How did you decide?

Hi Tiff. It was just something I felt. I really can put the shortest hair possible into a pony tail so I waited til my hair was long enough to just give me the illusion (I am mean with gel and a brush) and then I BC'd. But that was in the early 90's when i could take a scarf and wrap it around my bubble. So my point is that its very different for everyone. We all have varying levels of comfort. Be encouraged! And if you r feeling it then do it HOMIE...lol..if you want to wait, then CHILL!!!!! It will be all to the G double O D...Blessings

I had a day where my natural hair was nice and fluffy but my relaxed hair was stringy and limp. I wasn't dealing with any breakage or problems, I just got tired of the two textures fighting each other...and I knew within myself that it was time! HTH!

Who says u have to big chop, im transistioning also, and im trimming a little every 3 months, and im taking good care of my relaxed hair. I have been natural for all december and i woudnt dare cut all my hair off, in my situation my hair is short enough and i couldnt do that and start from strach.

I choose to BC because personally i knew having an inch of hair wouldn't bother me..I always had a short hair cut when I was relaxed so going even shorter (close to a fade) excited me..transitioning for a long amount of time would have been a waste for me because i like the short look..so i guess it just depends on what your most comfortable with..

I BC because of damage My hair was missing in spots so I decided to cut it off I went to the barber & cut to where the damage was Now I have 4in of healthy hair
I always kept my hair short so going shorter was not a problem for me

Hello Tiff, Transition or BC wasn't a problem for me.....Cutting my hair was one of the easiest thing I have ever done. I Cut my hair that was pass shoulder length in 1991 to start Locs. I knew my true Beauty was not in the hair on my head... I knew my was Beauty was in my Soul.... In January 1995, I had Ovarian cancer and had to have Chemo. Again, I had to cut. Locs this time. Again, I knew my Beauty was in my Soul.....

What ever you decide Rock it with confidence.

I wore braids for a couple of months and just got tired of it and chopped it all off and never looked back.

I've always liked short hair so I didn't have a problem BCing. In fact, I've BC'd lots of times and am still often tempted to do so.

TWA's are so cute and super low maintenance. Go for it. It will grow back. But this time, it'll be all natural and curly!

When I decided to go natural, I knew my transition would be short. I knew once I had about 2 inches of new growth, I would BC and that's what I did. I transitioned 4 months exactly.

I had never had short, short hair before but I said to myself, "What better time then now!"

I initially planned a long transition because I had never had very short hair but around the 6-7 month mark the two textures became two hard to deal with. I was experiencing a lot of breakage and it took me forever to detangle. I simply became frustrated with my hair and cut it into a twa.

I always heard that my hair would break off if I stopped getting relaxers. Philly started a trend of hairdressers promoting growing out relaxers over 5 years ago. When i found out I can grow out my relaxer without breakage I was hooked, otherwise I would have never gone natural if I had to BC. There are advantages to transistioning. You get to learn what works for you without losing any growth. All damage that is being done to the relaxed hair doesn't matter because you plan to cut off anyway. There was no CurlyNikki when I started, so it is nice to learn from others mistakes. You get to track your real growth because you know that there is no breakage to your natural hair.

Also, I admire those that BC...it is nice to be able to appreciate all the stages...

My daily routine made the decision for me. I work-out 4 to 5 days a week and sweat a great deal. It was entirely too much effort to transition while maintaining an active work-out regime. So, at 6 weeks post relaxer I BCd. It was the best decision I ever made. Take into consideration your day to day and what you feel is best for you...and the best decision will be made.

I was so eager to see my curl! I say bump it....now that I let it grow for more than a year...I am going to cut it off again!!

2014! Wow...

My goal BC length was to replace my before-natural-length.

Good Luck with whatever you decide...

Don't do anything until you are sure. I was planning to transition for a while. Not that I had long hair but I wanted to hold on to what I had. My problem was the back of my hair was so short that it was basically natural and the top/front was relaxed. This eventually caused funny looking styles. Plus, dealing with the two textures became frustrating. I hated twisting every night and trying to work out and ruining my twist-out. I couldn't keep twists in because my hair was so thin. I was so frustrated that I decided I needed to do the BC much sooner than expected. I must also admit I was starting to love my natural curls and detesting the stragly (sp?) relaxed ends and I just wanted to let go of them. For me it was also about self love. Much of my self-esteem was damaged because I had "your daddy's nappy hair". I wanted to let go of that along with the relaxed ends.

I BC'd after 5 1/2 months of transitioning. When I did I was 100% sure that I wanted to do it. I looked up methods, went to my stylist and told her how I wanted her to cut my hair. She wasn't happy but I didn't care. I wanted it. Can I say I loved it right away? No. However, the support here was amazing and I faked it until I made it and in a few weeks I loved my hair and I feel it was the BEST decision I ever made. I had people on both ends. Some told me to BC and some told me not to. In the end, you have to look at your heart and decide when is best for you.

Didn't mean to write a book but just wanted to say, do you girl! Don't let anyone's opinion affect your decision. It's your hair.

I BC'd as planned, after I transitioned for one year. I did not want a twa (not that there is anything wrong with it) so one year of new growth gave me six inches of hair. During my long transition, I learned a lot about my hair, hair care and products. That knowledge helped me take care of my all natural hair, especially during the first very dry two months.

Do You!!

After 2 failed attempts, I knew transitioning for a long time was not in the cards for me. I transitioned for a mere 3 months and I just couldn't wait anymore. I had to see me curls! I was way too anxious! I big chopped to super low cut TWA and I LOVED it! Eighteen months later and I'm loving the journey to this day!

I knew I wasn't going to make it past six months when I transitioned, so it was a "do or die" decision. "Chop it or relax it." So I chopped it. It'll be two years next Friday since the first chop, and I'll be damned if I knock this hair straight again. (In fact, I'm getting locs.) So if you feel like you're ready (or the two textures start to make you crazy), I say go for it. It's actually pretty liberating!

In my opinion, it doesn't sound like you're ready to chop. I have always been fascinated with short hair. My plan was to transition for at least 6 months, but due to self esteem issues and getting frustrated because my hair started to break off and fall out, I chopped right at 3 months. But like I said, I always like short hair and I was trying to face some serious self esteem issues. It was liberating for me as others have said and I didn't regret it at all.

If I were you, I'd do some more research on transitioning, looking at more youtube vids and see if you can get some inspiration to continue your transition since you are so attached to your hair and just cut off the relaxed hair when you are ready. Also, go to the transitioning thread and talk about your frustrations with other transitioners.

@Ambitious_Tiff...
OMG.lol this is my 2nd time going natural and my hair has grown since then, so idt it's a twa anymore....i chose to do the big chop b/c i had alot of breakage and some other issues that were getting on my nerves and i didn't want them issues to occur again so i just stopped using chemicals PERIOD..............but don't rush doing the big chop; do it when ur ready b/c alot of times when u rush things and u do it, u regret it and this is just one of those things u cannot take back...good luck~

i transition for 2 long years before i chop off the last of my relaxed ends. I was growing out my hair because i wanted to start locing but i wanted my hair to be "long" because i love my length. But now that i am fully natural i just feel in love with my curls and i not going be locing...not yet anyways. Maybe a few years from now. Right now i am just getting used to my natural texture and learning how to take care of my baby