Clarification: Definition of "BC"

[LadyRaider]

Wouldn't a BC only happen if you are cutting down to a TWA or close to that?

I mean, even if a MBL girl cut her hair to shoulder length... would you call that a BC? I don't think so, but I'm asking for clarification.

I have transitioned for over 15 months now. If I eventually cut off my relaxed ends, but am still past shoulder length, I would not consider that a BC.

Should I?

 

[Pompous Blue]

I've been confused by that term every since I joined. I thought BC meant "down to a TWA", too. But I see others are calling it a BC when they've cut relaxed ends from a long transition and they have shoulder-length hair.

Need clarification, too.

Maybe someone can point us to a thread or something.

 

[Sianna]

I completely agree with both above statements! I had believed that a BC would mean that the hair was chopped down to a TWA. But when I came to this forum, I noticed LOTS of women who said they BC'd, yet their hair was sometimes SL and even longer! erplexed

Maybe it's just a perception thing, but as a person who has always had really short hair, SL is not really short to me and therefore I have a bit of difficulty attaching the term "BC" to someone who cut their hair down to anything other than a TWA.

Again, I guess it's a perception thing because if a person was at BSL or beyond and then they cut their hair down to SL, for them I suppose that would be a "big chop."

 

[LadyRaider]

You're right. I guess it is a perception thing. When I see people "BC" to the length of my hair, I think, well dadgum!

So is the meaning of BC malleable based on perception?
Does it matter how many inches are cut?
Does it just mean that you went from relaxed/partially relaxed to natural no matter what length you end up at?

If I cut off the 2 and 1/2 inches of relaxed hair that remains on my sides only, will I have done a "BC?"

 

[Odd One]

Isnt it just cutting off the relaxed ends? Why does it have to be complex?

 

[Kneechay]

I don't think a BC (big chop) has anything to do with length technically. It's "big" because it's a "big step" in the process of going natural (if that's the case for the cut). I think with all the terminology involved, it's been confused with length. Often times, when people do a BC, it is down to a TWA because most start off with relaxed hair with just a couple months of transitioning.

To me, It's when you cut all the relaxed parts of your hair so all that's left is natural hair. If you transitioned for years for instance and your hair is APL and a BC would bring you to SL, it's STILL a big chop IMO.

 

[LadyRaider]

I just needed clarification. I didn't know what people meant by it. If It is just cutting off relaxed ends, then that's cool. I'll be doing a BC then myself... one of these days. I won't lose a bit of length though... except on the sides.

 

[LadyRaider]

Isnt it just cutting off the relaxed ends? Why does it have to be complex?

Just the way my brain works. The whole hair typing thing is another one, but I have given up on that.

 

[Janet']

I agree with Nichi...A B.ig C.hop is chopping off relaxed ends...So, if my hair (for instance) was MBL and I cut off all of my relaxed ends and it brought my hair to SL, it would still be a "BC". I think that the reason that the BC is associated with a TWA because many times, is because many women are starting with SL or shorter relaxed hair and when they chop off all of their relaxed ends, it becomes a TWA...Just my humble opinion.

ETA: I never BC'ed, I did a series of trims as I transitioned...

 

[Sosoothing]

I thought it meant any cutting of the hair that removes a significant amout of length.
For instance if you were WL and cut off hair all the way to shoulder length, that is a BC regardless of the texture.
I guess few of us have been confused by the meaning.

 

[Fhrizzball]

Well I know some people use the term BC even if they're not going natural. For example, they'll cut their relaxed or texlaxed hair and call it a BC. I'm fine with that because it's a big chop and it doesn't have to be strictly for transitioners and natural headed ladies.

A big chop is a big chop and it's subjective depending on the person going through with it. It'll still be an emotional experience for them.

 

[SweetSpirit86]

To me, I feel that if someone cuts off a large amount of hair for the purpose of going natural, no matter if they transitioned for a year and have SL hair or whatever, it's a big chop. Now, if you transitioned for a year, and have been doing mini-chops, and then want to cut an inch off and claim you BC'd...that's not a BC to me, lol.

I think I can agree with Kusare on the relaxed BC thing, too, though.

