Lifetime natural: big chop #1

Hello Ladies!

I've been a natural all of my life and this is the first time I've done a big chop. I'm pretty sure you're wondering why so I'll waste no time spilling the beans

From elementary to high school my grandmother had always straightened my hair with the hot comb just about once every two weeks. When I went off to college I had to learn how to flat iron my hair so of course I did. I never wore my hair in its actual natural state until my junior year (out of laziness and it took FOREVER to straighten it) and of course I loved it but I would always go back to the flat iron. During my senior year of college I noticed severe breakage in the back of my head towards the middle. It was so bad I hated to to wear my hair down. In addition to that I noticed that my hair was so much thinner towards the ends that it was closer to my head. I decided to get my hair cut into a bob in April of 2010 and I liked the cut but it didn't hide the short area very well. I got it cut again in October of 2010 a little shorter but I still wasn't happy. Why??? Because by this time I'd lost my natural curls. When my hair was cut I had to straighten it every week. I was using an ION flat iron usually above 400 degrees. In addition to that I was using the ION straightening shampoo. Now these products definitely do what they are supposed to but I never thought I would totally lose the curls, coils, and kinks I was trying to hide. It'd gotten to the point where I wanted to refuse to put heat on my hair but I had no choice because I could not where my hair in it's natural state. It was kinky towards the scalp but the rest was straight and so much thinner.
FINALLY I went on a hunt for someone to cut my hair. I'd been researching natural salons but they were either out of town or too expensive so I just decided to let somebody ANYBODY cut the straight hair off and I did (February 14, 2011). The beautician kept asking was I sure that I wanted my hair cut and I kept saying yes YES! She cut it but not as short as I would have liked because she was afraid that would just be too much. And when that hair was falling off of my shoulders I felt so happy
Now I'm rocking my TWA and it's dry as all get out (it's been 1 week and 3 days since it was cut) but I'd rather have this than hair that I wasn't proud of and wanted to hide. Ladies if you are thinking about wearing straight styles please please be mindful of how much heat you put on your hair and how often. I wish I would've had this abundance of information waaay before I cut it the first time (I wasn't taking care of my hair like I should've been back then as far as moisturizing goes) but it's all a lesson learned. I'm just glad that I know these things now so I can take care of my hair properly. The CurlyNikki community has a wealth of knowledge and I can't wait to soak it all up. I'm on the forums everyday reading and reading and trying not to become a product junkie but I have to figure out what works! Thanks in advance ladies for all of the help!

Welcome to Curl Street

welcome!!! thanx for sharing ur story. the good thing is at least u were smart enuff to start all over n know ur mistakes to move past em! wit dryness esp for winter months u gotta take EXTRA precautions n go through great lengths to keep some moisture. water n oil spritz helped me out a great deal but a solid reggie is the trick!

Thanks for sharing your story glad that you like your twa
i know the feeling about the heat damage because when i frist went natural i made the mistake and flat ironed the hell out of my hair, totally destroyed the sides and back of my hair. I had to also start over. i feel like if you don't have healthy hair when you trying to grow it out then you will never get the turn out that you need. I feel that i have made mistakes along the way of this natural journey but i have references here and youtube to keep me on track to healthy hair. hope you enjoy the site as much as i do wlecome to the block

Thanks! And I'm definitely working on finding a good regiment. I even keep a hair journal on my computer to monitor what I use from day to day and how my hair likes it lol. And yes that flat iron can be the devil!