Your photos your thoughts: Second big chop might be necessary after stylist fries hair **Update! Big chop completed!!**
This story was originally posted on December 8, 2009. Tanesha, a professional model, dealt with some serious hair damage on the job and was on the fence about whether big chop again. Well she went ahead and did it and it’s gorgeous! Check it out…
I have attached a few photos to show you what measures I went to in order to get back the much desired afro haha.
I went in to see a good friend of mine who owns a salon here in Austin. He was horrified by what happened to my hair to say the least. It was at his salon that I had my first big chop. Anyway…he was more than excited to go at it with the clippers lol. Most stylists LOVE chopping off women’s hair and he is no exception.
The photos speak for themselves but I would like to add that getting my hair buzzed was one of the most liberating things I have ever done. It takes some getting used to (seeing myself with almost no hair) however, I would rather see these teeny weeny curls than that mess of a coif you guys saw the last time I let you in to my little world of hair trauma.
I must say though, it is nice having to do pretty much nothing to my hair in the mornings. I do miss my all night hair twisting marathons but they will soon return 
At least these baby curls are a reminder of what was and what is possible with patience patience patience.
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This story was submitted by BGLHer Tanesha, a professional model.
Hi BGLH!
I love your blog and I have learned so much from you all and all of the members that contribute to it. I went natural about 9 months ago and grew my hair to about 5 inches during that time. My natural hair is tightly coiled and springy. I love love love it!
A few days ago, I had to go to a reputable salon to have my hair prepped for a photo shoot, as I am a professional model. Before I went natural I had relaxed hair with extensions. This looked good but it was rather boring. On my own, without any guidance from my agencies I removed my extensions and chopped off my relaxed hair! This was a personal decision and it is one of the best things that I have ever done.
My agencies and clients were skeptical at first, haha, of course. There was a lot of….”What did you do to your hair?!” I fixed it, that was not my hair before. sigh…well. To make a long story short I had to get my hair flat ironed and they wanted to add extensions as well.
The stylist used a heat setting that was waaaay too hot for my hair. Now, my hair is fried and looks processed. My hair has been washed and deep conditioned with sad results. My curl pattern is so weak that it is almost non existent.
She is not admitting to her mistake in any way. She flat ironed my hair not once but twice that day. I know I should not have allowed this looking back. But I trusted her judgement as a professional stylist
I fear that I will have to do a big chop all over again and that this past year of transitioning and stellar hair care has all been washed down the drain.
Any advice you have would be so appreciated. I went online and looked up the validity of her cosmetology license and it is EXPIRED. I have taken steps to reconcile this matter with the board of cosmetology in my state (Texas).
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I directed Tanesha to an article J wrote on heat damage a few months back. (Click HERE.) Jc of natural hair science blog The Natural Haven also has a great article on heat damage HERE.
Unfortunately the effects of heat damage are irreversible. Still, Tanesha wanted her article posted as a warning to others.
You should apply bentonite clay. It is found in natural health food stores. Watch the videos on youtube.com for more info.
Looks like I’m going to need to read up some more but this is a pretty good spring board.
I was wondering what you decided to do. You look awesome! I love it!
I love your BC results. And once it grows back out to your preferred length, I’m sure those end results will be just as fabulous. Kudos to making what I believe was the best decision!
Keep it short! This second BC looks absolutely GREAT on you, and really emphasizes your wonderful bone structure. I bet you get more work now than ever.
You had to redo the BC but never ever let some random so called hair stylist do this to YOUR HAIR again. Shorter hair suit you too! I have 2 questions tanesha
-Did you cut your hair as short as now for your first BC ?(because i am pretty impressed by the growth in only 9 months)
-Do you face any difficulties to find work with short hair?
THanks if you have time to answer.+++
you are amazingly gorgeous, suits you well!
http://www.iriechic.blogspot.com
I learned this the hard way. Truth hurts and truth is: DONT STRAIGHTEN UR REAL HAIR! Never for any reason, craving straight hair? Get a weave. To get our hair straight takes a lot of heat. Even if u dont heat style it continually straightening will eventually KILL ur curl pattern. I only straightened my hair twice in a year and my curl pattern was no where to be found. So i cut it all off and started over again. So word to the wise. Straightening it is NOT worth it. Just leave it alone, enjoy your beautiful coily kinky hair. Leave the straight hair to those who have it naturally. Peace
Sorry to hear about the damage but hun your new cut looks amazing. I’m really pleased that you did something.
Your BC is SOOOO CUTE! Good for you for going for the cut, I’m sure you’ll experience phenomenal growth!
Thank you all for the compliments! It feels so good to have that reassurance from ladies who know what they are talking about.
@french girl with nappy hair…My first BC was not quite as short as this one, my hair was maybe a little under half an inch on the sides and in the back, and about 3/4 inch on top. It was a very awkward phase to say the least. The reason for this is, I transitioned for a few months by just slicking my hair back into a bun. When I went in to finally get the relaxed hair cut off, we ended up going in a totally different direction.
The stylist was super trendy and began using clippers on the sides and back. The top he left long. So I wound up with a Rhianna-ish sort of cut which i loooved but it was not what I wanted. I think the guy cutting my hair was more nervous to go for it than I was! So I rocked that for a little under two weeks, then I chopped off the rest myself.
Because of this I kind of feel like I didn’t get that glorious bc that I was hoping for, but I got it now LOL.
As far as work…I have not had much in the past few weeks, however, I have a lot coming up in early February! So we will see what the response is.
Short hair looks gorgeous on you…you look like a model!
beautiful either way!
Thanks for the update, and you look beautiful!!
Thanks for your answer! I ‘m sure you will get a positive response and if you don’t it doesn’t mean anything don’t worry you are beautiful!
I too am a natural hair model and this exact same thing happened to me in October 2009. Instead I tried to keep my damaged hair and did not cut it off. I ended up getting most of it cut off during Creme of Natural hair shoot in January of 2010. My curl patter was badly damaged and did not spring back into it’s natural spiral shape. I have found that Natural hair is the New “Trend” and salons and hairstylist are taking advantage of this trend by stating they “Do” natural hair. The fact of the matter is a lot of stylist do not know how to manipulate natural hair and straighten it without putting too much heat on the hair. I and others have learned the hard way, but stories like this are educating people about natural hair and placing heat on natural hair. I had to get use to my new short do and am now rocking it! Sister you are beautiful either way.
Very striking! It really brings out your features.
I have three words
CHERRY LOLA TREATMENT
This same thing happened to me in the summer- but this really help!
What is the Cherry Lola Tratment?
It is amazing! I used to do it before I cut my hair off again. Its 3 simple ingredients…liquid amino acids, baking soda, and yogurt! When these three items are combined they form a creamy, lightweight, slightly fizzy concoction that you just smooth on your hair. I brushed mine through with a denman brush and left on for about 10 minutes or so. Then rinse. You can go to the site and check it out for yourself complete with tutorial and photo results!
http://www.cherrylola.com/2009/03/magic-frizz-reducer-a-fluke-concoction-called-the-cherry-lola-treatment/