MyAngelEyez~C~U
Well-Known Member
subscribing
Good questions. In terms of preparing myself mentally/vetting myself to ensure that I was ready BC, I thought about the following, as outlined in the post below:Andromeda, this is a great thread!!! Although I am still transitioning, I have read of so many posts with questions as to "what to do once completely natural". Definitely a support group was necessary. Andromeda, I believe you did your BC or final chop to natural. What about VainJane, FoxGlove, Digital Rain and others? How did you prepare? Did you have help or did you complete this yourself? Notice any differences once all relaxed ends were off?
Once I was convinced that I was ready to BC (I actually slept on it for a few days just to make sure), I saturated my hair in conditioner and got my shears ready. I started clipping off relaxed ends, leaving about 1-1.5 (or more) of straight ends, just in case they were actually naturally hair that hadn't reverted. I DCd overnight with a protein conditioner (Aubrey Organics GPB) and woke up to find that those ends were still straight. I chopped some more, eventually brushing out my hair into a fro, so the straight ends would be more obvious and I could trim it as one would trim a shrub. I though I got them all but I still found more last weekend and trimmed some more. At this point I still see some straight ends (it's really like my hair or my mind is playing tricks on me) but I'm not gonna trim them. I don't trust anyone to trim my hair but maybe I'll have my mom trim the back of it since it's feasible that I did miss some of the relaxed ends there.Hey, I'm also thinking about BCing. I'm only 12 months post and I'm trying to approach the decision to BC from a logical mindset.
Here's something I asked myself: "Is my consideration to BC rational or emotional? Am I BCing out of frustration, disgust [towards stringy relaxed ends], contentment, excitement or practicality?" You've already answered this question - you're frustrated. Now you have to clear your mind and consider it from a practical perspective. You might want to ask yourself, "What problems will BCing solve for me?". Here's a more detailed breakdown of the approach I'm taking, laid out in a table format:
hair in its current state | hair post-bc
style & appearance
lifestyle
care®imen
products
likelihood of relaxing
Here are some questions that go along with this chart:
Appearance
- Will I be comfortable with my hair at the post-bc length?
-Do I have a grasp of styles that I will wear and do these styles complement my lifestyle (work, events, exercise, etc.)?
-What styling options will I be missing out on if I BC?
-Have I accepted my texture?
Regimen+ Hair Health
-Will BCing make my hair easier to care for?
-How will BCing affect my regimen?
-How will BCing affect my product lineup?
-If I find myself in a rut after BCing, would I be in danger of relaxing?
You are too fierce with that TWA!hey yall!!
I Big chopped on 03/20/2012. So far so good! I'm loving my natural hair even though its not much..lol. I just wore it out for the first time without hiding it under my lacewig a couple of days ago and I felt great.
Products that I use right now are: s-curl, curl free curl, sta so fro, softee curl activator, vatika, evoo, and my absolute favorite provectiv anti-dryness.. I love this stuff! Its
amazing
If anyone have a product or a technique that they would recommend to help elimate frizz I would appreciate it.
here are some pics of my hair..
The first one is the day of my BC and the other two are very recent pics of my hair.
HEY EVERYBODY!!! i BC'd 3/4/10 after about a 10 month transition.
my strands are are fairly thick and I believe I have medium density.
I currently have anywhere between 4-7 inches of hair, my goal is WL stretched. I'm short with a short torso (13.5" from sl to wl) so given no setbacks, it shouldn't take me too long.
My curl diameter ranges from a thick marker to a pen spring. In the front I have more of a wave vs. curl pattern. My hair is extremely frizzy and I haven't quite figured out how to minimize the frizz esp. in the front.
For the last month my signature style has been the below wash n go...
I LOOOVE suave coconut as my leave in. I haven't incorporated any oils into my regimen at this time nor do I have a strict regimen at this time. I think I may install some crochet braids for a couple months.
