your hair.

Keep Your Hair Moisturized

Learn how to effectively moisturize and seal your natural hair. Choose water based moisturizers and experiment with the LOC Method. The LOC method is the order in which you moisturize and seal your hair. This means that you first use a liquid moisturizer, followed by an oil and finish with a cream based product. Always sleep with a satin bonnet* or scarf so that your cotton pillows don’t suck the moisture from your hair.

Styling Your Natural hair

Gone are the days when natural hair was only supposed to be braided. You have an array of styles to choose from these days and you can wear your hair any way you choose to. My favorite styles are braid-outs and 3-strand twist-outs. However, we need to be careful when styling our hair so as to not cause damage.

Periodically, I suggest that you wear low manipulation or protective styles where the ends of your hair are protected. The ends of your hair are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair. Protecting your ends will result in longer hair, as you will be retaining length.

Bottom line: Enjoy Your Journey! You did the Big Chop, now you should focus on growing healthy hair.

How was the post big chop phase of your journey? Were you frustrated?