For Those Who BC'd, Did You do it YOURSELF?

[drmuffin]

Man, it been a while since I posted something!

But back to the question at hand. I've recently lost about 1/3 of my hair due to a horrid relaxer 2 weeks ago. Yes, tragic, I know. So after studying up on a few things, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going natural. Very. Very. Soon! I've toyed with the idea for some time, but it never went beyond the "thinking about it" stage. But now this is the straw that broken the camel's back! And the hair that I do have on my head is well past the point of saving.

Sooo, I'm VERY excited to go au naturale, but don't know what to do about my BC. Should I do it myself, or go get it taken care of professionally? And before ya'll kill me, I DO have hair shears, and I've been cutting very small sections that are like islands of hair in a bald sea, and it looks like the surrounding hair that is growing back (quite nicely I might add!) So help me out here lol!

 

[Your Cheeziness]

I did my own and it was tragic. See siggy. Me and scissors shouldn't be in the same room. If I could do it over, I'd go to a pro to big chop and get a shaping all in one visit. Just my choice.

 

[bibs]

I did it myself and I still can't say one way or the other which is better. It was nice having some control over the situation (haha I sound like the control freak I am) but I had/ have straight pieces still and my hairline was a mess so it might not have hurt to get a pro to do it right... I don't regret doing it myself by any means though.

 

[JerriBlank]

I did most of my own,the front and sides. I asked my husband to help with the back. He wouldn't have helped if I hadn't cut off most of it already,because he didnt want me to cut. I cut past my ng though, and he cut right at it,so I had a mullet when it started to grow out. Lol. I did a few trim to even things up over time.

 

[ms-gg]

I've done my own bc several times. The first time I let my mother cut off my relaxed hair then I went back over it to get rid of random strands then I did a couple of more hair cuts later the next year. I did a second ral official bc in late 2009 where I took scissors and cut my hair down to a caesar. A few months later I bought a $10 pair of clippers from wal mart and faded my hair out to 1/2 inch....

Doing it yourself really isn't that scary.....

 

[Lucie]

I went to the salon both times. I didn't want to do some quarter size hole accidently and left it to the pro. Might as well, since I haven't seen my stylist since my BC, LOL!

 

[*CherryPie*]

My daughter did mine. My hair was too short to see the hair in the back.

 

[keepithealthy]

I did it myself and I transitioned for around 4 months.... I think it was okay.

 

[itsjusthair88]

I did it...but it wasn't bad since I had a shaved mohawk cut before deciding to go natural, I only had to cut a few pieces and I was done! You can do it!

Sent from my Eris using Long Hair Care Forum App

 

[TaraDyan]

I did mine by myself. I just made sure I left some of the conditioner in my hair after my wash, which made the difference between my bone straight relaxed ends and my natural roots very apparent. I just cut right at the line of demarcation and voilà ... I was natural in less than 30 minutes.

You can do it, girl.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

My best friend did mine.

 

[BrownEyez22]

I did my own and I think it came out good. Co wash before and just cut the straight pieces. I went to workout and my natural hair shrinked up so much, I just the relaxed ends I had left off (my hair was in a short cut already though)

 

[qchelle]

I will be getting together with a few of my best friends and making an event out of it They will all help me

 

[prettybyrd]

I've done my own, but I've gone to the salon for "clean up". Doing it myself was great, I've done several bc's over time, and I promised that I'd do at least one of them myself. (And I really hope it's my last one...)

If you don't plan to BC ever again in life - do it yourself. The barber can always fix it if you get too wild! Good luck!!

 

[Mom23]

I did my own and it worked out fine...cut with scissors first, and then went over it with the clippers. Good Luck!!

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

I went to the stylist to get it done. I don't trust cutting where I can't really see.

 

[loulou82]

My boyfriend did my BC and I cut off the stray pieces the next day. Everything worked out well. I put conditioner on my hair prior so he could see the demarcation line better.

 

[brownstallion]

I did mine but it was a nightmare! the last 6 months of my 18 month transition was hell to detangle however, I thought it would be a great idea to wash &con my hair without putting my hair in sections and it was hard to cut. Another thing my hair did not have that much definition so it was hard to see where the natural hair ended. I was cutting straight pieces for weeks. After all it was choppy but cute, i recently straightened my hair and it just looks like I have layers so it's no biggie to me now. My only suggestion is section off the hair to avoid tangles.

 

[SherylsTresses]

I did my own BC at 18 months and some weeks post. I purposely left tiny traces of relaxed ends so I wouldn't cut my natural hair but they are not visible since my natural hair has taken over those relaxed ends.

 

[beans08]

No, I walked to the nearest barber in my neighborhood. It's run by Koreans, and I think they said mean things about me. Okay, I know they did!

It felt great and liberating, though!

 

[Glamorous_chic]

i went to a professional, b/c i have no idea how to cut my own hair, and didn't know anyone who could do it. i ended up going to a natural salon that as one of their "specialities" was the big chop. the stylist took alot of time making sure she only cut off the relaxer or permanently straight parts. it was a great experience.

 

[liljoy]

I did it myself, I think it came out ok

 

[Tamrin]

Did it myself. I was not nervous. I made a good decision. I vowed not to let anyone else near my hair again and I intend to keep that promise.

 

[Kenny-Ann]

I asked my mom to cut my hair. I knew if I would've told her that I wanted it all cut off she wouldn't have done it. So, I washed and conditioned my hair, grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off a ton of relaxed hair up front. When I got there, she hesitated and suggested that I only cut off a few inches. Then I showed her the hack job I had already done. She had no choice but to cut off the rest. She cut with scissors and used clippers after (cut off some of my curly NG), but all in all she did a great job.

 

[JuiceMobsta]

I did my own big chop around New Years and it came out fine, it just took me a long time to cut off all the relaxed ends. My hair came out even and has natural layers.

 

[davisbr88]

I did my own as well, but I think it was easy because I had 12 months of new growth. I just slathered on some V05 and cut at the demarcation. It took me about 20 minutes or so.

 

[GaiasDaughter24]

Yup, I LOVED doing it myself. DH helped with the back. It truly was liberating.I was on a high for days afterwards. The next day I went to the salon and my friend cut it for me. She did an awesome job!!

 

[drmuffin]

Wow all of you ladies are truly awesome! thanks so much for your input! I'm even more encouraged to try this myself...I think that was pretty much the concensus thus far

And all of you have gorgeous curlies I can't wait to join ya! But I think I have another question (I'm gonna see if I can get a pic in here too, so bear with me):

I took these a few days ago, and I have more hair than what's in the pics

Because I JUST got the relaxer two weeks ago, wherever I have hair, I have no new growth. I don't wanna shave it off, b/c then it would be shorter than the bald spot regrowth. And I'm really impatient to transition...I wanna be all natural now! lmao...So should I go ahead and attempt the BC now or wait? And if I should wait, how long?

 

[iri9109]

i transitioned for 4 months and did it myself:

 

[LongLeggedLife]

No, went to a salon. I wanted a nice caesar style cut with a shaped up hairline that I know I could not do at all. Went to barbers after the initial cut.