 

[Trini_Chutney]

I thought it meant any cutting of the hair that removes a significant amout of length.
For instance if you were WL and cut off hair all the way to shoulder length, that is a BC regardless of the texture.
I guess few of us have been confused by the meaning.

I agree with this. In my opinion if someone cuts significant length its a "big chop". I don't think the term applies exclusively to going natural, I just think that's what we associate it with on this board because that what the majority of the BC's here are about. If you look on youtube there are women of other races showing their "big chops" and they just cut significant length.

 

[MarieB]

I considered it a BC when I cut from around SL to NL because of breakage even though I was still relaxed. To me, any significant cut is a BC.

 

[suburbanbushbabe]

A big chop is when all the straightened hair is cut off in one chop, right to the new growth. It doesn't matter how long or short that new growth is.

 

[Missjae09]

I agree with most of the ladies here.. BC is when you cut off all of the relaxed hair at once.. if you are one who opts to gradually trim your relaxed ends off as your hair grows then you can't claim Big Chop.

 

[LadyRaider]

I can see the point about the moment of transition. Like I haven't been doing mini chops or anything; my relaxed hair disappeared before I even knew it was there in the back of my head. I guess it was really short and weak. Perhaps too a larger texture difference than the rest of my head (sides and top.)

So while there might not be a huge length difference once I cut off the rest of my relaxed ends, it will still be a huge moment when I am completely natural. I can see that.

So perhaps the BC is the term for that momentous change, and the factors vary based on the person.

 

[Foxglove]

I always saw it as chopping off all your relaxed ends. Doesn't necessarily have to be to a twa. The whole point was to chop all your relaxed hair off which after a long transition wouldn't leave you with a twa

 

[Sianna]

A big chop is when all the straightened hair is cut off in one chop, right to the new growth. It doesn't matter how long or short that new growth is.

In the case of women who are BC'ing for the purpose of going natural, I can agree with this, even though a lot of women who "BC" are cutting their hair down to a point that's STILL significantly longer than my hair is now. And I've been fully natural for six and a half months!

Ah well. At any rate, this next comment is OT, but suburbanbushbabe your hair is

 

[Sweet_Ambrosia]

I agree with most of the ladies here.. BC is when you cut off all of the relaxed hair at once.. if you are one who opts to gradually trim your relaxed ends off as your hair grows then you can't claim Big Chop.

That's how I chose to do it. I g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y trimmed my ends every so often. After 24 months of transitioning I was left with 2-2.5 inches (less in other sections) of relaxed ends, so it wasn't a BC for me more of a snip-snip.

 

[iri9109]

i agree, BC is just a general term for cutting off all the relaxed ends, whether you're left with 1 inch of hair, or 10.

 

[thehairmaverick]

anybody know where the term "big chop" came from? My mental image is always a karate chop for some reason (don't ask why lol)

 

[Afrolatina]

I've been on this board for a little while now (under a different screename) and it's always been my understanding that a BC is exactly as suburbanbushbabe has said- when someone chops off all of their relaxed ends right down to the new growth...

Not that it matters at all, but, I think the term over the years has been misused...when you "cut" your hair even if you go from WL to shoulder length that is not a bc... the term was coined for women who were going "natural" and taking that step by big chopping all at one time down to a TWA...

The first time I bc'd in my life it was actually just transitioning to natural which is technically not the same thing as a bc itself because I had quite a few inches of hair due to my 18 month (or so) transition....Recently, I had to cut and I went from WL to being near bald- that was a bc...

I think people use the term wrong to describe maybe the emotional and mental weight as well as the drastic physical change of chopping that much hair but it's still not actually a bc unless you're down to a TWA imo. To me it would just be a regular cut otherwise every haircut could then be called a big chop depending on how emotionally attached the person is to their hair....but I can see how it might mean something different to everyone...

 

[Kneechay]

i dont understand the belief that it has to be cut down to a TWA to be considered a BC. Why? So if transitioning then BC, and your 'new growth' is bigger/longer than a TWA, it can't be a BC? Why would you then need to cut off more (fully natural) hair all the way to a TWA?

 

[KnottyGurl]

To me, the big chop is the final cut that removes the remainder of your relaxed hair regardless of how long the natural hair is. With that final cut you're venturing into a new realm. That's big, isn't it?