NEVER DID THE BC

[Chemetria]

Are there any natural ladies who never did the BC at all who just let there hair grow out

 

[SEMO]

There are lots of ladies on here who never did the big chop. I kind of did and kind of didn't. I transitioned for about 18 months before I cut the last of my relaxed ends off (about 4-5 inches). By that time I had about jaw/neck length natural hair. But before that I had done a major cut on my hair (from armpit to shoulder length). I did a major cut in the middle of my transition, before my final "big chop", b/c I was scared I'd chicken out and relax again. But after cutting so much hair that meant I was committed (I had failed once before trying to go natural).

Many people have different routes they take to going natural. So it just depends on the person.

 

[so1913]

I let my hair grow out for 16 months before I cut the relaxed ends off. My hair was in between chin and mid neck length bob when I started transitioning.

 

[ChocoKitty]

I didn't. I just got trims as my hair grew out.

 

[PatTodd]

I think I "accidentally" transitioned - I haven't relaxed for a year, and right now I'm considering whether I ever will again. My last relaxer was more like texlaxing anyway (again, accidentally!). I'm midway between shoulder and APL unstretched, and I have about 2-3 inches of relaxed ends left, but they're not that straight. If I decide not to relax again, I don't think I will ever BC.

 

[foxxymami]

I technically didn't.....I got my hair cut "Halle Berry" short after experiencing some thinning (my hair used to always be APL.....i was soooo sad to have to get it cut ). I decided to go natural after that cut/relaxer.....so technically I didn't really have much relaxed hair to BC.

I looove my natural hair now

 

[Windsy]

Do you absolutely have to cut? My natural hair and the relaxed hair are the same texture. I can't tell the difference, that's why I never relaxed often. I only did it when I thought that it was time again to do it, not because I needed it. Any thoughts?

 

[glamazon386]

Do you absolutely have to cut? My natural hair and the relaxed hair are the same texture. I can't tell the difference, that's why I never relaxed often. I only did it when I thought that it was time again to do it, not because I needed it. Any thoughts?

More than likely your hair is going to break where the two meet. By taking care of you hair you can minimize that breakage but at some point it's going to get out of hand. That's when most people can't take it anymore and decide to chop. It would be better to just cut the relaxed pieces off after a while. If you don't you'll have raggedy ends which could lead to splits and cause more breakage which means a cut too. You're going to have to cut the relaxed ends at some point. The question is just whether you want to do it sooner rather than later.

ETA: For the ladies who trimmed a little at a time, that still qualified as cutting. You were keeping your ends neat. That got rid of splits.

 

[rabs77]

I wore braids for 2 years straight(got it redone several times of course ), and thats how I transitioned. I never officially did a big chop. just trimmed it a bit at a time each time I took the braids out.

 

[Windsy]

I wore braids for 2 years straight(got it redone several times of course ), and thats how I transitioned. I never officially did a big chop. just trimmed it a bit at a time each time I took the braids out.

By going this route, how often did you trim and how long did it take you to get rid of all the relaxed hair.

OT: Thanks bmoreflygirl, I see your point

 

[meaganita]

Yep, I did. I never bc'd, I just grew my hair out through wearing weaves and braids for about 2 years. I made sure to trim at least 2 inches every time I took my hair down, and always deep conditioned. The length of my relaxed hair was between sl & apl. By the time I stopped wearing weaves my natural hair was at full APL.

 

[IrisDaVirus]

I just trimmed my hair as my texturizer grew out. I did the trims over about a year and a half.

 

[OnceUponAtime]

I didn't BC, just trimmed when needed. I avoided breakage at the demarcation line by doing regular protein treatments. I was a pretty faithful CO washer too, which helped maintain moisture. It took 18 months.

 

[rabs77]

By going this route, how often did you trim and how long did it take you to get rid of all the relaxed hair.

OT: Thanks bmoreflygirl, I see your point

My last relaxer was in April 2003. By that time my hair was just past SL. After that I kept it in mostly braids which I redid every 3 months. As a side note...the girl who did my braids was AMAZING! After 3 months of braids I could take my braids out effortlessy, hardly any knots.....sorry I digress... Anyway, each time I took out my braids my hairdresser pressed and trimmed about 2 inches off, which I guess was the rate at which I my hair was growing.
Here is a pic of the first time I wore my hair out, after wearing braids and weaves for 2 1/2 yrs straight! Pix was taken Aug 2005. By the time this pix was taken I believe all the relaxed hair was gone.

