Claudia ~ Before and After

Meet Claudia, Not even the negative comments from her family would stop her from doing what she always wanted to do.




How long were you thinking of going natural? Whats the story ?

I thought about going natural since I was about 15 years old (I am now 20). I would always imagine what my natural hair would look like whenever I looked at pictures of myself before my mother started relaxing my hair. At one point in high school I actually went 8 months without a perm (the longest ever without a perm), but the only problem was that I didn't know one thing about caring for relaxed hair, so what could I possibly know about caring for natural hair. I ended up perming my hair after the 8 months and didn't think about going natural until my sister went natural May 2009. She was my motivation and inspiration to actually follow through. So my last perm was August 2009 and I did my BC February 4, 2010.

Was your transition a long or short one?

I would say that my transition was average. I transitioned for about 6 months when I finally got tired of the two textures, the straight hair on the top and the natural hair on the bottom.

We all know how important it is to moisturize our hair while in transition,what products did you use to keep your hair moisturized?

As of right now I am still trying to figure out what keeps my hair moisturized the best. So far I am using a water and oil mix that I made (water mixed with olive oil and almond oil), coconut oil, and shea butter to seal it in. I am still trying different things since I'm a newbie.

What was your staple hairstyle while in transition?

My transition hairstyle of choice was a twist out and getting my hair braided with weave.

When you decided to Big Chop,how did you feel about your cut? And how did people react to it?

I honestly couldn't wait to do my BC. I had put braids in my hair and told myself that I would leave it in for about 2 months, but I have always been the type who doesn't like to keep weave in my hair for too long so I ended up taking them out after a month and a half. Then I told myself I would cut my hair the Friday before Spring Break (which would have been March 5) so that I would have time to play around with my hair before anyone else saw it. Well that was too long because I ended up doing my BC the Thursday after taking my braids out and I am honestly so glad that I did my BC. It is starting to grow on me because I have never, ever had short hair a day in my life. People's reaction were half and half. My mother hated it upon sight, my brother couldn't believe I cut my hair so short, my sister loved it (being that she is natural), some of my cousins had nothing positive to say, and some said nothing at all (which is what I prefer compared to saying negative things), my boyfriend had a neutral response (he didn't hate it but he doesn't really like me with short hair)... but 2 of my aunts thought it was decent and loved that fact that my hair was so curly and even asked me what I put in it to get it that way. I have a huge family so the majority hasn't actually seen my hair yet. Overall I would say that people's reaction were average.

Did you have any regrets?

I have no regrets. Why regret what I have done when all I am simply doing is bringing out the very thing that God has blessed me with.

What are your long term goals for your hair journey?

My goals are to care for my hair and give it love... along with the products it needs to help it stay healthy. I believe that with healthy hair you will have good hair that wants to grow.