Big Chop or Transition

[Country gal]

What did you ladies do to your hair while transtioning to natural hair? Did you do the big chop or just transition with various hairstyles? I been perm free for 6 months. I have a lot of new growth but still a lot of perm in my hair. I was tempted to get a perm but than I decided to just wait a minute. Right now I don't want to chop off my hair. I want so more length first before cutting out the perm.

 

[chanou]

I had braids for 2 years on and off and then did the BC

 

[Country gal]

Chanou- did you get a lot of growth that way?

 

[Tai]

I'm starting to transition. I'm going to transition until my hair is shoulder length and then chop w/ big trims in between. I'm expecting it to take about 18 months or more. I'm wearing protective styles right now, buns & phonyponies and plan to do so until I'm done transitioning.

 

[chanou]

yeah- I used castor oil to moisturized while in braids- I kept all the length- And my natural 4b hair was about shoulder when I did the BC- It looked like a big afro but when I twisted my hair it came to my shoulders without me stretching it-
I liked transitioning with braids because that way you can prevent breakage or any other accident and keep your lentgh-

All this talk makes want to go natural-

 

[CharUK]

I plan on transitioning for 15 months, i'm currently 9 weeks post touch up.

I'm going to do it with braid extensions and cornrows.

I did 'trim' about 2 inches of my hair off last night though.

 

[ms_kenesha]

I BC'd because I knew I didn't have the patience for transitioning w/o braids and I didn't have the money for braids.

I also like the BC route because you get to "know" your hair, what it likes & dislikes, etc. With a transition suddenly you're thrust into the "natural world" with no primer and this is what I think leads a lot of people to relax again, they're thinking what the hell am I going to do with all this natural hair.

Also, think about how you want to wear your hair as a natural and that might be a factor in your decision to BC or transition.

 

[CocoaCure]

Hi SBaker.............I'm not a very good transitioner so I ending up cutting and cutting over about a 2 month period and just basically cut off hair that was almost brastrap to an inch!!! Also, the last time in '99 that I went natural I chopped off shoulder length hair to do it! I always go in with the intention of transitioning, but after about 12 - 16 weeks, I just can't take it anymore and I feel like I can handle it better and it will look better and grow much faster if I just chop it!!! So that's what I did. I got compliments too. But I have always thought I look really glam with longer hair, so that's my story. Short is nice too though and I liked my texture short. It seems like my hair is actually looser when shorter so it's very very easy, but it really thickens up the more it grows out. Just keep conditioning a lot and that will make everything much easier! Also, use Sta-Sof-Fro! Sometimes I do wish that i hadn't cut all that hair off though cause I'm like, dang! I'd be well past brastrap by now!! But I know I can get there as a natural too. Then I may texturize so I can really see the length better too! Maybe I'll do that end of year. But also, have you ever had your hair short?? Really short?? Do you feel it would be complimentary to your face shape?? Things are also things to consider when thinking about big chopping! Good luck to you!

 

[2793154]

it's been one year and i plan on transitioning for the next 2 years for a total of 3 years. i don't want short natural hair and am going to endure it until i atleast have mid back length natural hair.

 

[PretteePlease]

transition braids wigs weaves flatiron press blow dry cornrows roller sets I did it all for a year then did the NSBC not so big chop

 

[alibi]

I'm transitioning b/c I don't like short hair on me, and I like to be able to put my hair back in a bun. I just passed the year mark, and I plan on transitioning until New Years Eve, then I'll start the year w/ my hair au natural! I think the decision of whether or not to BC depends on the individual. I applaud the ladies that just went for it, cuz I'm a big chicken!!! LOL But it is harder to transition than to BC b/c you're dealing w/ 2 different textures, and you can get breakage if you're not careful. I flat ironed my new growth at first, and now I'm almost always sporting a bun. Anyways, sbaker, you can transition w/o the big chop, but it does take committment! Good luck w/ your decision!

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

I'm transitioning without the BC too for the same reasons ayanapooh stated. I like wearing my hair back in a ponytail and I simply can not do that with short hair. I'm planning on going to the 2 year mark and then getting all the relaxed ends off. Then I'll probably go another 6 months to a year with all natural and then I'll go with a lye perm. I want to get rid of all this no-lye stuff. My scalp was never so dry with a lye perm.

 

[Country gal]

cocoacure- I wrote down your suggestion on moisturizer after reading another thread. I don't think I should do a big chop. My face is too round. I think if I was 20 pounds smaller I could pull off a short look. I don't want to dramatically get into this. I want to gradually work my way into it. Now I have to get caught up on the hair board for all the natural stuff.

