I wrote in a post in January that I had some breakage at the crown of my head. The last 2-3 inches of hair in that area tapered significantly. I think the breakage was due to wear top knot buns every night and most days. I’d been trying not to wear any styles that could cause breakage and I paid extra attention to that area. I decided it wasn’t getting any better and it was time to trim it off. I prefer blunt hair that does not thin towards the bottom. I cringe when I see ends that can be pinched between two fingers. I prefer uniform thickness from root to tip. I also wanted less weight at in my hair at the bang area and more height in the back of my hair. The last wng pic I could find is from February (sorry for poor lighting and bare face…eek).

On a whim, I looked up local chain hair stylists. One of the gals from MyNaturalSisters got her hair cut and shaped at a chain stylists and her hair turned out great. I thought I might as well give it a go. I called up first and asked if they cut afro hair without straightening it, the woman said yes. I was surprised that when I got there, there were no black stylists there. The manager of the place cut my hair and he was nice… I’ll get into the actual haircut in a bit. My sister wanted her hair trimmed as well. I was already back in the chair when the staff addressed my sister. Apparently the two women up front were really rude so my sis quickly changed her mind. She plans to write corporate headquarters about it. I didn’t hear about this until afterwards.

On to my haircut… I went in with an old twist out. It was very stretched and separated. The hairdresser shampooed and conditioned my hair with Redken products. It was a quick process. I honestly didn’t think the conditioner did much of anything. My hair felt like it does after I shampoo it. He used a brush and a comb to comb out my wet curls so he could cut it. After the first cut I stopped him because he cut way too much off. We argued a bit and eventually came to a compromise. I watched his every move and we discussed how much he could take from the areas at the top. He was being rough when brushing out my hair. Many people mistakenly believe afro hair and fine hair are mutually exclusive but that is definitely not the case. I asked if he wanted help detangling (he was also saying over and over how much hair I have…). He said no, but was more gentle from then on.

The final result…Since he brushed out my kinky curly hair and wasn’t very meticulous doing it, there were some curls that were not stretched or cut at all. I left with a damp rounded afro. I’d actually never seen my hair like that in the 5 years I’ve been natural. I didn’t know my hair could take that shape because my undisturbed curls have always flopped over and hung down. The resulting cut was very choppy layers. He started on my right side and I told him he cut to much. By the time he got to the left side, he must have cut what he originally wanted to, because it’s slightly shorter than the right side when stretched. My hair was also cut for a center part and I never ever where my hair like that so the layers are very heavy on one side when I wear it with my usual deep side part.

When I got home I deep conditioned my hair and twisted it up. I trimmed the areas that were missed and tried to neaten it up the best I could. I did take some more hair off the top where I had the breakage. When I checked my length, I lost about 2 inches edit: I checked again and I lost over 2 inches. My hair is back to were it was in January… I assume all of the color I got in 2010 is finally gone so that’s good. I never would have trimmed that much hair but it is only hair. My main issue right now is that my hair was cut so blunt that braids and twists will not stay in. The shape of my hair is better…and that’s what I wanted. Before, the front hung quite awkwardly. It still looks a bit odd but that’s mostly because my hair is so full and it was cut with a center part. I noticed the hair up front clumps up and forms curls a lot better now.

I don’t plan on straightening my hair and I know it wouldn’t be even if I did. I don’t want to see it because I’ll just get upset about it. My hair does look okay otherwise. I don’t think I’ll attempt to get my hair cut or shaped on non-flat ironed hair again. I’m just too afraid of how it would look once straight. I definitely won’t go back to this place. Especially after the way the other staff there treated my sister. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of natural hair salons in my area. The other options I’ve explored haven’t be great. This was my first professional haircut in 3 – 4 years and it will probably be another 3 – 4 years before I get another one, lol.