Big Chops is it just a fad???

rotflmao!!:lachen:



Elle97 said:
No problem.

good hurr xibit 1

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bad hurr

bad hurr xibit 1

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bad hurr xibit 2

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No hurr just fo reference:
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EllePixie said:
I found the post about not wanting more women to go natural because the poster wants to feel unique of WAY more concern than the OP. My apologies if this sounds rude but that sounds like a personal problem...I love seeing women with natural hair and it makes me sad when I see little girls (and grown women) with relaxers with thinning hair and/or breakage. A lot of women do not know how to care for their relaxed hair (being on LHCF has proven to me that many women do as well, and that's awesome), so for someone to say that they don't want women to go natural because they have a need to feel "unique" or "special" is bollocks. What, are you afraid that someone's natural hair is going to be "prettier" than yours and they will get more attention and praise than you? Seriously....smh. That's just a mess.


And for the record - No, I am not against relaxers and I mainly became natural b/c I was tired of trying to make my hair bone straight when it CLEARLY had other plans - to me it's not really about loving myself or being how God made me...I didn't even know what my natural hair looked like so there is no way I could have hated it. For some women it is though, and that's cool. For some, going natural is about a hairstyle, and that's their thing. There are a number of reasons to go natural, but I'm not judging anyone's decision.
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You can refer to me by name... and you can even quote what I said. The thing about it is even though I do like to be the only curly head girl, that's not to say I would condemn anyone else's decision to go natural or stay relax. And I am not against giving a compliment to someone who has beautiful healthy hair regardless of the texture. The reason why I went natural in the first place is because I was inspired by resources like LHCF that showed so many beautiful natural heads of hair. I came upon LHCF while looking for advice on how to care for relaxed hair and I never thought about going natural because I was so far removed from knowing what my natural texture was. All that being said... I view it like me walking in the party with the exact same dress as someone else... granted that dress may look equally as pretty on both of us, but the impact is better if only one of us had on the dress. :lachen::lachen::lachen:

And thing about it is I have friends who are natural.... friends who are relaxed. In fact my roommate/ best friend is natural and I LOVE her hair. One of my good friends this summer is currently transitioning to natural and I introduced her to LHCF and we even took a trip to the BSS so I could educate her on what products work for me. But I guess I've taken too many econ classes because scarcity gives something value. And it's always an ego boost when you're singled out for having cool hair.
 
ThePerfectScore said:
You can refer to me by name... and you can even quote what I said. The thing about it is even though I do like to be the only curly head girl, that's not to say I would condemn anyone else's decision to go natural or stay relax. And I am not against giving a compliment to someone who has beautiful healthy hair regardless of the texture. The reason why I went natural in the first place is because I was inspired by resources like LHCF that showed so many beautiful natural heads of hair. I came upon LHCF while looking for advice on how to care for relaxed hair and I never thought about going natural because I was so far removed from knowing what my natural texture was. All that being said... I view it like me walking in the party with the exact same dress as someone else... granted that dress may look equally as pretty on both of us, but the impact is better if only one of us had on the dress. :lachen::lachen::lachen:

And thing about it is I have friends who are natural.... friends who are relaxed. In fact my roommate/ best friend is natural and I LOVE her hair. One of my good friends this summer is currently transitioning to natural and I introduced her to LHCF and we even took a trip to the BSS so I could educate her on what products work for me. But I guess I've taken too many econ classes because scarcity gives something value. And it's always an ego boost when you're singled out for having cool hair.
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I only didn't quote you b/c I read the entire thread before I responded and it wasn't on the same page...wasn't that big of a deal. But while I see what you are saying, I equate it more to everyone wearing a dress (not the exact same dress), because everyone's hair comes out differently, so it's all unique. No woman's hair is going to look exactly like mine, so I guess we just see it differently. Thank you for elaborating on what you said though - your initial post sounded negative but your second one explained it in further detail.

I mean...I get it, as women we all like to be praised for being unique (no one really wants to be cookie cutter). But at the same time, it kind of gets on my nerves that people see natural hair as this big deal, like it's so different, when it's really just how our hair grows, ya know? I told one of my friends that I didn't want to straighten (flat iron) my hair for 3 years, until I reach my length goal, and she was like, "WOW REALLY?!?! Good for you!!" like it was some huge deal and she was in shock that I was going to wear my hair out (when I'm actually just lazy and also don't want to risk messing up my retention with straightening).
 