 

[cocomama]

I let my hair grow out for about 14 months before I cut the relaxed ends off. I usually wore my hair in twist outs or slick down with a scarf. It's well documented in my 4 fotki albums.

I hope that helps

 

[rabs77]

I let my hair grow out for 16 months before I cut the relaxed ends off. My hair was in between chin and mid neck length bob when I started transitioning.

so1913, you look like my hair twin...yours seems very similar to mine ...I also noticed your birthday is a day after mine...Nice to meet you!

 

[so1913]

so1913, you look like my hair twin...yours seems very similar to mine ...I also noticed your birthday is a day after mine...Nice to meet you!

It's nice to meet you too!

 

[audacity.]

More than likely your hair is going to break where the two meet. By taking care of you hair you can minimize that breakage but at some point it's going to get out of hand. That's when most people can't take it anymore and decide to chop. It would be better to just cut the relaxed pieces off after a while. If you don't you'll have raggedy ends which could lead to splits and cause more breakage which means a cut too. You're going to have to cut the relaxed ends at some point. The question is just whether you want to do it sooner rather than later.

ETA: For the ladies who trimmed a little at a time, that still qualified as cutting. You were keeping your ends neat. That got rid of splits.

i thought that people who decide to bc after long periods is because of managing the 2 (or more) textures, not because of excessive breakage . also, it would seem logicical, imo, if one has only a couple of inches of relaxed ends and several inches of natural, to just cut the rest of the relaxed ends off.

whether one is natural, transitioning, relaxed or tex'd i would think that trims and maintenance (sp?) are necessary.

 

[blue_flower]

This is a great thread. It's been 6 months since my last relaxer and I intend to transition as long as a can. Inspiring!

 

[LynnieB]

i thought that people who decide to bc after long periods is because of managing the 2 (or more) textures, not because of excessive breakage . also, it would seem logicical, imo, if one has only a couple of inches of relaxed ends and several inches of natural, to just cut the rest of the relaxed ends off.

whether one is natural, transitioning, relaxed or tex'd i would think that trims and maintenance (sp?) are necessary.

naw, that wasn't my reason. didn't really actually BC either, more like taking leaps from lilypad to lilypad in a pond

my transitioning hair was in excellent shape (if i do say so myself) - no breakage, no excessive shedding.

what pushed me over the cliff was how thick and full of life my ng was compared to the relaxed hair, i could feel the difference with my hands! i was not bone straight relaxed, my relaxed hair retained much of it's original texture but it was still different. I became more and more aware of this difference as i continued to style my hair in various natural styles (primarily twists, braid-outs and twist-outs) that it just wasn't gonna be able keep up with the ng. It also became more obvious the longer my ng grew.

i know, i know some folks say a tex'd is about as close to natural as you can get/can't tell the difference in texture, etc. and it's true to a certain extent but bottom line truthfullness of the matter is; there is a big difference between hair that's been touched by a chemical and hair that has not - even if it is considered a relaxer-lite (which i had).

and of course, that's just my lil ole humble opinion

folks just gotta do alot of playing-by-ear, trial-and-errors and mental preparedness and do what's most comfy for them regardless of what any here or there or anywhere has to say about it.

 

[glamazon386]

i know, i know some folks say a tex'd is about as close to natural as you can get/can't tell the difference in texture, etc. and it's true to a certain extent but bottom line truthfullness of the matter is; there is a big difference between hair that's been touched by a chemical and hair that has not - even if it is considered a relaxer-lite (which i had).

I agree! The more your new growth grows out the harder it is to hide it. You will see the difference.

 

[imstush]

My first successful transition I never did the bc. I wore my hair in braids for one month, wng, and double strands. I only trimmed my ends when necessary. In two years I had successfully grown out the relaxer. My relaxed hair was about bsl, when I was done my natural hair was in between apl and bsl. I am now transitioning over 2 years.

 

[ClassicBeauty]

I never really did a big chop. I just trimmed for almost 3 years and kept my hair long. My hair was BSL when I started. It helped that my final cut was a layered cut. That allowed me to keep more of the length because my hair grows so much faster in the back.

 

[Lioness]

My first successful transition I never did the bc. I wore my hair in braids for one month, wng, and double strands. I only trimmed my ends when necessary. In two years I had successfully grown out the relaxer. My relaxed hair was about bsl, when I was done my natural hair was in between apl and bsl. I am now transitioning over 2 years.

Nice n encouraging! I've been transitioning for 8 months now. I'm currently BSL and I am NOTfeelin the BC . I'd rather keep my length and trim every now and then.