Natural Hair Update : So, You Big Chopped, What Next?

Hi Lovelies,

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. It has been a little over two months since I big chopped and also featured my natural hair on here. Just a little update on what has been happening since then. Like I said in my previous post on My Natural Hair, my hair has been relaxed ever since I can remember so I never had the opportunity to meet my curls and coils. That's one of the main reasons I am slightly obsessed with it and keep my fingers in it constantly which is not good for my hair because it causes frizz and dries it out. My nutty fingers!

Soon after my big chop, I experimented with twist outs which was an epic fail so I will spare you the pictures. I suspect the main reason it failed was because I used far too much Eco styler gel and I kept touching it. 

I think what I should have used instead was natural Shea Butter as that's one of the main ingredients for most curl enhancing smoothies. I will try it out when I take out my braids. Another reason behind this epic fail may be my impatience as I did not wait for it to dry properly.  I just wanted to see how it would look; what curl pattern and coil shape it would have.  I am not so much in tune with hair curl pattern classification but I think my hair is between a 4B and 4C. ; I may be wrong :-). I think with natural hair, especially for newbies like me, it's all about research, experimenting and a lot of patience(which I clearly lack..lol). 

I have done a good amount of research via Youtube and some natural hair websites and I still do more research when I can because it a continuous learning curve. I have experimented with a few routines and I think I have learnt, through trial and error, what my hair likes and dislikes. Being patient with my hair is what I am slowly learning but I will get there. 

Anyway, I co-washed it with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Conditioner and dried it with an old t shirt, moisturized with ORS Curls Unleashed Leave in and sealed with a mixture of Olive oil and Coconut Oil. For the first time, I rocked my fro and I was loving it. I was particularly amazed that my edges had eventually grown out because they were damaged from heat and too much tension from styling.

My eyebrows were having a bad brow day :-)))

After a few days, I put it in a protective style of a short weave which I made from some synthetic weave( I think Premium) which I purchased from PAK stores. I made it with a weave cap and mannequin head which I also purchased from the same shop. One of the good things I have learnt from Youtube is to learn  many  DIYs(do-it-yourself) and making my hair/ weave is the ultimate DIY I have learnt. It affords the freedom to do whatever style I want and whenever I want without thinking about the cost implications or the fear of having a huge mess on my hair.

This is one of my favourite pix; first day rocking my 'fro

I rocked my short weave for a short time because I had to leave some hair out which I was not happy to do. Leave outs mean I have to straighten my hair which equals to heat damage because my hair is very fragile and fine in texture. I took the weave out, co washed, moisturised and sealed. I never use a dryer to dry my hair because I try to avoid heat as much as possible so I air dry my hair most of the time. 

With my longer weave;Just goofing around!

Grudgingly, I had to put in another weave but this time my Peruvian weave with as little leave out as possible which was much  better and I only straightened it out a few times. A funny incident happened one day to me. I was out in town and it started raining and before i could find some shelter my leave out hair had turned to little ball of frizzy curl.

Day the rain turned my straightened hair back to curls within seconds..

 My straight Peruvian weave was busy being straight while my natural (now wet) hair was going about its business curling up. I had to chin up n rock my half n half hair that way cos I definitely was not going back home to have it straightened. I learned a valuable lesson to always carry a bonnet or hoodie to protect my hair.

Just had my kinky braids done.

I took the weave out and decided to get some braids towards the end of March. I put in some kinky braids which I have been rocking ever since. I used about 2 and half packs of Sensationnel Kinky Twists in colour 99J which has hints and tints of burgundy and purple (it's not very clear here but you can see it in pix towards the end of this post). Making the braids was another story altogether. I decided to go all the way to Peckham (which I dread, no offence) because I heard that was a really good place for braid hairstyles which was very affordable. Of course, all this was true but the havoc that happened in the salon that day reminded me of the many reasons I am not a big fan of Peckham. I won't bore you with the juicy details(lol) but the Police was involved that day because the whole incident involved some blood shed(*shudders at the thought*). The things we risk for beauty..Le Sigh!!

Rocking my kinky braids and getting a selfie in the restroom at work.

I really love the freedom braids afford you because I don't even bother styling in the morning. I just take off my silk bonnet, spray a mixture of water, leave-in and oils all premixed in a spray bottle, give my hair a little massage to aid blood circulation and absorption and I'm ready to fly out the door.

 I had a few different looks every now and then but I have mainly stuck to a simple free flow or small bun at the bottom.  I am afraid I have been a little lazy putting my hair in various styles while it is in the kinky twists. That's just because I prefer to leave it free flowing.

I have had this on for almost 8 weeks now and I have loosened a few braids at the back just to see how much my fro has grown ( I told you I was a lil bit crazy n obsessed- no judging). It has grown to my surprise. Although, it has a lot of shrinkage as expected with afro kinky hair, I still see its teeny weeny growth when I stretch my hair with my fingers and I larrrrrvvvveeee it.

I hopefully will do another update when I eventually take my braids down to see how much total growth it has but more importantly how healthy it is because I have put in more effort than when I had it relaxed. I will also try my first blow out which I know will introduce some heat which I want to avoid but I think my curiosity to see it blown out is greater than my cautiousness of avoiding heat. We'll see who wins eventually!

I hope you all enjoyed this post which I enjoyed writing because I love writing and talking about hair. If you know any useful tips about taking care of natural hair, leave your comments below. I am always keen to learn..xx

P.S. My braids are 8 weeks and counting but I am thinking of stretching it out for another 4 weeks. It's not too bad, is it?