One thing that I've noticed since going natural is that my hair doesn't shed!!! While relaxed I could run my fingers through my hair and have a several strands come out at any given time...but I now have severe HIH syndrome and I can honestly say not once have I had a hair to come out. Also I use a paddle brush to detangle in the shower and I have NOT cleaned it out since going natural because there is hardly any hair in it. At first I thought it may have gone down the drain...but that wasn't it because as a relaxed head i had to keep drano on hand for all the hair going down the drain, it's not getting caught in my crack either I don't know why my hair isn't shedding...but I'm not complaining!!!
Anyway....thank you for starting this thread!!!
Hi guys! I'm still chugging along. I'm doing mostly wash and go puffs but sometimes I'll throw out a twistout puff to mix it up.
I tried a new product last week (carol's daughter loc butter) for my twistout last week, to try and get a more defined twistout. Of course that was the one night I slept without tying my hair up at night and I had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients in the loc butter (I think the soybean oil). My face broke out in hives. It was terrible. I'm still working on getting my face back to normal lol. PS if anybody wants it I have 2 jars to trade. It gave a nice twistout, it's just I think I'm allergic to the soybean oil in it
In other news I haven't used heat in my hair since the BC and I don't see myself using heat anytime soon. I also am trying not to do length checks all that often. I may do one at 18 months post but I will try not to do my next one until I'm 2 years post
Hey foxglove, what are you willing to trade for that loc butter?
What do you have? This is exciting?
Today as I was pulling my hair up for my bun I liked how my hair looked in a half up style. I may try that when I'm done with school.
For the ladies that do wash and go's, what is your technique? I'm not opposed to using gel, but I kind of want to wait for my hair to get longer so that I can just use a Suave conditioner and some olive oil over it. I think that would give me nicely defined and soft hair without the drying agents of gels.
So I guess my second question is for those that do use gel... is it drying? What type are you using? Is there a difference between your wash and go's with or without the gel?
Thanks ladies! I'm loving this new thread.
Child I have like too many products. I don't know..........LOOL
Here are some recent pics, I'm still clipping off stray relaxed ends
Unmanipulated WashnGo Puff
yay! *gets comfy* i like the transitioner thread, and posted for a while afte the bc, but i don't feel i fit there anymore. especially when someone told me not to tempt people to bc, which i definitely was not doing. anyway
i did the bc on Feb 10, 2010 (i think lol)
um, as far as hair type goes, i'm 4a with some strange c and o patterns. my hair shrinks to pen spring sized coils to pen sized coils. its very clumpy. i used to think my hair was thick, but as i'm getting to know it, i believe that i just have a lot of hair. i'm unsure if my strands are really thick.
right now, i'm shampooing, dcing, and twisting on sundays, then i cowash on thursday and will try some sort of 'out' style.
my favorite styles right now are twistout puffs, and my twists even though they are crappy. i'll get it! practice makes perfect.
i have hair that is shoulder length, and some that is between ear and shoulder. i promise i won't play with the scissors anymore. oh and my goal length is apl. ♥
*Sigh*
I loooooooooove yalls two ponytails.
Andromeda- What products do you use to shampoo, conditon, and leavins/moisturizers/oils when you do washn gos, what was that that was holding the ponytail up? A regular ponytail holder?
And Vain Jane does your ponytail curls come from a twistout? What products do you use for your twistouts, and to moiturisze, oil--shampoo, conditon, and cowash...nono
I Bc'd 4/21/2010 I think (wrote it down somewhere)
Was about 4 months post relaxer
I cant tell my hairs characteristis yet, but I think the strand size is thick, and the density is smedium- dont know curl, shrinkage or growth pattern
Current regimen im thinking about is shampooing (CON), deepconditoning (ORS or Aphogee 2 min), and a hot oil treatment 1-3x weekly, and moisturize daily with carefree gold.
About to get some braids I think and do the crown and glory for alitte while or up to a year
lol@ falling asleep under the dryer. I remember that being the highlight of going to the salon. I would get some good, drool-producing, wide open mouth-inducing naps under those dryers!Had hair day today!! Now I'm reminded of why I spend 7 minutes on my hair 6 days a week. I'm lazy! Ended up taking a nap under my dryer with my deep conditioner mix on because I was too tired to rinse it out. Spent some time cutting a few more straight ends. Every time I think I've got them all more appear. Sooo annoying.
