Preparing for the BC....

[A856]

To the ladies that BC'd or are going to BC; how do you prepare for it??

I'm currently 45wks post. I'm transitioning with out the BC, but one Twin (I'm a Gemini ) says CUT the other says "NO WAY JOSE"!!!

I know eventually I'm gonna have to cut, but I'd like to be able to at least get my natural hair into a ponytail. I got a few more months for this I think, I'm guessing definitely June 2012.

So those that BC'd....
How'd you prepare for it?
were you scared??
Who did it? If professional, how'd you find the stylist?

Taking all tips and suggestions.....Please and Thank you!

~A

 

[ezina]

I'd like to know too!

 

[whiteoleander91]

Lol, to be honest, I kind of BC'd on a whim. Family portraits the next day My mom was like, why don't you go ahead and cut now so that you can wear your hair out for the pictures? I was only 5 days shy of a full year transitioning. I had been contemplating cutting early summer anyway, but I really hadn't planned on cutting that day. I had planned on simply wearing a bun. I was on my way out to the mall when she mentioned it, and on the way back I picked up some shears. When I got home, I wet my hair and saturated it with conditioner, turned on some music and just started hackin lol. I was soooooo happy. Don't regret it.

I wasn't super clueless about my hair when I cut though. I had been experimenting with my natural hair for a while (cut some of the relaxed ends off in the back at around 6 months) so I had an idea of what my hair liked and what to do. Youtube was helpful as well.

ETA: I was afraid that it would be too short and that I was cutting too soon. But as I was cutting, that fear went away. Idk, I was just so happy to see what my texture was like with out the straight ends weighing it down. There were times when I thought...hmm maybe I should have waited, but then I would think, well I've learned so much more about my hair. If I had waited, I wouldn't know as much as I do now. I think that's pretty normal following the BC. But I'm so glad that I cut when I did.

And I had some gel and stuff already under my cabinet so that I could do my first wash and go

 

[whiteoleander91]

My suggestions/advice:


1. You probably won't be 100% positively, absolutely sure about BCing. It's great if you are, but it's natural to have some doubts and to be apprehensive.

2. Have a security net to fall back on: for me, that meant a game plan for if I ended up regretting it or if I was having a hard time styling it. I just told myself that my hair was long enough to do a small ponytail/bun (with some help of course) so that if I was just absolutely too self conscious to wear it out or something, I could always just do that until it got longer (I had transitioned in buns anyway, so it wouldn't have been a big deal).

3. Have some styling product on hand! This way you don't have to go out right after just in case you are a little self conscious.

4. USE SHEARS. Not paper cutting scissors lol.

5. Watch some BC vids on youtube beforehand to get you pumped! lol


If I think of more, I will come back and add

 

[NaturalEnigma]

So those that BC'd....
How'd you prepare for it?
1. I brought a ziploc bag with me to the salon so I could put my relaxed hair in. My memory is fuzzy, but I believe I washed my hair and detangled it really well so that when the stylist cut my hair she wouldn't have much a problem.

Were you scared??
2. Not at all I was sooooo excited. Its funny, because before I BCed I would watch people getting the BC on youtube and they would cringe or start crying when the scissors finally got to their hair. I was the opposite I had a HUGE smile on my face, I think that pissed off my stylist, because she really didn't understand why I was going natural. She told me "What are you going to do with your hair" and I told her "I'm just going to rock the fro" I couldn't wait to be natural. I left that salon feeling like I was cloud nine. I never felt such a exhilarating experience in my life.

Who did it? If professional, how'd you find the stylist?
A professional stylist cut my hair. It was an old stylist I went to when I was younger. I stopped going to her because she was too ghetto. Unfortunately after I stopped going to her I became a DIYer and really didn't know who would cut my hair, so I had to revisit her. I would suggest finding someone who knows how to deal with natural hair, because they're be more supportive and they're know how to cut your hair right. My stylist tried to cut my hair with a razor I was like ummmm no you're going to use scissors. Razors have jagged edges that will ruin your ends. Thank god I knew better and stopped her before cutting my hair. My sister did her own BC and she did a great job.

 

[blksndrlla]

How'd you prepare for it?
I didn't really. I had my arsenal of products that I had been using while transitioning and that's what I used afterwards. I already had shears for trimming my ends.

I didn't plan to BC. CurlyNikki posted pictures of her dry twist-out last November on Facebook. For some reason, that pushed me over the edge...and there went my ends!

Were you scared?
When I finally cut it, nope. I was ready. I think the most important thing I did was wait until I was ready. I was a long-term transitioner, but I still "chopped" before my goal date. I chopped at 28.5 months and intended on going to 36.

I thought it was going to be more emotional than it was, but it wasn't AT ALL. I cut it...twisted it up and went about my night.

Who did it?
I cut my own hair. It was fairly long, but I had done a BKT a few months before, so the line of demarcation wasn't that prominent. Months later I did go to a stylist and he commented on how I had "jacked" my hair up. You couldn't tell when it is curly, but I straighten my hair too. I have had it trimmed once in the year that I have been all natural and it has held it shape and health pretty well.

 

[Nubenap22]

I'm a gemini also and our twins suck sometimes!!
I wish I wouldnt have done my bc as soon as I did for several reasons.
I did it on an impulse and wasnt really ready for how it would make me feel
I also still had about 7 inches of relaxed hair and I wish I could have just kept going because maintaining the two textures wasnt hard at all for me.

 

[A856]

THANK YOU LADIES FOR YOUR RESPONSE!!!!! I'm still on the fence But I swear I had mixed emotions by just reading the responses. One emotion was saying "see it's not that bad, you can do it!!" The other was saying "you are soooooo not ready for this"
I think I'll go to YouTube and look check things out there, and revisit some threads here...
I know I'm not gonna do it tonite, tomorrow or next Thursday. But I'm building myself up to do it at the earliest New Year....maybe.
Another side of me is telling me to go sit in the corner and deep condition my hair and put it up in a bun and have a nice day.


decisions....decisions....