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Curly Nikki

Sometimes An Unexpected TWA is All You Need!

By January 27th, 202136 Comments
Joshay writes:

Sometimes An Unexpected TWA is All You Need!
before!

I’ve been natural for about 5 years. About
two months ago, I decided to go into a Great Cuts to get a trim. My
hair was not pressed out or anything. So what happened as a result of
this? An unexpected big chop! Eeek! I screamed and was a little upset
at the stylist. But at that point, what can you do? My hair was
already on the floor, literally. I went home and washed my hair.
Feeling my tiny coils made me feel some sense of renewal. I got out of
the shower feeling better about my hair. All of my friends
complimented me on my hair saying how wonderful it looked and that my
unexpected haircut looked… planned.

Sometimes An Unexpected TWA is All You Need!
after! 

Two months later and I couldn’t be happier that this cut happened. I
have more confidence now. I have learned to embrace all of me all over
again and it has been a delightful experience. My hair is growing
back healthier and fuller than before and I love it more now than I
loved it five years ago. It’s amazing what a pair of scissors can do!
My cut may have been unexpected and unwanted but sometimes the
unexpected is just what we need!

Any other unexpected Big Choppers out there?! Dish!

36 Comments

  • janubie says:

    Happened to me. I liet my mother trim my hair while I was still in undergrad. Trying to save some money. Walked away with a buzz cut. Though it has grown back, I still feel a little bitter at time, wondering what the possible length would have been (But truth be told, since I am just recently learning how to really care for my hair it probably doesn't make much of a difference).

  • lady_love378 says:

    this just happened to me and I was just going in for a trim. Needless to say all my hair and most of my color I had in was gone. I cried I was so upset. I will rock this but I'm mad about it my hair was fierce!!! It will rise again!!! 😀

  • sophie says:

    Hey beautiful, I had he same experience last year. A friend of mine recommended me a salon where she usually gets her hair done. Needless to say, she has been natural all her life and she got gorgeous hair. I asked for a trim but the lady gave me litterally a big chop. She didnt even blow dry my hair and I don't even know what kind of products she used because my hair had never been this dry before. I was really upset and I thought about reporting her but I didn't. It gave me Another opportunity to start over again. The good thing was I didnt have to worry about split ends for a longtime.

  • Anonymous says:

    Just happened to me on Mother's Day Sunday. I asked my mom to trim my hair. She's a beautician, but not used to cutting natural hair in its curly state. Well, I ended up with about 9 months of length gone. I was so upset that I felt like crying all day Monday! It took me about a day to get over it. I've since calmed down and I'm back to doing what I did best last year. I have never been attached to having long hair. I wore my hair dime curling iron short on top quite a few times. I was just so excited about my hair finally reaching my shoulders and actually hanging down. And just like the young lady in the original post, an unexpected hair cut can be a little devastating at first.

  • Anonymous says:

    I bc'd on tuesday and I must say I wish I'd done it sooner!!!I'd only been transitioning since feb with the plan on letting my hair grow out until I could achieve at least 5 in of new growth.but then i had to ask myself''Why am I holding on to all this damaged hair?''So I grabbed my scissors and cut off at least 6 inches of permed hair and now I'm rockin' my beautiful 3 inches of natural hair and I can honestly say i've never felt more beautiful than I do right now.

  • JennWantsaFro says:

    Everything about this lady exudes confidence and beauty. I wish I looked this good when I had my own "unexpected twa." Lol it was so misshapen…good times….

    Follow me on twitter @JennWantsaFro

  • Unknown says:

    yep i did that, wasn't sure what I was ddoing the first time.

  • Natural Beauty says:

    This happened to me a few years ago. I went to a barbershop with my hair blown out in a big fro and for a trim and got a shape up. My hair on the sides was cut really short and my hair looked uneven in wash and gos and twist outs. I didn't sweat it too much because hair does grow back.

    celebrateyournaturalbeauty.blogspot.com

  • Anonymous says:

    I guess you could say I did an unplanned big chop on myself a few months ago. I have been cutting my own hair for years. (I could probably get a more polished look from a professional, but I take pride in doing it myself!) Earlier this year my hair had grown out quite nicely from a big chop in June 2011. But I was looking in the mirror at the back of my head and noticed my hair looked very uneven. I started snipping off the uneven parts and somehow still couldn't get it right. By the time I kept resnipping and correcting I ended up cutting quite a bit off the front off as well to get it "even". At first I was upset because it had taken so long to grow it out, but then I remembered all the joys of rocking a TWA. My "new" hair was super soft and healthy. I could wash it in the shower and go. Five minute maintenance in the morning: run my wet hands through my hair, add a mixture of Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Coconut Oil to define my little curls and go! Love, love, love my TWA, even though it wasn't what I initially planned! mzcnnd

  • Natural Beauty says:

    First, let me say, your hair is gorgeous! I had the same thing happen to me at Great Clips a few weeks ago. My regular stylist wasn't there at the time, & I took a chance on another girl, b/c I couldn't wait for her to come back. BIG MISTAKE! She blew out my hair, & then proceeded to chop off a whole year's worth of growth! I've been natural for 3 yrs, so I was very proud of the amount of growth I've achieved & was not there for a haircut. Seems this new stylist was more concerned with giving me a style that framed my face, & not what I asked her to do, which was TRIM my ends. Lesson learned, I guess (should've stuck with someone I knew), but I will not be going back to her!!

  • Joshay says:

    Earrings are from http://jewelafrikadesigns.bigcartel.com/ @Alicia, thanks.

