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Hair Probs - feeling scissor happy
- Fabulously Jih
- Sep 10, 2020
- 4 min read
I have to be honest about this - ever since doing the big chop back in March 2019 I have been feeling the need to cut my hair again. It has been thirty months since doing the big chop and my hair has grown tremendously. I honestly thought it was going to take a long time to grow back. My hair is already at shoulder length when blow dried. Check out my big chop video here:
Prior to doing the big chop in 2019, I was natural for almost seven years and have had some ups and downs. My last relaxer was back in 2012 and I haven’t looked back since because I would always get burned anyway. During my natural hair journey, my hair has been longer than when I had a relaxer. When I transitioned to being natural, I went through the awkward length stage with my hair. I started doing braids on my own and even purchased my first wig. I remember I used to make fun of people who wore synthetic wigs and my first wig was a synthetic curly wig that I purchased online. I didn’t want to spend money I didn’t have on an expensive wig. I wanted to try out different wig styles before buying raw hair.
Once my hair started to grow longer, I was more comfortable wearing it in twist outs and high puffs which were my favorite styles when I was giving my hair a break. During those seven years I was watching YouTube videos a lot and I would purchase mostly all of the products natural hair gurus would talk about in their videos. I soon became a product junkie and really didn’t know what worked best for my hair.
Fast forward to a couple of years of being natural, and using countless products on my hair I began to feel unhappy, my hair just wasn’t the same anymore. It became very dry and brittle, I had a lot of split ends and that’s when I knew I had to take the leap and do the big chop.
Although I like being natural, I dislike the process of taking care of it - especially during wash day when I spend hours washing, deep conditioning, rinsing and styling my hair. It’s exhausting, if you're a natural like me then you know that struggle. Every wash day, I grow more and more impatient with my hair. My scalp being extremely sensitive isn't any help to the struggle. I miss having shorter hair, the wash day process was much faster since I didn’t have to do much styling. During the detangling process is when I have the urge to do the big chop again but knowing myself I won’t do it - well at least not now.
I recently went to the hair salon to get a wash, treatment, trim and braid down. I schedule a hair appointment at least once or twice a year to have my hair treated by a professional. Every time I go, I am told that I need to get a trim more often; at least every three to six months. Although I know that I should trim my hair more often, I avoid going because the hair salon doesn't properly detangle your hair - wash it in sections and be mindful of your sensitive scalp. So I prefer to care for my hair on my own.
My trip to the hair salon was a different experience especially during this pandemic - everything is different. Upon arrival my temperature was taken, I had to fill out a health questionnaire and to wash my hands. I had planned on getting a trim in March of this year but was unable to due to the closure of businesses. I hadn’t gone back to get a trim since my big chop back in March of 2019. I arrived at my appointment exactly at the scheduled time. Now you know when you go to the hair salon, chances are your wait time will be about thirty minutes sometimes more.
It was very quiet at the salon being that there were only two hair stylists working, and two receptionists. The salon looked very different because I’m used to going in and seeing all the chairs filled, people chatting up a storm, music playing in the background. This time around, there was just silence and minimal conversations. I was directed by a young lady to sit in the chair, as she detangled my hair and then proceeded to take me to the washing station. While she was detangling my hair, I really wanted to tell her that I would like to cut it but I talked myself out of it. All was good until the water from my hair started dripping causing my mask to become soak and wet. What a terrible feeling having to sit with a wet mask throughout my appointment. At that moment I was thinking how much I dislike this feeling and wanted to go home but I kept my cool.
Ms. Pat, the woman who was doing my hair, has been doing hair since 1993. I felt a sense of release and trusted that she would give me a good trim. Low and behold she really did give me the best trim because she took her time and made sure my hair was even all around. Some sections she cut off one inch and in other areas two inches. By the end of my appointment, the mask was dry again and I had forgotten that awful wet mask feeling.
If you’re a natural sista like me, has there been a time you felt like cutting your hair? If so leave a comment in the box below. Or you can simply share your hair story by sending an email to iambwoman2020@gmail.com
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