EllePixie said:
I only didn't quote you b/c I read the entire thread before I responded and it wasn't on the same page...wasn't that big of a deal. But while I see what you are saying, I equate it more to everyone wearing a dress (not the exact same dress), because everyone's hair comes out differently, so it's all unique. No woman's hair is going to look exactly like mine, so I guess we just see it differently. Thank you for elaborating on what you said though - your initial post sounded negative but your second one explained it in further detail.

I mean...I get it, as women we all like to be praised for being unique (no one really wants to be cookie cutter). But at the same time, it kind of gets on my nerves that people see natural hair as this big deal, like it's so different, when it's really just how our hair grows, ya know? I told one of my friends that I didn't want to straighten (flat iron) my hair for 3 years, until I reach my length goal, and she was like, "WOW REALLY?!?! Good for you!!" like it was some huge deal and she was in shock that I was going to wear my hair out (when I'm actually just lazy and also don't want to risk messing up my retention with straightening).
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Yeah I get what you're saying... and I totally agree 100% everyones natural hair is different... heck even my natural hair is different from day to day, it's like the curls have a mind of their own. I think for me its more so a frame of mind that I don't want to been seen as cookie cutter... or I don't want people to think I just went natural because its a fad and everyone else is doing it. If I'm the only one natural then no one can accuse me of just following a fad... yunno?
 
I don't know if its a fad or not but I have to warn ya'll youngins that the natural thing was all the rage in the 70s and early 80s. The pendulum swung back to bone straight 10 years later. Don't be surprised if it does again. The diehards will be natural longer or forever. However, you will see those who follow the trend and go back to relaxed (especially if there is something deemed "safer" than the traditional relaxer).

Been there, done that, seen it all.
 
wow @ this whole thread.


"I'm ready to go back to relaxing, I've had enough"?


enough of what?? what i had enough of is getting a relaxer every 8 weeks, not being able to scratch my scalp, getting my scalp burned, having to fry my hair to death with flat irons and blowdryers just to straighten hair that was already chemically processed to be straight in the first place, not being able to get my hair wet, having shed hairs all over my clothes, hair breakage, and having the same hairstyle as everyone else.


"I don't like how I look when my roots get puffy and I have a decent grade it's just that going natural isn't for ME. "

not trying to convince you to go natural but just fyi, "puffy roots" arent necessarily an indication of what a full head of natural hair looks like. my fully natural hair looks and feels totally different than my new growth did. but i love my natural hair...puffiness included :)

but to answer the question, i decided i want long hair again so i started lurking hair boards to find tips, and then i saw that a high % of ladies on here and other boards with long hair either stretched their relaxers for longer than a couple of months, were texlaxed, or natural...so at first i decided i was gonna just stretch my relaxers, but after more research i decided i wanted to go natural. it wasnt a statement or a movement, i didnt even know anyone that was natural, i just wanted long healthy hair, period, whether it was relaxed or natural. i dont know if you would call that a fad, but the hair i'm embracing now is the hair i was born with, so it must have been a fad for the first 10+ years of my life. i was talking to my friend who stopped getting relaxers b/c all she did was cover it in weaves or braids anyways, and she said that if her hair ever got APL or longer she would relax so it could be long, silky and straight. i for one can say that i have no intentions of ever relaxing my hair again, no matter how long it gets, because i love my hair. &also that would be kind of backwards to me, because i had hair down my back when i was younger, but ever since i had a relaxer my hair rarely grew past my shoulders, so why would i get a relaxer when the only times my hair acheived that length was when it was in its natural state?? plus the best part of natural hair is its so versatile, so if i want the "long, silky, straight" look i can get it, but in my opinion a twistout/braidout/curly set will NEVER look as good on relaxed hair as it does on natural hair.
 
I clicked coz I thought someone bumped up a historical thread. People have been bc'ing online for at least ten years. So if that's a fad you must mean in the bigger picture of time in which ten years is a blip. But then again women been cutting their hair since the beginning of time so still not sure how it can be a fad.
 
