5 Ways to Know It is Time to End Your Transitioning Journey and Big Chop

Transitioning might be the hardest thing you will ever do as you move forward with your natural hair. Maybe you might have had an easy time and you are thinking, well you should speak for yourself.

If it was easy for you, that’s great but for some of us, at some point things got a bit frustrating, even when you are doing everything you know is right for your hair.

It would be much easier if there was a set point for everyone to know when to cut their relaxed hair. Like a bell or a red light or something that tells you, ‘ honey*, it’s time’.

The thing is, transitioning is a very personal because everyone is different and everyone has different goals for their hair.

Some naturals face a lot of pressure to cut their hair because like with many things in life, somebody else always knows what is good for another person, that person being you.

All you can do is decide for yourself amidst the naysayers. What if we tried to level the playing field though and came up with some tell tale signs that tell you that it is time for a big chop. What would those things look like?

For you to have a successful start to your healthy hair journey, you do not want to have any set backs so it would be better to have some clues that tell you ‘honey* its time’.

1. You cannot seem to stop the breakage

This is probably one of the ultimate signs that will tell you that it is time to let go of your relaxed ends. As your natural hair grows it is harder for the line of demarcation, which is the point where your relaxed hair meets your natural hair, to stay strong.

Think about it: if you notice your natural hair tends to be much lighter than your relaxed hair so the weight of one texture is bound to cause issues even if you deep condition on a weekly bases.

Some women complain about mid shaft splits that they never ever had before which can be very frustrating when you are of the mind set that you are doing more for your hair now than you ever have. If you have uncontrollable breakage it is time to do the big chop.

2. Thinning

In addition to the breakage, you might experience a lot of thinning because your hair starts to taper off which can be a bit scary.

You do not want your hair to thin too much, so it makes sense to save your hair before it gets much worse.

3. You are at your wits end

If you send an email asking for help that ends with the words “Nothing is working, I can’t deal, please help” then it might be a sign that it is time to cut your relaxed hair off.

Transitioning needs patience and lots of it, it makes no sense to think at the point of being the most frustrated you have ever been in your journey that suddenly you will have the patience for even one more set back.

Sometimes we are more ready to get rid of those ends than we think. It might be just fear that is holding us back and deep down we know its time to just get rid of those relaxed ends.

4. You want to take advantage of more natural styles

You might find that you are doing more braid outs, twist outs, bantu knot outs and wash and go’s because the majority of your hair is natural anyway and those styles just work.

The problem is as your hair gets longer these styles start to look odd, and you might find yourself wanted to put your hair away under box braids and twists just to avoid it all together.

If you really want to take advantage of natural styles and find yourself compromising because of the way your hair looks, then it might be time to just take the plunge.

You are already treating your hair as if it is natural, why not take it all the way?

5. You are not as scared as your used to be

Obviously, if you have been transitioning and growing your hair out, you have a pretty good idea of how your hair will look when it is fully natural.

For many of us, this is the source of our fear, and we want to get our hair long enough to garner some comfort from the length, and just the time we have spent dealing with our natural hair.

Once the fear has subsided it is easier for you to do the big chop finally, and start your natural hair journey to the fullest – free of your relaxer.

What was it that told you it was time to big chop? Comment below.