 

[chanou]

sbaker, I was 200lbs with a round babyface when I went natural- I actually started braiding my hair all the time coz my face was so big-
I look good with a big fro but not a TWA-

 

[Country gal]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am thinking along the same lines as God made me pretty and Ayanpooh. I think I look better with longer hair and I am going to just deal with two different textures for a while.

 

[TigerLily]

Hey sbaker!

I transitioned for a year. I just wore braids, twistouts, rollersets, and the occassional flat iron. I did the BC at the beg. of May (this year)

 

[CocoaCure]

OK SBaker, great.......it's true you'll have a lot more styling options by transitioning rather than big chopping like me! You'll be able to do a bun, to do twist outs, roller sets, a lot of styles! Enjoy and remember, that Sta-Sof-Fro on the newgrowth really really helps the transitioning!

 

[carameldiva]

i just did the big chop.

 

[Ayeshia]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
I BC'd because I knew I didn't have the patience for transitioning w/o braids and I didn't have the money for braids.

I also like the BC route because you get to "know" your hair, what it likes & dislikes, etc. With a transition suddenly you're thrust into the "natural world" with no primer and this is what I think leads a lot of people to relax again, they're thinking what the hell am I going to do with all this natural hair.

Also, think about how you want to wear your hair as a natural and that might be a factor in your decision to BC or transition.

[/ QUOTE ]


Smae thing here

And i knew that If I went a month longer with my 2 inches of new growth, I would have caved in and relaxed. Too tempting for me

So yup the BC was in my best interest. Now my hair is thanking me for it

 

[Ayeshia]

oh and I transitioned for about 3 months i think.

 

[Divastate]

I transisitioned unknowingly for about 8 months. I was in braids when I realized I wanted to return to natural hair. After the braids I only lasted a month or two transitioning and did my big chop. My TWA was actually one of the prettiest styles I've ever had- it grew out really fast though.

 

[Victorian]

[ QUOTE ]
sbaker said:
What did you ladies do to your hair while transtioning to natural hair? Did you do the big chop or just transition with various hairstyles? I been perm free for 6 months. I have a lot of new growth but still a lot of perm in my hair. I was tempted to get a perm but than I decided to just wait a minute. Right now I don't want to chop off my hair. I want so more length first before cutting out the perm.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is where I'm at right now too. It's been 10 months and I'm really stradling the fence about whether I'm going to go natural or not. I know that I won't be able to handle a big chop until my natural hair is much longer. But at the same time, dealing with the 2 textures is a pain in the rump. And thinking about that just makes me want to get a relaxer and be done with it, especially since I'm so close to my original "relaxed hair" goal (brastrap length). Argh!

I'm still trying to learn how to get a braidout/twistout to look decent enough to wear in public.

 

[lsubabiedee]

i only transitioned for 10 months although i wanted to do it longer...i pretty much wore cute lil curly styles the entire time....constant trimming led to the short transition...i have pics of my transition styles in my first album in my sig

 

[inthepink]

[ QUOTE ]
ayanapooh said:
I'm transitioning b/c I don't like short hair on me, and I like to be able to put my hair back in a bun. I just passed the year mark, and I plan on transitioning until New Years Eve, then I'll start the year w/ my hair au natural! I think the decision of whether or not to BC depends on the individual. I applaud the ladies that just went for it, cuz I'm a big chicken!!! LOL But it is harder to transition than to BC b/c you're dealing w/ 2 different textures, and you can get breakage if you're not careful.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this. It's definitely an individual decision. You have to do what you think is best for you and you may even change your mind along the way to big chop, transition longer than you thought, or maybe even go back to relaxing. It's up to you. I hope that you can take in the information and do what you think will work best for you and your hair.

 

[SilkyandSmooth]

I'm going to transition for a year and a half before I even think about cutting the relaxed ends off.

 

[TastesLikeMusic]

i just started in my venture to transition to natural. i'm actually only 3 weeks post relaxer so there isn't much new growth to work with. my plan is to transition with some braided styles for about 1.5...maybe 2 years years...i'm considering chopping the relaxer off on my 22rd birthday [november 19, 2005]...but i might decide to go a whole 2 years just for more length to grow in. lol we'll see. good luck to everyone transitioning!!! i'm sure you'll all do great

 

[TigerLily]

Congrats on your big chop, carameldiva!