One Month Post BC

Hello Curlies and Curlies in Transition!

It has been 1 month since I cut my relaxed hair off, so I wanted to post about the good, the bad, and the ugly! Well, maybe just the good and the bad, lol....there hasn't been any ugly!

The Good:

• Growth- When I cut my hair a month ago, the hair remaining on my head measured at 4 inches. Yesterday, my hair measured at 5.5 inches!
• Cute- Everyone loves my hair everywhere I go!
• Convenient- When I wash my hair, it only takes about an hour- 2 hours to air dry and about 30 minutes under a hooded dryer!
• Working out- My hair used to limit my workout schedule... I couldn't work out right after I washed and roller set it, etc. But now, I think the  more I do the bigger and better my hair looks later.
• Cute/ Convenient- Most nights when I go to bed I do not have to do anything. No durags or scarves or anything! So that's convenient and cute...except when I wake up with the flat side-head look lol.
• Skin- Maybe its all in my head, but I feel like my skin is clearer and more radiant. Maybe it has to do with the more natural products I am using on my hair now? I dunno...
• Exciting!- I love change =-)

The Bad:

• Growth- I know you are thinking, "Isn't growth a good thing?" Well, of course it is. However, due to the growth, I am now in the awkward stage where the styles I was starting to get used to don't look right anymore...like the puff. Last month this was my staple. Now, it looks crazy...like a big skunk is sitting on my head!
• 
  Limited- Because I am in this in between stage I feel limited in styles. My hair isn't quite long enough to do many of the twist out and up do styles I see on YouTube, but it isn't short enough to rock the puff anymore. Even the curly-fro looks weird at this length.
• Shrinkage- I didn't notice the shrinkage so much last month, but now!?!?! Its so frustrating when I wet my hair, style it and roll out...then I walk past a window or a mirror later in the day and I'm like, "That is NOT how I styled my hair this morning!?!" So I start trying to pull it to stretch it out, but without oil or some type of lubricant on my fingers...here comes the frizz!
• Sleeping- I know I said earlier that since cutting my hair it is cuter and more convenient at bedtime...I said MOST nights! But there are many times I am surfing YouTube, and I see a style that I want to try. These styles almost always require the hair to air dry overnight. (i.e. bantu knot outs, flexirods, etc). These things are NOT comfortable to sleep in!
• Protecting Styles at Night- When I do make it through the night to create a new style, my hair is usually awesome that next morning...so awesome that I want to keep it in for a few days. BUT, my hair is too short to use the pineapple method (gathering all the hair in a pony tail at the top of my head) to protect the style from frizzing up or getting flat for the next day.

Styles I Have Tried Since Last Month:

Using Elastic Hair Comb on old bantu knot out:

Using Elastic Hair Comb on  FlexiRod set:

 Wash and go with Headband:

 Using Cold Rods:

Love you all,

Curlie E

The Story of My Big Chop

After exactly 1 year of transitioning, on February 21st, 2013 I cut 12 inches of relaxed hair off of my head! This was me at the start of this Thursday:

 

 

A year ago I had planned to do my big chop on this day. However, as the week approached I had decided to wait another month or so (people's advice to wait until after my wedding started to get to me). Soo I proceeded to wash my hair. I had been wearing it straight (rollset) for the last few weeks, and was totally bored with that look. I sat with my hair wet trying to decide what to do with it as it started to dry. I figured, "why not!" So I ran to my fiance and asked him what I should do. He said, "Cut it!" I turned to my best friend, and he said the same thing. So I went in the bathroom and started cutting away...

While I was doing so my fiance and best friend were making a documentry (I will post that as soon as I learn how).

Anyway, when I was done I was excited and frustrated all at once. I was excited to see the cute little curls popping out all over my head.

Buuuuut.....I had absolutely no idea WHAT to do with them! AND I was not expecting them to be as short as they were. The lenth the new growth looked like it would be before the cut was drastically different from what it actually is. Even in the picture of me cutting above, my hair is much longer than it has been since, and I havent cut it anymore. I guess it was that long because it had dried attached to relaxed ends? Who knows!

Well, I woke up early the next morning and was scared at what I saw. I had a matted, lop-sided afro on my head. What had I done?! So I watched a few YouTube videos to figure out what to do. I decided to try a flat twistout. So I dampened my hair, flat twisted it and went back to bed. When I woke up and took our the twist, I was a HOT mess. My hair looked super thin and stringy. Frustrated, I FORCED my hair into a ponytail and used Marley braiding hair to make a bun:

 

 

Saturday, I had more time to play around with styles. I hit up the hair store and got a few hair cremes that are supposed to help with frizz and also stretch curly hair. Then I came home and washed my hair, used the creme and coconut oil and let it air dry. This look was kinda cute, but I still didn't feel totally comfortable with it- not enough to go out in public anyway.

 

 





So I went BACK to the hair store and bough a half wig:

I rocked this for about half a week. But I really can't do wigs. They give me headaches and are annoying to me. So I kept experimenting with new styles. And FINALLY I found a style I felt comfortable wearing to work- the classic puff!

So, I had been natural over a week and no one knew because I had been wearing the bun and the half wig. When I finally appeared with the puff everyone LOVED it! So I haven't woren the wig or bun since. I have just been rockin the puff. However, today I tried something new, well new for my natural hair- flexirods! Luckily, I have flexirods in all sizes (I have always been in love with curly styles).

So here we are! I did my big chop. Initally, I was a bit disappointed and discouraged. But within a week I started to find my groove and now I have my confidence back! I don't regret it at all! I am in love with my hair now, and as it grows so will my love for it!

-Curlie E

Upcoming BC and Wedding

Updated options below 4/24/2013

Wow, its only 17 days into 2013, and I have already experienced so much and have made so many decisions! This is going to be a great, memorable year! (I am claiming it!)

First, I need to start with an apology! I have been MIA, both literally and figuratively. Literally, I have have been in Miami several times over the last few months for the holidays because that is where all my closest family members reside. I have been MIA figuratively because I have had a lot on my plate lately, mainly with wedding planning. Oh yea, remember on my last post I was preparing to go to Cancun, and I was worried about how manageable my transitioning hair would be (so much so that I was considering doing my big chop earlier)? Well, that is the trip in which I got engaged!!!  So since I have been back it has been a series of traveling and wedding planning.

Moving on, I have news...I will be doing my big chop in less than a month! I am finally ready! I would do it today, but I want to reach the 1 year transitioning goal I set for myself last February. Also, I need help. I don't think it'd be smart to try to cut the back alone, so I have to call a friend to help. And that is not as easy as it sounds because many of the people I have told are advising me to wait to big chop until after the wedding (August 2013). But that is not going to happen! If I have to deal with these 2 textures for another 8 months I will scream, maybe even cry, every wash day!

Before I wrap this update up, I want to ask for you help/ suggests/ ideas. I am trying to find a cute and elegant style for natural hair to wear on my wedding day. If you have any ideas, please post them below. Also, keep me in mind when you are surfing the internet or passing natural women in the street. I have a few ideas. Tell me what you think:

Option 1 (the one I am leaning toward):

 Option 2:

 Option 3:

 Option 4:
                                                            None of these options!

Option 5:

 Option 6:

 Option 7 (would get a sew in for this look):

 Option 8:

Option 9 (would need to add a piece for this look):

Option 10:

Option 11 (keep in mind my hair is not this silky, so it would look a little more bulky on me):

Best,

CurlieE