Naturals...how did you know when you were ready...

[pcRN]

to bc??? How many weeks post were you when you bc'd?

 

[BostonMaria]

I just knew. The detangling process of the two textures was horrific and was getting on my nerves. I had spent about 7 months just reading on how to take care of my natural hair. I figured I had already waited close to 26 years and I didn't want to wait anymore. It was an awesome and liberating feeling when it was over.

 

[Nasdaq_Diva]

Hmmm I have never really thought about this question, lemme go do the math.

Ok, so I was about 36 weeks post when I finally decided to cut off the relaxed ends. I remember just sitting in my room, bored out of my mind. I kept running my fingers through my hair, and I didn't like how it felt (natural to relaxed ends).

So, I went out in the kitchen and told my younger sister (she was in school for cosmetology at the time) to get the scissors and to cut it off. So, I sat down in my older sisters kitchen and allowed her to cut the relaxed ends off.

I was excited, nervous, scared all wrapped up in one! I've never regretted it!!

 

[Shananyganz]

I wanted to BC after a year of transitioning, btu my hair thought better of that idea. One afternoon after a MASSIVE tangle that I could NOT get out; I chopped. Now granted, I was just going to braid my hair anyway, so I could have salvaged what I could and braided the remaining as planned. But after watching BC videos on YouTube, in an attempt to calm myself. I thought...how CRAZY must I have looked trying to "save" those tangled relaxed strands that were going to get cut either way!!! No matter when I cut; that day or another 6 months from then, I was still cutting...soooo off with my hair it was.

Long story short, my hair decided I was ready. Lawd knows with all the knowledge I have gained about healthy realxed hair, I might have prolonged the invitable (for me), so it came at a good time.

ETA:: I transitioned a little shy of 6 months.

~S~

 

[lovegymnasts]

I was about 1.5 years post
The girl who was suppose to braid my hair did not show up and I had to leave for a conference in Austin the next day. I just took the scissors and started cutting. Most of my relaxed hair had broken off any ways. I and the people I was listening to were clueless about taking care of my hair. Never listen to braiders on haircare. The first time I wore my hair natural was at the conference. I actually called my mother and told her about it while I was on the road driving to it.
This happened before I found hair boards or heard of BC and post relaxer.

 

[kurlybella]

I just knew. The detangling process of the two textures was horrific and was getting on my nerves. It was an awesome and liberating feeling when it was over.

^^THIS all day long

 

[1QTPie]

I don't really know the answer. I never wanted to relax, I just thought that's what we were supposed to do. LOL

I cut it when I realized I was not in the mood to deal with the breakage from the two textures anymore. This was before the info about transitioning was at the forefront. But honestly, i wouldn't have done anything different.

I relaxed my hair 3 times a year. So I basically went the same amount of time I'd always gone. About 4- 6 months.

 

[chebaby]

i was watching twa/bc videos on youtube and decided that that night i would bc. i went home and chopped my hair to my shoulders. then that weekend i got it all cut to about an inch all around.

 

[Anew]

I had instant regret after getting my last relaxer. I knew it was time, lol

ETA: Oh gosh, I missed the most important part of your post, lol

To BC, I was just sick of dealing with the two textures. I started NOT caring about the detangling process, I knew it was time to cut. I was 9 months post

 

[Shay72]

Detangling was a nightmare. I was starting to lose a lot of hair and was just cutting out knots left and right .

 

[kmn1980]

I was just shy of 3 weeks post when I BC'd. I'm very decisive and figured it'd all grow back soon enough.

I didn't like what chemicals did for me (nothing positive) and I was tired of jumping through hoops to achieve and maintain something that I wasn't meant to have. Matter of fact, when I was sitting in the chair getting the last re-touch, I was thinking, "I ought to tell her to just cut it all off."

This was before the days of "transitioning" being popular.

 

[yaya24]

My BC was verrry random. I had a relaxer appointment set for the following week.. but I knew I really wanted to be natural. Detangling had started to be a real pain.

I BC'd about 11 weeks after my last relaxer

 

[bride91501]

I'd been toying with the idea for about a year, but seeing Solange on Oprah sealed the deal for me. I had never seen her look as beautiful as she did when she BC'd....EVER. Plus, I wanted to be more of a healthy role model for my 3 daughters.

So, one random day I was home with nothing else to do, sporting an 8 week old weave that need to come out, and I thought to myself, "Self, what are you waiting for?" I cut out that weave and my relaxed ends. The rest is history lol.

I was 8 months post my last (and final ) relaxer.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

I kept getting the feeling that it would be better/easier to BC sooner rather than later. So I watched BC vids on Youtube to hype myself up, went into the bathroom and started cutting. I was 8 months post relaxer. I'm glad I did it, because my hair is soooo much easier to deal with.

 

[Taleah2009]

I was 16 months post. Last summer when I was in my transition I knew I wanted to be natural by the next summer so i could do wash n go's. The detangling was kind of bad, but i was getting any breakage. My hair actually grew about 5 inches during my transition, but I knew i had to let it go. my natural hair was between NL and SL so I was comfy with the lenght i was. I set a hair appt and told my hair dresser I am chopping. She looked at me crazy and said I was going through a phase. I said nope, cut it off

 

[Newtogrow]

It was random, I had just taken my braids out and washed my hair. I cut where the two textures met. I was approximately 9 mos post relaxer.

 

[Blyss_curls]

Having big chopped before people were "big chopping"...and having survived the trauma of a large head and no hair (and all the attention that went w/that)... this time around, I had no intention of big chopping, and going through that again.

I slowly trimmed/cut away the relaxed hair, a bit at a time, as my hair got longer.

So, technically I didn't have a bc.
But once I knew I had enough (between the new texture and the old) to still maintain a bun--I cut a lot of the old off. So that was my "big chop." I was at least a year into the transition.

As others stated above, I was tired of dealing w/the two textures, detangling, etc. But worked through it, as I needed to have enough to pull back into a bun.

hth.

 

[manter26]

I would cut a chunk about 2" wide and 1" across in an inconspicuous area just to see what my texture looked like. The next week, when I couldn't find that chunk, I cut another one. This went on for a couple months. Finally I gave up and BC'd because my eagerness got the best of me.

 

[ms.blue]

I'm different b/c I originally was stretching my relaxer & had a setback which caused me to do bc. I didn't intentionally wanted to be natural but seeing my natural grow & the curls/kinks that came along made me want to stay natural.

 

[Prettyeyes]

I just knew. The detangling process of the two textures was horrific and was getting on my nerves. I had spent about 7 months just reading on how to take care of my natural hair. I figured I had already waited close to 26 years and I didn't want to wait anymore. It was an awesome and liberating feeling when it was over.

^^ ME EXACTLY! Also, I tested myself by doing a few( I thought I was just transitioning) mini-chops and then I knew I could do the BIG CHOP!