I remember being in high school and wanting to fit in with most of the girls, straightening your hair was one of the first things you would usually do along with tweezing your eyebrows the thinnest it could possibly go without you being completely browless. I also remember a 13-year-old Firdous with a very curly and frizzy mane and it was spectacular! (I really wish I had pictures) but sadly I don’t. I was confident at the time with my hair, but the pressures in high school to look a certain way got to me and I decided to go for a treatment that would basically remove my curls and make it easier for my hairdresser to “handle”.
Doing this treatment called the reverse/straight perm was one of the biggest “beauty” regrets I had made in life so far, still competing with the very thin eyebrow phase. I continued doing this treatment for years – every six months continually for about 12 years. My curls were completely fried with years and years of blow drying and reverse perm treatments they were non-existent.
In 2016, I decided I was gonna “go natural”. I wanted my curls back and wanted that 13-year-old hair I once loved so much to make a comeback and I then decided to do the “big cop”. The big chop is basically cutting off all your damaged hair, and mine was very close to the roots which was quite a lot of damage. My first reaction after my big chop was “ what the hell did I just do?” I was very concerned about what people would say because trust me IT WAS NOT A GOOD LOOK, lol.
My new look was very different from my long straight hair but I quickly became accustomed to it. I had curls on my head, for the first time in many years, there were a few, but I could see them popping and I was extremely excited about that.
At first, I was trying to do everything I could to ensure my hair would grow as fast as it possibly could. I watched every Youtube video I could find, and tried every method and product I could afford. I was impatient, I wanted quick growth but it just didn’t happen.
Patience is the most important part of your hair journey. It will allow you to enjoy the process and learn throughout your entire transition phase. It’s a difficult time, many days (especially the days when you want to go out) it was fueled with frustration and annoyance because I could not do much for it to look cute but once you put aside the growth process and concentrate on the health of your hair you will start seeing the results you desire.
I hope that anyone looking at transitioning and having a “big chop” as a 2022 goal, just know that it takes time, it causes a lot of doubts but it’s all worth it. I have never been happier with my hair, the way it looks and feels even on the bad hair days, It’s rewarding every step of the way!
What the hell did I just do?
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