ThePerfectScore said:
Yeah I get what you're saying... and I totally agree 100% everyones natural hair is different... heck even my natural hair is different from day to day, it's like the curls have a mind of their own. I think for me its more so a frame of mind that I don't want to been seen as cookie cutter... or I don't want people to think I just went natural because its a fad and everyone else is doing it. If I'm the only one natural then no one can accuse me of just following a fad... yunno?
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Oh ITA with that but I have learned to not have other people's hair affect mine...I mean when I had a relaxer I never thought it was cookie cutter (even though a lot of my friends and I wore our hair in the EXACT same hairstyle, side part, slight flip at the bottom), so why would I think any differently now? I will say that I am not really a fan of the "fad" mindset, never have been, but especially with my hair I just have to ignore it. If someone wanted to tell me I was wearing my hair out to follow a fad or trend they would get corrected quickly. People pick up trends all the time, but that doesn't mean that you are part of that trend, so if someone wants to have that perception of you just let them know that they are mistaken.
 
I always said I would be natural by age 30 and I will be 30 in October so I BC'd a few months ago. Not a fad, I wanted to be natural since I was a teen, I just got caught in the relaxer and not wanting to lose length cycle... NOW I'M OUT OF IT!
 
No fad here. I had a fabulous head of thick hair as a kid, Was nice for the first few years relaxed, then it all went down hill. Then came the sever breakage, scalp problems, wasted time and money at the salon, the nasty scabs for getting burns bc the idiots who were perming my hair were just focused on getting my hair super straight and nothing else...I could go on. I always knew I would go natural, but just upped the date by several years once I became more informed.

As far as the "decent grade" comment, I don't care have it was meant to sound, that's some ignant mess :hardslap:
 
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LOL @ this whole thread. This was meant to be a joke I assure you. I will comment anyway though. Its not a fad for me. When I relaxed (once in H.S. too look like Aaliyah and once in college to look like Halle) that was a fad. Maybe not relaxing is a fad for some. They might have stopped relaxing for the same reason that I tried relaxing those 2 times. Who knows.
 
TonicaG said:
I've noticed that a whole lot of ladies are doing the big chop to get rid of all of the chemical to go natural, but I'm curious to know if this is just a fad and at some point will they say "I'm ready to go back to relaxing, I've had enough"?

To each her own, I'm not knocking natural hair by any means but I don't like how I look when my roots get puffy and I have a decent grade it's just that going natural isn't for ME.

Just a thought...
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I don't think its a FAD. For women of a certain time period, that used to be the only viable way to get away from chemicals without having to deal with the transitioning issues. With the proliferation of products aimed specifically at the needs of naturals, transitioners and all the in-between, its not necessary but another OPTION. Lord knows we love options.

As far as going natural, I was among the die-hard permers...even after I saw my hair thinning and losing thickness over the years from perms. I was never gonna be a chick that wore a bush or braids. I worked corporate and that meant a slick manageable do. But, I got transitioned whether I wanted to or not by my stylist because there was no reason to perm hair covered up by a weave. When I finally decided to get rid of the weave - TG for boards like this because it made me realize that I could still do a cute hairstyle without having to resort to killing my hair with a perm.

Just my two cents.
 
lovegymnasts said:
I'm observing and I do think for a lot of the people I am seeing, bc-ing is a fad for them.
I am also taking note of the reasons people are saying they are bc-ing and it makes me think it is a fad.
I am also noticing the number of people that bc and then relax after less than 2 years and it make me think it is a fad.
So, yeah I do somewhat think it is a fad. I will change my opinion if most of them are still natural 5 years from now.
Although I do not like the term, I hear people talk about grade of hair all the time.
She has a good grade of hair.
She got her daddy's grade of hair (this one annoys me the most).
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I'm curious, if you don't mind what are some of the reasons?

It wasn't a fad for me. I never thought to go natural until the hair boards, well after I'd been on the hair boards actually. At one time I started noticing ladies transitioning and doing the BC and I was perfectly happy in my relaxed hair world.

It wasn't until I started seeing progress of type 4 naturals that got my attention. I started thinking back to my childhood, I went to my grandmother's house to look at old pictures and was thinking I'd like to get that hair back. I did a 6 month transition then relaxed, I had instant regret. THAT is when I knew I wanted to go natural. I did the BC at 9 months post b/c I was not blessed with the gift of long term transitioning.

I can say that if not for the hair boards, I'd still be relaxed. No one around me is natural, going natural or even thinking about it. So I was greatly influenced by women on these boards.
 
