About a week before school let out I finally completed my transition from relaxed hair to natural hair by cutting off the rest of my permed ends. For a year I let my hair grow out, and after a while, I got tired of the different textures and decided to just chop them off. Although I did not fully do a big chop, I did have to get a lot of hair cut off and it really took a lot of thought for me to finally go through with my decision. Since then I have really grown to love my afro and learning different ways to care for it. Here are four reasons I feel like anyone who is thinking of transitioning should definitely decide on a big chop after letting their hair grow out a little:

1. Appreciation.

Since I cut my hair I have had a new appreciation for my facial features and not being able to hide them anymore behind my relaxed hair. My kinky hair naturally forms an afro that sits high on my head and every time I look in the mirror I learn to accept my face for how it is. No more bangs hanging in my face, or styling my hair in a way that only showed certain features of my face. For some days it took me a while to get used to how different my afro was and find the beauty in it, but I did and I love it. The bigger my hair gets, the wilder it seems to get as well making it more likely to draw attention in a crowd. After some weeks I have learned to picture my afro as a crown atop my head that holds beauty in every curl and kink. I appreciate the confidence boost I received after having no choice but to deal with the fact that my hair will not always be able to be tamed and styled. Deep down I already knew my hair would be beautiful even if it was not straightened or curled, but would I still be beautiful was my biggest fear. But I appreciate my looks and I know that I am.

2. Creativity

Taking care of natural hair requires a lot of work and management. There are many different things people can do to style their hair, such as twist out, bantu knots, and braid outs. They all give your hair a curly affect but each curl is a different style type and can be styled in different ways. Once your hair grows longer there can be more creative ways to put your hair in a bun, or a puff. Natural hair products involve organic products and even real food that keeps your hair healthy. There are different hair masques to experiment with that are a mixture of different hair creams and organic foods. There are many different finds and combinations that can be used to keep your hair healthy and continuously growing.

3. Easier to care for.

To be honest, most days I can get away with just wearing the afro, or putting it into a puff. If I do decide to style it, then I am probably tired of seeing my puff. So far my summer has been pretty busy so I have not had time to really style my hair, but if I rub coconut oil through my hair, slide a headband on, and lay down my edges with edge control then I still look like I did something to my hair. Or if I decide to just rock my afro I rub coconut oil through it, and then pick it out so it will be full and go on about my day. With some added make-up, or cute earrings I can wear a small afro, and still look like a girl that cares about her appearance.

4. Hair pattern.

When you allow your natural hair to grow out, you can automatically see the difference. Your natural hair will be thicker both dry and wet. While the hair is wet you can also see a difference between the curl pattern. My relaxed hair was more wavy than curly when it get wet, but my natural hair formed tight curls when it was wet showing a significant difference. After a while I got tired of the two different patterns because styles would hold up differently in the different textures. Once I cut my hair my real curl pattern started to show more, especially when I washed my hair. Seeing my curl pattern made me realize how good my hair actually is and now when I style my hair it is even all around and easier to deal with.

These are just some of the reasons I agree to big chops, or waiting a year before you cut your permed ends off. The appreciation I grew for my hair, and my features are something I can never try and hide again behind relaxed hair. I have always been a creative person so I love experimenting with different treatments for my hair. Even though there are a lot of necessities natural hair needs I still find it easier to take care of and I love my newly recognized hair pattern. I have always loved curly hair, and it made me happy to know I had curly hair of my own.