The Big Chop x2
Back in a previous post, I promised that I would explain why I had to shave off my hair twice. So here goes…. Well firstly, I’d like to clarify that in circles of napptural women, we use the words “Big Chop” (BC) which means clipping off all relaxed hair and leaving only the natural roots. A BC can be done several ways. One way is to transition by growing out natural roots while discontinuing the use of relaxers. The longer the transition period, the longer the natural roots will grow. I’ve heard of some women transitioning up to 2 years, keeping the hair in braids/wigs or “transition styles” such as flat-twists and braid-outs. Once it is decided that it is time, the BC is performed. Sometimes relaxed hair is cut off little by little during the transitioning period so that there is not a dramatic cutting of the hair in the end (for those of you who can’t see yourself being nearly bald). Some women bypass the whole transition period and cut off relaxed ends from the beginning, saving themselves the hassle of having to deal with two types of hair.
For my original BC, I decided to transition in 08/2003 and I had my relaxed ends cut about 3 months later. My decision to BC that quickly had to do with the fact that I had very little patience dealing with both the permed and natural hair on my head. My impatience = problems with the areas within my hair where the two textures met. This is called the line of demarcation, the weakest part of a hair strand with multiple textures that is a hot-spot for hair breakage (for more information on transitioning, see Transitioning How-To). Needless to say, once I was free of all permed ends I loved my hair of course. So my hair flourished and grew very quickly. I also think that doing the BC earlier on versus transitioning long term contributed to my hair growing quicker than it would have otherwise.
So everything was fine and dandy and then about a year and a few months later, I started getting an urge to see how long my hair would be if it were straight. Up until that time, I had not had my hair straightened at all. So I spoke with a few friends and searched the net about temporarily straightening the hair. Unfortunately for me, I did not to heed the warnings of my friends and the clear message of the article HEAT=DAMAGE. I decided to have my hair pressed at a local beauty salon. First she washed my hair, blow-dried it on an extremely hot setting (at that point, my hair was straight but very thick), then she went over the hair with a hot comb, and finally with a flat-iron and then bumped it with a hot-curling iron. When she was done, I felt like a celebrity. I could not believe that my hair so slick, shiny, and “shakeable” lol.
It was fun for about a week but I hated having to be careful not to get my hair wet in the shower and then having to spend upwards of an hour or more doing my hair before I stepped out for the day (had to make sure the curls were fresh everyday). After that week was up, I was looking forward to finally washing my hair and having my napps back in their full glory. The only problem is that the napps were no where to be found. I was confused because I thought that as soon as my hair was in contact with the slightest bit of water that it would “napp up”. But nevertheless I figured that maybe I needed to wash my hair again. So for the next few days I washed my hair at least once a day but to no avail. My hair was a MESS. It wasn’t the slick straight hair and it wasn’t my beloved napps either.
I knew that I needed to do something and I wasn’t quite ready to BC again, so I decided to have someone relax my hair for old times sake. For about a month, I had permed hair once again. It was cool and I received a lot of compliments, but it wasn’t for me. When it was about that time to get a touch-up, I couldn’t bear to do it to myself. So, I found someone to cut my hair off again, my 2nd BC. I have straightened my hair myself a few times since then, but I never experienced what I did back then. What that salon gave me is called a “hard press” and I am also convinced that the beautician put some type of chemical in my hair to release my napps as she was washing my hair (she denied it of course though). I did however lose a patch of hair in one corner in the back by pressing it myself (this was in late 2006/early 2007), so I stopped doing that altogether. All the hair has grown back beautifully thank God!
Lesson Learned: HEAT=DAMAGE!!!
