How long was your hair when you did the BC (or plan to)?

GiveMeABMW

Just curious how long you all waited before having your relaxed/straightened ends cut off. My curly hair is about 5" long now and every day I look at the scissors and want to grab them.

If anyone has before/after pictures too, please post them!

JuicyTube

I would do it when it was shoulder length.

holly8

my hair was pass my shoulders ,above my bra strap when i did the BC a month ago.now its about the length it was before i permed my hair.I think its easier for me to cut it off 1 time than chop off alot of hair every few weeks or so.

Curlyperm12

I started perming my hair about three and a half years ago. Since then I perm my hair about once every eight months or so. Before I permed my hair, I had wavy hair that went down to about half way between my shoulders and my shoulder blades.

mariag002

I have about an inch of growth. The rest of my hair is about 12 inches long :shock: So I plan on trimming every 6 months until its all gone. I will go into a state of shock if I cut it all at once. And my husband would probably divorce me LOL :P

GiveMeABMW

I have about an inch of growth. The rest of my hair is about 12 inches long So I plan on trimming every 6 months until its all gone. I will go into a state of shock if I cut it all at once. And my husband would probably divorce me LOL >>>


My boyfriend is also a big reason why I'm waiting. He looks a little scared whenever I opine about how much I miss my curly hair and how I think it would look sort of cute short (I hope).

Clarita

My natural hair was about 1/2 inch. Relaxed hair was about 4 inches. I got tired of dealing with two different textures so I had it all chopped off and grew it out from scratch.

SmallFry

mariag002 wrote:

I have about an inch of growth. The rest of my hair is about 12 inches long :shock: So I plan on trimming every 6 months until its all gone. I will go into a state of shock if I cut it all at once. And my husband would probably divorce me LOL :P

Same here. I actually just brought this up with my husband about 3 days ago. I have about 6 inches of new growth and I was telling him I wanted to cut my "straight" hair off; and it would be short as my jaw? Well he wasn't thrilled about that. Anyway today I went and got a haircut but only like an inch or so was taken off. I suppose I'll wait a few more months before I cut any more. It seems I'll have to cut off a little at a time over this next year. I hope to be all natural by the begining of 2008. btw, my hair is a little past shoulder length right now.

RainbowCurls

I transitioned for 14 months and it got really tedious.

I didn't measure my hair before cutting the relaxed ends off, but here's a before and after:


Not that much of a difference really. It did feel great to be free from the horrible straight ends though.
I did slightly regret not chopping a bit earlier, for more of a 'change'.

eccentric_kurlz

I waited around two years before cutting the last few inches of relaxed hair off. It was easier for me this way. I had alot of hair(between 12-16 inches of hair), and I needed to ease myself into it. I had short hair before(relaxed) in HS, but I didn't just want to chop it all off. For one, I hadn't had natural hair since junior high, and even then I didn't know how to care for my hair. I wanted to be somewhat prepared. And, I wanted to be able to do a ponytail for those days when I didn't feel like doing anything. With shorter hair, you're pretty much obligated to do something with it. I remember having to do my hair more when it was shorter, as opposed to when it was longer.

I heat styled throughout my transition, and when I got closer to cutting all the relaxed parts off, I started wearing it somewhat natural to get used to it. When I BC, it was wonderful. I had the cutest little corkscrews. Not so much anymore. With more length, more elongation. But with more shrinkage too. :? I know, it makes no sense.

I don't regret my approach, because it worked for me. Some can just chop it off while others like to ease into it. Whatever works for that person.

BTW, RainbowCurls, your hair looks beautiful!

kd

well as you can see the scissors were calling my name too. I was goin to transition for 6 months, but i could not take it!
My last relaxer was 11/06; the BC for me was 02/24/07. I have not looked back since!

RainbowCurls

Thanks eccentric_kurlz! It looks a bit different now though!

Isn't anyone else going to post pics? I don't want to be the only one! :?

legette68

What kind of styles did you have your hair in while transitioning before the b/c. I do not want to heat styule because I want to keep my hair healthy. Right now I am doing ponytails.

mariag002

RainbowCurls I love your hair! I can hardly wait until mine looks like that too!

Its been officially 4 months for me now and I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm not sure what to do with my hair. I haven't cut it yet and just the thought of it makes me sick LOL :shock: I love touching the texture of my natural hair. I have 2 inches of growth now. My mom relaxed my hair for the first time in 1981 so its NICE to finally see my hair for the first time in almost 30 yrs.

