Cutting your natural hair can feel like a setback, especially if you've been natural for some time and your goal was to have some serious hang time. You spent all this time transitioning to natural, you even did the big chop, so another big chop may not be ideal for you and your natural hair. Sometimes, a cut can be just the thing your natural hair needs so it can truly flourish.
I've been natural for eight years. In those eight years, I've experienced heat damage, severe dryness split ends, thinning, and have gone through three big chops with my natural hair.
While this big chop started out as just a trim, I'm so happy with the results of the cut. It totally fits my facial features, my lifestyle, my personality, and the change is just an external expression of the work and change being done internally.
I also want to note, I cut my hair with the help of my husband and sister. I guided my sister through the initial cut since I cant see the back, and my husband helped the second time around, evening things up and going a bit shorter. If you're not comfortable cutting your natural hair at home, I wouldn't advise trying it! Find yourself a trusted and experienced natural hair stylist to do the cut for you. My natural hair cut was a bit spontaneous considering how damaged my ends were. The cut HAD to happen since my hair had already been straightened. What started out as a trim turned into a really cute tapered natural hair cut.
So, without further ado, here's five reasons why you may want to cut your natural hair:
- Split ends // My ends were rough. So bad that we had to cut about 4 inches of hair off, maybe more in some areas just to get rid of the split ends. Splitting ends can make the ends of your natural hair appear thin and lead to uncontrollable breakage, which was the case with my hair. With split ends, it can make detangling much harder, and even make your twists outs or braids outs look a bit misshapen. Keeping up with your regular trims can prevent such a drastic cut in the future. Once you've cut the damage off, make sure to keep up with your regular trims every three months, or as needed. Cutting off the thinning, splitting ends can help your natural hair appear much more healthy, full, and voluminous. In the picture below, you can see how frayed my ends were. Once cut, my hair felt to much better!
- Heat damage // There's no going back once your natural hair is heat damaged. If your hair simply wont curl after a silk press, it's time to cut the damaged ends off.
- Color damage // Excessively coloring your hair, or even one really bad color job can ruin your curls, leaving your natural hair dry and dull. It can even alter your curl pattern. Head to your stylist for a much needed cut. If your not ready to do a cut, you can also trim the ends slowly.
- Lack of Hair Growth // I admit - I was a lazy natural and would often rush through my natural hair care routine. Raking the comb through my hair, not detangling from root to ends - all those things can do a number to your natural hair. My hair was breaking off as fast as it was growing, so my hair never reached it's full potential when it came to retaining length.
- Change // While the above four reasons are valid for cutting your natural hair, there doesnt have to be anything wrong with your hair for you to cut it. Sometimes it may be time for a change. Maybe your hair has grown out into long layers that don't really frame your face shape. Try something new with your natural hair - it grows back!
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