Hello Root of the
Natural subscribers! Today I would like
to introduce to you my little sister Courtney K. Courtney just got her Big Chop done on
Friday, December 16th and has graciously agreed to share with us her
experience. Thanks Courtney for joining
us!
ROTN: So Courtney, what made you decide to stop
perming your hair and begin your transition?
Courtney: Mostly, I hated the smell of relaxers… HATED
it! I felt like I smelled like rotten
eggs for days afterwards! Also, my hair looked
so flat and lifeless for the first few weeks after a relaxer. I also started to hate the idea of putting so
many chemicals in my hair. I knew it
wasn’t healthy, because I had so many broken hairs around the edges. Relaxing my hair just didn’t feel right to me
anymore.
ROTN: How long did you transition and why did you
decide to go to the next level and do your Big Chop (BC)?
Courtney: I transitioned for about a year. While the relaxer was growing out, I would
get my hair blow dried and flat ironed and I knew that I wasn’t doing myself
any favors with all that heat. My hair would be straight for a couple of days,
but by the end of the week the two different textures would come through and I
looked ridiculous. I didn’t want to keep
dishing out my money to get it done when the style wouldn’t even last through
the week. Cutting the relaxed ends off seemed like the
best decision for me.
ROTN: What did you do to prepare for your BC?
Courtney: I did a lot of research and used my big
sis as a sounding board. I would spend
hours on YouTube and hair blogs learning about products and asking
questions. I wanted to make sure that I
had a good variety of products beforehand so I wasn’t scrambling after my
cut. I made sure I had a shampoo,
conditioner, leave-in conditioner, styling gels, wide-tooth comb, boar bristle
brush, pomade, oils, moisturizers, plenty of plastic and satin caps, and of
course headbands.
ROTN: How did you feel on the day of your BC? What was going through your mind?
Courtney: I was extremely excited and not scared at
all. I was so ready…I just wanted to get
it over with. I had all my products
lined up for weeks and I wanted to start using them! Although my hair had never been cut above chin
length, I wasn’t worried about having short hair. If I didn’t like it, I knew it would grow
back eventually.
ROTN: What were your thoughts after seeing your BC?
How did you feel?
Courtney: I fell in love! I was no longer hiding behind my hair. It think it really brought out my facial
features and made me look more mature…I felt fancy! Ha-ha! It literally felt like a weight had been
lifted off my shoulders because my head has never felt so light. I love being able to see my natural
curls...this is the real me.
ROTN: What were the reactions of your family and
friends? How did their reactions make
you feel?
Courtney: Half of my family loved it, and the other
half hated it. I think those that hated
it were so used to seeing my hair straight.
They didn’t even like it when I would cut my relaxed hair. Long and straight is their ideal. It’s a big change, and it’s a lot for some
people to get used to. (That’s their problem though).
ROTN: What advice
would you like to share with someone who is transitioning and thinking about doing
a BC?
Courtney: Take your time and educate yourself on
hair. If you can, talk to someone who’s
done it before. I think being able to
talk to Rachel about it made things much easier for me. Also, there's a ton of information available
online. I would say, take all of
the advice with a grain of salt. No
one’s hair is the same, and just because something did or didn’t work for one
person, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same results. Most importantly be honest with yourself and
love yourself. You’ll get a lot of opinions, but the only one
that matters is your own.
ROTN: Thus far, what is your favorite product? What products are on your radar?
Courtney: I’ve been sticking with a wash and go style,
and I love Kinky Curly. I can’t wait to
try the wash and go using Bee Mine. I’ve
heard great things about it.
Courtney, I
really want to say thanks for taking this time to share with the Root of the
Natural audience your Big Chop experience.
Your hair is beautiful and I’m glad you decided to begin your natural
hair journey. You know I’ll be following
you on your journey and will continue to document your milestones.
 |
| 2 weeks before BC Courtney's hair 12/19/11 |
As always…Thanks for
reading my blog and please subscribe :)
Peace & Blessings
Natural4Rachel
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