My kids are telling me to chop it off a'la Halle Berry. If you look at my myspace profile you can see kinda what my hair looked like in August. Now I'm not sure what to do with it. I put it in curlers and blow dry once a week.

RainbowCurls

legette68, Unfortunately I'm somewhat style-chalenged and during my transition just wore my hair in ponytails, buns or flat ironed :?

mariag002, I loved feeling my natural hair texture when I was transitiong too, but was too scared to chop. I didn't think I'd look good with super short hair.
I recommend, the moment you decide you really want to do it, DO IT! Don't wait any longer, or for a certain date.
If you think you'd suit short hair, it might be fun


Oh, I made and error in my original post. My transition was actually nearer 17-18 months, not 14.

mariag002

RainbowCurls wrote:

Oh, I made and error in my original post. My transition was actually nearer 17-18 months, not 14.

I've heard people say 2 yrs. I don't want to hear that, I want to hear that it only took 4 weeks LOL :?

freshkinkycut

I did the big chop after 4 months. I couldn't wait any longer. Last relaxer in Nov '06...big chop at end of Mar '07.

SoyUnaGitana

I actually did mine yesterday, It's been a little over 3 months for me.
I couldn't wait either, and I felt the best time to get to know my natural hair was while its short, and harder to mess up. I only have about an inch or so of new growth, so I look kind of like I have a roman boys haircut (if that makes sense) but I like it.

mariag002

Gitana, you are BRAVE! I don't know when I'm going to do the big chop. Makes me sad to even think about it.

soon2b

I did it after about a year. I transitioned with cornrows, buns ,curly weave, and straight weave.

Choqlatqt

I didn't have a long transition time. My last relaxer was Dec 06 and my BC was Jan 07. Here is my before and after.

Curlee Q

I transitioned for a month. There are pics in my yahoo photos.

subbrock

Clarita wrote:

My natural hair was about 1/2 inch. Relaxed hair was about 4 inches. I got tired of dealing with two different textures so I had it all chopped off and grew it out from scratch.

same here. except my relaxed hair was past my shoulders. there are pics in my fotki i think...

untamedcurliegirl

I just went for the whole enchilada the first time. I cut it myself in the bathroom while my hubby watched. You can see it in my photo albums if you look at "The Great Transition" and then the "BC". It was pretty long when I cut it all off. I was tired of the different textures too. Of course now, I am cutting a little at a time and trying to regain the beautiful curls that I was growing before I completely lost my mind last Summer. I won't cut it all off again, but I will be cutting back the overprocessed hair. Just don't want to look too crazy or like I have a curly mullet.

missmonie

I cut mine after 17 months. My hair feels really short now because of shrinkage, but I'm so happy I did it.

Uhhhhlayna

I cut mine after a year. I thought it was enough time for me to get used to the idea of having short hair and to work on my hair's health. What a relief that the relaxed hair is all gone!

newlynaturalcurls

When I decided to go natural, I had a little over 2 feet of relaxed hair (it was about halfway down my back), so I didn't want to cut it off all at one time cause I was scared how I would look. Not to mention almost everyone I told I was going natural questioned me or told me I was dumb to cut off all my hair.

I've been transitioning for about a year and half (last relaxer jan 06) and I think I only have about maybe 3 inches of relaxed hair left. I'm going to get the rest of the straight ends cut next week, because I'm anxious to start wearing my hair natural. It's just above my shoulders in the back, and ear length in the front.

mslanee1

My last relaxer was 02/07 and my BC is scheduled for 07/14. So not that much time just 5 months. I am so tired of the relaxed ends. I dont know what i will look like with a twa, but whatever I look like I am ready to WORK IT!

One day I will get some pics lol

legette68

I have my B/C scheduled for next month also. I am afraid I am going to chicken out though. I am afraid I am not going to be able to handle it.

Curly Dee

I'm actually 11 months into my transition now. I am hoping to go a full 18 months before choppng off whatever is left of my relaxed ends. I contemplate chopping each day as I step outside into oppressively humid weather and my hair strands begin to curl in random places, thus causing it to depart from my head in different directions. (I'm still looking for solutions to that problem if anyone has suggestions). I'm not cutting now because I feel I need more length in the front (apparently it grows slower there than in the back of my head). I have been able to blend the relaxed and natural parts by doing roller sets twice per week. It was working well until the drought ended...

blackhoney112

Hey Curly Dee, my crown goes soooo slow too there is no way I could BC it would be totally uneven and I wouldn't want to cut all the progress in the back just to match the front. I have already prepared myself for a long transition 3-4 years. I want the natural hair to be at either APL or Brastrap unstretched before I BC.