My younger sister, Rashana, has been natural for years. She is the one who ultimately inspired me to actually take the plunge. I wanted to go natural for over ten years, initially wanting locs. However, not only was my (now) husband not really feeling it, but I got horrible migraines. It seemed like they were worst around the time I needed a touch up, and as soon as I rinsed that relaxer out of my head I felt immediate relief! This is the reason why I thought that I couldn’t go natural. I thought being natural would mean sentencing myself to a never ending migraine sentence.
More recently, I stopped taking my meds and started eating healthier, adding vitamins…and drinking WATER! My headaches became less and less frequent and I started to think that maybe I could do this whole natural thing. So, I started transitioning in November, 2011. I even documented it on YouTube. I started my transition with weaves.
Weaving my hair up helped to ease the whole process. I also chose to wear weaves because my hair was past my shoulders and I didn’t have the patience to sit for micros. I kept the weave in for about 8 weeks. After the new year, I took it out and decided to try this pre poo treatment that I’d read on some blog.
I remember it had honey & olive oil in it, not sure what else. That morning I was so excited to wash and condition and see what I was working with. A MESS! A true and horrible mess. My hair was so tangled and unmanageable, I wanted to cut it off on the spot.
My husband even told me to cut it off after seeing the trouble I was going through. However, I just continued to rake through it. I was supposed to donate my hair after my Big Chop…
A couple of weeks later, on January 28, 2012, I was over Rashana’s (my cousin) house with my sister, Dominique and our mom. Oh, and my niecey poo Rileigh was there too, LOL. Anyways, I was sitting on the computer watching Big Chop videos on YouTube. It had become one of my favorite pastimes (I know I’m not the only one that did this). Dominique came over to watch them with me and said I should just go ahead and do it. She knew how damaged my hair was after my last ordeal. Now, the thing is, her encouragement was not entirely pure. She and I had been competing for years to have the longest hair. She just wanted to chop mine off…and admitted later that she didn’t think it was going to look good! Ha!
After little debate, Dom pulled out the scissors and Shana grabbed her camera and IT…WENT…DOWN.
I have to say that it was a wonderful experience. I thought the cut was cute and I had my sis to teach me the ins and outs of being natural. My family was supportive and my husband loves to play in my hair. No way I would let him put his hands in it when I was permed up.
Please enjoy my Big Chop video below.