  • Dana says:

    I've never experienced an unexpected BC but appreciate the fact you turned your experience into a positive one to share with others. I planned my BC over 4 years ago but was not truly ready for the "after effect".

    It's just hair right? It will grow back. The time spent growing it out will allow a person to really see, appreciate, and accentuate other beautiful aspects of their face.

  • Anonymous says:

    You look amazing! Where can we find those earrings?!?

  • Alicia says:

    I would never go to a random salon and ask for a trim w/ my hair in its natural curly/kinky state. Next time maybe you should blow it out or flat iron it so they can see what their cutting. Or, if you want to cut it while curly, get a Deva cut. It is cute though and you are working that short 'do!

  • Joshay says:

    @anonymous 1:18pm: thank you! I've been doing the curly girl method with my twa! No shampoo, just conditioner. Once a month, I clarify with apple cider vinegar and water. When I wash my hair, I leave a little conditioner in and then seal with olive oil! I adds a little gel for hold sometimes. I love trader joes and Giovanni conditioners. I have a few YouTube videos about the products I use/tried. Username:shaygetsfit
    Hope this helps! Thanks again!

  • Anonymous says:

    You and your hair look absolutely beautiful!(as u did in the before pic as well.) OK, products, Girl! What did you use on that fierce twa???

  • Anonymous says:

    Now I've been told that I am a pretty calm and collected person, but I would have been steaming mad! I've had stylist give me cuts rather than trims when I was relaxed, but nothing to that extreme.

    I am 9 months natural after a 10 month transition. When I big chopped this past September, my hair was still pretty short, and now my hair is about neck length in a twist out and shoulder length when stretched out. I absolutely would not want to go back through the growing out phase! My hair is just now coming out of that awkward length.

    BUT I commend you for CHOOSING to have a positive attitude about this experience, because that's what matters the most.

    By the way, your hair is beautiful!

    ~caramelcurls

  • Joshay says:

    @Camille acey: thanks so much! And as I mentioned above I have tons of shrinkage. I also kept it short for a couple of years, I'm hot one of those ppl obsessed with length. Healthy hair is beautiful hair, no matter how long it is, before I chopped, when it was pressed out(which I did rarely) it hit my shoulders.

    @Essenes: jump over the fence girl! It's worth it. My hair feels healthier, shinier,etc. It was unexpected but I'm glad it happened! When I do start letting it grow out again, I know it will be healthier than ever before. I good cut works wonders!

  • Annie L. says:

    Glad you turned the 'Cameron Diaz moment' into a positive, Lol, and are experiencing this healthy, fun re-growth! I had a similar salon disaster 6 years ago with a secret conditioner/perm on very long hair (*breathes deeply*) but the resulting shave off was liberating and felt wonderful. We dyed it bright red, coiled in a faux-hawk pattern and it was a hit! Thanks for the story!

  • Pecancurls says:

    Joshay, the TWA looks great on you! Love the afro earrings.

    @MelMelBee, I feel you. 🙂

  • Essense Heel! says:

    I've been thinking about big chop#2…been natural almost 2 years and I wanna start over, thanks for sharing. *sits on fence*

  • Camille Acey says:

    @Anonymous 11:58am, I was wondering the same thing, but she did say "5 year natural" not "5 year length journey". So, I dunno.

    @Joshay, I think the TWA suits you well!Get 'em gurl!

  • Joshay says:

    @melmelbee: you are right! I was freaking out! I shed a tear or two! But everything happens for a reason:)

  • Joshay says:

    @anonymous: yes I have a lot of shrinkage and my hair was in a pony-puff with a bang, not that it matters:) @marianela: yes it's henna:)

    Thanks for the lovely comments!

  • Joshay says:

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  • MelMelBee says:

    Your hair looks FIERCE, and I definitely look forward to doing another BC after a few more years of being natural………BUT, I can't lie……

    If I would have gone anywhere for a TRIM and I looked up and had a BC, I would have seriously turned around and choked the HELL out of the stylist…..SERIOUSLY…..like Bart and Homer Simpson kind of choke…..like on ABC news kinda choke with assault charges to follow!

  • marianela says:

    I love how awesome your hair looks! I had a question is that henna dye or regular hair dye in the pic with your red hair?

  • DeAndra says:

    You look awesome!!! LOVE those earrings! 🙂

  • Anonymous says:

    Your hair seems really short for five years of growth. I'm assuming you either kept it short or that you have a lot of shrinkage.

  • Anonymous says:

    Beautiful!

  • Joshay says:

    Thank you!

  • Anonymous says:

    Yesssssss!!! I love it! I've been natural for a little over a year and started out with a twa (my hair was already short). I'd spent the past year letting it grow out and finally had just enough length to try different styles and then one day I had an epiphany…"why am I growing my hair out?" I've never been one for long hair and it just seemed that if you went natural, you HAD to let your hair grow out. Since I've never been one for long hair (my face is pie shaped LoL), I got some clippers and shaved half of it off and I couldn't be happier with my cute TWA!

  • Editor says:

    Cute!

  • Rochelle Es Bastante says:

    I had been wearing my hair pressed & curled since the mid-90's. I decided to wear my natural texture last April/May. It wasn't until I decided to cut my curly hair into a short style that I felt "sexxxxy" being natural. I embraced the natural hair initially but the cut gave me a double dose of confidence & liberation. 😉

  • Yoli says:

    Beautiful Cut! It looks awesome 🙂

  • Anonymous says:

    I like it, it really looks great!

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