I remember the first time I saw myself in the mirror after my BC (big chop)? It was a mixture of glee and WTF did I just go and do!!?? Let’s be honest for a minute – cutting off all your relaxed or chemically enhanced hair is a massive step. You literally experience heart palpitations for the first few minutes… and then something phenomenal happens. You have to stop yourself from shouting YES! From the top of your lungs. You start feeling empowered. Free. Liberated! That’s of course if you allow yourself to enjoy your new TWA (that’s natural speak for teeny-weeny-afro. Oh yes, we have our very own lingo).
Once you’ve settled in nicely you start asking yourself the question so many before you have asked: What now!?
If you are going through this right now Congratulations! You’ve embarked on an amazing journey
 |
| 2014 – First 5 months into my natural journey |
I thought I’d help you out by sharing a few basic steps to get you started:
1. Listen to your hair – I know this sounds crazy but your hair will show you if it needs more oil, water, protein. This is the perfect time to get to know your actual texture and curl pattern again.
2. Moisturize!! – Water is the best source of moisture for the curly girls. Water is our best friend. Water is essential. Keep some in a little spritz bottle to freshen up your hair on non wash days.
3. Oil! – After adding water to your hair, make sure add your favourite oil. Oils help seal in the moisture. To save time, you could even add some oil to your spritz bottle.
4. Cream – I love… loooove Tresemme Naturals conditioner, it’s my absolute go to. I use this conditioner as my leave in, because it is light enough. It just seeps right in, this is because my hair is low porosity. If you have high porosity hair, like #thekid, you could add the conditioner, pull on a shower cap and sit under a hooded dryer for a few minutes. (you’ll know if you have high porosity when the conditioner doesn’t seep into your hair)
5. Styling – Invest in some hair bands and bobby pins -ok, a whole bunch of bobby pins – those suckers seem to disappear on you all the time. Get creative with your styling, teach yourself how to flat twist your hair. Google and youtube are great for doing research – or you could just click here for some inspiration
6. Night time regimen – Please heed this warning. Cotton pillowcases will break off your precious tresses. Get yourself a silk/satin bonnet or pillowcase and protect your hair.
7. Deep condition – At least once a week, open up your fridge and kitchen cupboards, grab your conditioner and start concocting a treatment for your hair. Eggs, honey, avo, castor oil, they all make great ingredients for your DC. Deep conditioning regularly makes your hair more manageable and less prone to breakage.
8. Join a natural hair group, attend natural hair meetups, ask your favourite blogger for advice and find and follow your hair twin. Try +Eleanor J’adore, +MzansiFro Mzansifro , +kasuba sikamo or +Silk Helmet Lady
I never really had any help when I decided to go on this expedition. As my journey progressed I met these ladies and they really helped me understand what I did not. We are here to help.
9. Be patient. I cannot stress this point enough. Eat a balanced diet and drink lots of water. Your hair will grow beautifully with time. Remember to have fun with your expedition.
 |
| 2015 – I cannot wait to see what 2016 holds in store. |
Stay Gold,
Mandy
, I’m Amanda.
Hey I stopped using chemicals on my hair 8 months ago. I want to do the BC now. Any recommended salons in cape town do do it. I don’t want to do it at any salon because I beleive they don’t understand natural hair, sorry to mention that. Can you please advice.
Regards
Samantha