I don't think it's a fad. I think we are moving toward a more green society. As people choose to live more "natural" lives as in eating organic foods, using organic beauty products, etc. choosing to cut out harsh chemicals seems like a natural progression.

As for my hair, my choice to BC wasn't a fad. I hadn't relaxed regularly for a few years. I stretched longer between each touch up and just eventually stopped relaxing all together. I never wore my hair straight so I didn't see the point in doing it anymore. Plus I suffered thin, stringy hair from relaxers. My last year or two as a relaxed head I was able to get my hair back on track. It was healthy and growing but by then I was over relaxed hair. I'm never relaxing my hair again.
 
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Ladies, my sincere and humble apologies if the tone of my thread has offended anyone as it and/or isn't my intention at all.

Yes, I've been a member since 2004 and I've learned a whole lot and am grateful for each contributions that has enhanced my knowledged for healthy head of hair. For lack of better words I used "fad" and "decent grade". I'm not one to go back and forth to defend myself as the topic is truly not that serious. It's good to know that we are all true to ourselves and not doing something because others are doing it. That's what makes the world go round, we're all different. I've seen beautiful heads of hair that I couldn't believe were natural, once I heard what was involved with the process.

Again, I'm sorry if I offended anyone. To each his own, if it works for us, by all means let's continue doing so. I genuinely wish each of you the best in your healthy hair journey.
 
I can't speak for everyone else, but to ME its not a fad. Almost everyone in my family has natural hair, my hair has thrived without chemicals, and I enjoy the freedom of not being a slave to a salon... so to me this is the best option for my hair.

I think the younger generation has more options than I did so they are realizing that relaxers aren't the only options. We didn't have flatirons, gel, BKT, decent conditioners, etc.. in the 70's/early 80's when I was growing up. My DD's are both natural and I wanted to practiced what I preached to them.
 
Hmmmm.. interesting. The women on this board are not GOING natural one does not GO natural in regards to their hair. I and the other ladies on this board have decided to STAY natural.
 
Well, most hairstyles are fads, but I can't say if Big Chopping (or going from relaxed to natural) is a a fad or not. I do know that many women with Afro textured hair are finally starting to understand how to take care of their natural hair. The urge to relax is slowly changing within our community. I can only speak for myself, but when I was relaxed, I felt I had no other option but to relax in order to maintain my hair. Knowledge is indeed power and my knowledge of hair in general taught me to respect the hair that I was born with. Once I did that, my natural hair became easier to maintain than my relaxed hair! :yep:

I'm sure that some who have become natural will return to relaxing their hair, while others will remain natural. The big difference it seems that more women with Afro textured hair are becoming aware that they have a CHOICE. The choice is that we can have either relaxed or natural hair and STILL be able to grow our hair to great lengths! Knowledge of Afro textured haircare is the best catalyst to change the perception within our community of it's ability to grow long.
 
Natural hair a fad????
I feel like by quitting the relaxer I QUIT THE FAD! Natural hair is the NORM. Relaxed hair isn't...lets change the thought process....

There has been such an demand for healthy and natural living, it only makes sense to me for women to want to have natural/non-chemically straightened hair...I think that Chris Rock movie has people thinking this is a fad....but its more like a well kept secret that no one has been paying attention to for the last 10-15 years....

okay okay......For some people, sure...it MAY BE a fad (I know women who will cut it, dye, it, weave it all within 6 months cause its hot and its cute at that moment!)...but for most women, its just doing something they probably have been wanting to do for years, but didn't have the knowledge or support to do it......Ummmm don't you know its a PROCESS?

Here's to a change in mentality!
 
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TonicaG said:
Ladies, my sincere and humble apologies if the tone of my thread has offended anyone as it and/or isn't my intention at all.

Yes, I've been a member since 2004 and I've learned a whole lot and am grateful for each contributions that has enhanced my knowledged for healthy head of hair. For lack of better words I used "fad" and "decent grade". I'm not one to go back and forth to defend myself as the topic is truly not that serious. It's good to know that we are all true to ourselves and not doing something because others are doing it. That's what makes the world go round, we're all different. I've seen beautiful heads of hair that I couldn't believe were natural, once I heard what was involved with the process.

Again, I'm sorry if I offended anyone. To each his own, if it works for us, by all means let's continue doing so. I genuinely wish each of you the best in your healthy hair journey.
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:rolleyes: at the bolded.
 
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