Hair Update: I Cut My Hair

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

If you've been keeping up with my posts then you saw my One Year Success hair journey! Since then I cut my hair and shaped it to my liking. As stated in my hair blog post, I had been relaxed for years before I decided to stop using relaxers, and just flat ironed my hair. Then on May 10, 2015, I no longer flat ironed my hair, and just incorporated braid outs, and twist outs into my routine.

So, why did I cut my hair?

I decided to cut my hair in March, because I was tired of messing with two textures, and I wanted a change. The health of my hair has drastically improved since cutting it. It's shinier, lighter, and holds styles longer. It doesn't get frizzy as fast, and there's little to no split ends. While I did keep some relaxed curly pieces (for the purpose of style), the overall health of my hair is quite good now.

Was I scared about people's reactions?

When I first cut it I was, because for most of my life I've had medium length to long hair (technically it's about collarbone length straight). There's never been a point when my hair was short so this is a new phase for me. The more I style my hair (which only takes two hours instead of four :) ) the more I fall in love with it. I do believe my face is a bit round so super short hair wouldn't look good, but the way I styled it seems to work for my face shape.I don't want to say that other people's reactions have helped with me liking it, because that wouldn't be true. My friends and some family have praised my new look so that did help. I am getting more confident wearing my hair the way it is, and I love the length right now. Will I keep this length? I might. Especially since it's so hot right now! It's refreshing to have a sweat-free neck!

Has there been backlash?

Of course, there has. I have heard, "Why did you cut your hair?" or "Now you're bald-headed" from family members which were a little bit discouraging at first. Of course, these are people who have no knowledge about curly hair whatsoever, and therefore their opinions shouldn't bother me. As I've said before, my hair has been long for most of my life so they weren't used to seeing my hair like it is now. I honestly believe that one of many anxieties about my hair was due to the pressures certain family members put on me about it. It was almost like I was keeping my hair the same (long and straight) for them, and not for me. I'm glad that I did it though because for every bad reaction there are 100 positive ones.

What have you learned?

I've learned that my hair naturally grows fast, but since cutting it has grown ten times faster. I've also learned that my hair gets dry fast, and therefore I need thicker products when it comes to moisturizing. I've learned so much. I think I actually take way better care of my hair now then I used to. Before I would sleep without wrapping my hair, I didn't deep condition often, I never did protein treatments (maybe twice in the last four years prior to 2016), and I get more creative when it comes to hairstyles. I've learned that protective styles are my best friend and that eating healthy really is good for me too.

To learn more about my hair, visit my youtube page! Don't forget to follow my blog, and connect with me on social media!

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