I don't plan on straightening until December but I'm really nervous that my straight hair will look crazy with all of my natural layers...
I think DCing should definitely go on your "to do" list. I like your approach of listening to your hair and I take much the same approach myself of not doing things simply for the sake of doing it or because it's a certain day. However, there's something to be said for regularly imparting moisture in the penetrating, long-lasting manner that a DC does.Not much to report here. I'm rockin my shrunken fro. Its a bit longer now. 1 and 3/4 to 2 inches long. Go me, Woot Woot! 3 inches by this time in July would be great. I'm still loving my Healthy Hair Butter from Carol's Daughter. That in conjunction with my Pink SassaFrazz Spray makes my hair feel super happy. Also, I've never Deep Conditioned my hair...perhaps that should go on the "to do" list.
I feel you on the HIH. I gotta get back up under this wig right quick! *Looks over shoulder and sees the normally lifeless eyes of the styrofoam wig head glaring at me*HEY EVERYBODY!!! i BC'd 3/4/10 after about a 10 month transition.
my strands are are fairly thick and I believe I have medium density.
I currently have anywhere between 4-7 inches of hair, my goal is WL stretched. I'm short with a short torso (13.5" from sl to wl) so given no setbacks, it shouldn't take me too long.
My curl diameter ranges from a thick marker to a pen spring. In the front I have more of a wave vs. curl pattern. My hair is extremely frizzy and I haven't quite figured out how to minimize the frizz esp. in the front.
For the last month my signature style has been the below wash n go...
I LOOOVE suave coconut as my leave in. I haven't incorporated any oils into my regimen at this time nor do I have a strict regimen at this time. I think I may install some crochet braids for a couple months.
One thing that I've noticed since going natural is that my hair doesn't shed!!! While relaxed I could run my fingers through my hair and have a several strands come out at any given time...but I now have severe HIH syndrome and I can honestly say not once have I had a hair to come out. Also I use a paddle brush to detangle in the shower and I have NOT cleaned it out since going natural because there is hardly any hair in it. At first I thought it may have gone down the drain...but that wasn't it because as a relaxed head i had to keep drano on hand for all the hair going down the drain, it's not getting caught in my crack either I don't know why my hair isn't shedding...but I'm not complaining!!!
Anyway....thank you for starting this thread!!!
Hi guys! I'm still chugging along. I'm doing mostly wash and go puffs but sometimes I'll throw out a twistout puff to mix it up.
I tried a new product last week (carol's daughter loc butter) for my twistout last week, to try and get a more defined twistout. Of course that was the one night I slept without tying my hair up at night and I had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients in the loc butter (I think the soybean oil). My face broke out in hives. It was terrible. I'm still working on getting my face back to normal lol. PS if anybody wants it I have 2 jars to trade. It gave a nice twistout, it's just I think I'm allergic to the soybean oil in it
In other news I haven't used heat in my hair since the BC and I don't see myself using heat anytime soon. I also am trying not to do length checks all that often. I may do one at 18 months post but I will try not to do my next one until I'm 2 years post
The bolded reminded me of a question I had: How do you guys plan on doing length checks?
Sorry you had that reaction.
The bolded reminded me of a question I had: How do you guys plan on doing length checks?
I can over-think things but this is one area where I want to be consistent and precise. I guess I'll do a dry stretched length check once a month. And a straightened one however often I straighten - every season or less often. I also think I'll take southerntease's approach and tie measuring tape around my neck to be even more accurate and make it easier to track.
Unfortunately here in Texas, I have not seen any Trader's Joes. I would love to try it myself. And the Oyin I have I can not part with. I love them. You may be able to get what you want on the product swap thread here on LHCF though. Or perhaps one of the other sister's here may have what you want. **sighs I guess I don't really need any more products right now anyway.Do you have any Trader Joes or Oyin?
The bolded reminded me of a question I had: How do you guys plan on doing length checks?