Uneven Natural Hair & Other Matters

[Arian]

I just attempted to trim my hair and I did a terrible job! I won't be doing it myself ever again. However, before this trim, my hair was growing strangely. The back is really long while other parts are shorter. See that attached photo, although this is about 2 weeks before the brutal trim that I gave myself tonight. However, the back is still longer (just shorter than what it was due to the trim). I think I have made the whole thing worse.

Sooooo....I was thinking of wearing puffs or some other style that doesn't allow my hair to be out where the unevenness is noticeable until I can figure out what to do.


Should I get it professionally cut in some kind of shape? Or leave it alone until it gets longer? (If it ever does). I am noticing a little bit of breakage. I decided that I would do more co-washing, since my hair has been drier (thus, leading to the breakage). And keep Qhemet Heavy Cream and Castor Oil on hand since these are the only things that keep my hair moisturized to some degree. I'm just starting to worry about my hair more. I really would like to see it reach shoulder length unstretched. Or at least get bigger! How long does it take for a setback to improve?

Right now, I am banding my hair so I can't show how much damage I've done from the trim right now. But I will post a picture of the aftermath of that fiasco tomorrow. As previously stated, the pic attached is how my hair was growing before the trim...

I hope that everything I've said makes some ounce of sense....I'm rambling...

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

Sounds like how my hair is growing, like a shag or something, LOL. I'm just letting it grow out.

 

[leiah]

It's probably just an awkward phase you're going through as your hair grows out. My hair looked like a mullet for a long time, especially because the curls at my nape are much looser than the rest of my hair.

I wore my hair up for a long time, it wasn't until I got past APL that I was happy with the shape

 

[Nonie]

OP, I don't see what you mean about the back being longer than the front in the attached photo. Are you deciding that based on what part of your body the ends of the hair fall to? The back/nape is lower than your crown so if you have hair all the same length, of course the ends in the back will fall lower on your body than the crown or front as they have a shorter distance to travel say to shoulders or back.

To me your hair looks all the same length. I think you're just used to having straight hair that falls to certain point. For that to happen, the back has to be way shorter than the front. When natural, I think it'd be crazy to get that sort of cut unless you plan to wear your hair straight all the time.

How did you trim? Was your hair in twists or did you trim it loose?

 

[Arian]

@Nonie, maybe you're right and I'm just concerned for no reason. Of course, though, my hair is wet in the photo and perhaps I notice it MORE when it is dry. The pic in my avatar is my hair when dry.

I trimmed in twists.

 

[babyshuf2]

The shape of your hair in the pics looks cute! I would leave it alone and just focus on moisture and preventing breakage. Let shrinkage take care of the shape and if that doesn't work, then you could use small perm rods (blue) on the back. That is a trick, I used to use sometimes. But,please no more cutting...lol. If you do want it shaped up, visit a professional stylist who know how to cut natural hair and that will not butcher your hair or cut too much off. However, there are people who get a cut and the hair continues to grow in a "mullet" shape. You will get through your phase.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie, maybe you're right and I'm just concerned
for no reason. Of course, though, my hair is wet in the photo and perhaps I notice it MORE when it is dry. The pic in my avatar is my hair when dry.

I trimmed in twists.

Arian, even your dry hair looks normal to me. You have to realize that when hair is all the same length it will form a roundish afro. As someone else said, you're just going through an "awkward" stage where twists may not fall right and so you just don't know how exactly to wear your hair. But trust me, having the hair all the same length more or less gives you more styling options: You can wear a puff up high on your head or pulled back. You can wear two puffs. And because of your coils you can pat down any part to create the illusion of having a different cut every day.

I think you hair looks beautiful both in the wet look and the dry afro look.

 

[Arian]

@babyshuf2 and @Nonie, thank you! I'm afraid I've already ruined it with the trim. I know I needed one badly, but....*sigh*

So do you think I should just leave it alone now that I have trimmed it and REALLY made it look terrible or should I wait for it to grow out of the bad trim? Or should I just post a pic and let you decide?

EDITED: I have attached a photo post trim. Look at the short area and the long pieces. yikes!

 

[Nonie]

I think you should just leave it alone Arian. Natural kinky hair can be patted into whatever shape you want. Let it grow and when you dust just cut off the SAME amount off every twist. Don't do it to even it out. When you straighten your hair, you can get it cut in nice layers that will create a nice afro when it's shrunken. For now, don't worry about it. No one else will know about the unevenness unless you go telling. That's the magic of kinky hair, you can fake evenness until you're ready to really get it even.

 

[Arian]

Thank you, Nonie! I feel so much better about it now. I may not ever cut it (except to dust VERY CAREFULLY every 2 months or as needed).

 

[Foxglove]

It could also depend on your curl pattern. If you have looser curls in the back it will hang lower

 

[WantNatural]

I agree, just let it grow out. I have a severe mullet in that the nape is a looser curl pattern so it's very obvious. I thought about cutting too but didn't want to lose my length. So let it grow out, it'll be fine.

 

[simplyhair]

my .02.

Your hair looks really cute to me!