Damaged Hair...Whether to Big Chop or Not

PassionDancer · 07-13-2011, 09:22 AM

Hi ladies. I will start by saying thank you for your responses and natural hair care concern, advice and tips. Now first and foremost, I dont have a problem with doing the big chop, especially if it means having healthier hair. I went natural 3 yrs ago and i have a great length now but this year and last year I did get it straightened for special occasions and when i was home and needed a quick fix i admit i didnt know much about being careful and im sure I abused the dryer and flat irons.
SO NOW, the dilemma, I have a section of hair in my head, thats in an awkward place that is damaged and i dont know if it means i should big chop or not. Now i had considered doing a funky side shave natural hair cut kinda like a rihanna side shave. Cute right? but its not the side, its near the crown of my head so i would have to shave the whole side of my head and that's a bit drastic.
I know some of you may be wondering have you deep conditioned? I have actually. I did henta and placenta, deep moisture conditioner, and cream of nature argan oil dc oh and i did the avocado honey and something else dc. SO i have dc'd (not aphogee though)and my whole head curls of nicely even though i can tell my ends are damaged but that one spot of hair just curls loosely. Once my hair is dry and im doing a twist set maybe, the lenght of the hair is straight and stringy looking and only the root is curly, so the twist in that part starts off like a twist should and the rest of the twist is just straight flat and wont hold a twist.
So like i said i dont mind cutting it again to start fresh now that i know more, there is just a feeling in my heart that there is another option and you ladies may have that answer lol. even if its a style you think of that involves maybe a little snip snip here or there and i still keep my other hair. Creativity is appreciated. PLEASE HELP! Thanks!

AlikaIssa · 07-14-2011, 03:30 PM

Growing out heat damaged hair is similar to transitioning from relaxed to natural. Two strand twists do not work as well with straight hair which is probably why they do not work well on the heat damaged hair. Instead of two strand twist outs you could try two strand flat-twists outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs, roller sets or straw sets. Those styles should help to blend the two textures until you are ready to cut off the damaged hair.

If the ends of the damaged hair are split you should trim them to make sure that they do not travel down the hair shaft.