A College Natural

I'm a freshman college student who attends a fashion school in NYC. I have been natural for years but I wore braids and never thought of myself as natural until senior year of high school. I started wearing my hair in braid outs every day and my hair grew rapidly. However now that I'm in college, I don't have the same time to devote to braiding my whole head every night. Also, I'm going into the fashion business. I have internships and meet people daily, so my hair always has to be on point. My ends are so split that I'm going to have to do a B/C back to a TWA. I've never had a routinue and I'm willing to try anything. I do not trust myself enough to cut my own hair. Does anybody have tips on cutting your own hair or Are there any natural salons that could possibly cut my hair for me? and Can you suggest any routines that could last up to 3 to 4 days without much maintenace? Thank You So Much

I'm a freshman college student from NyC too, but I attend a SUNY upstate. Because of my lack of time to do my hair I recently had to cut about 2 inches off due to split ends...lol. You have to take some time out of your day to nurture your natural hair in college, if not you need to keep it in a protective style for a long while, and that way you only need 5 minutes a day to spray it down and moisturize it. I cut my own hair, btw. There is a way to cut it yourself and have it look OK.

How I cut my hair wet? I wash it in the shower and after rinsing some of the conditioner out I smooth my hair down and braid it up tightly, especially at the roots. My hair is already parted, I keep it parted so each side is about equal. After braiding each section, which is around 6 of them, I grab my hair scissors. (Do not use regular scissors, I mean hair shears. It can mess your ends up like no other.) Hold the ends of each braid between your index and middle finger and cut straight across. I only cut to where I know I saw the split ends, but split ends can occur anywhere on the hair shaft, not just the ends.

As for not having much time to devote to your hair, like I said, you need protective hairstyles that just need to be moisturized. Twists, Bantu Knots, Buns, Braids. You could keep them in for quite a while and all you have to do is maintenance which can take less than 10 minutes. What I do at night and go to class with is kind of two cute side buns made out of bantu knots. The left side of my head I put into a pony tail. I twist and wrap the pony puff on the left side, twirling it around my finger until I get a bantu knot and I tuck it underneath the scrunchie holding my pony puff. I repeat witht he right side as well. It helps protect my ends at night and if I'm too lazy to take it down in the mornings or rushed for time, I go to class just like that. It's cute, decent and not over-the top.