Anyone who has done a Big Chop knows that the first year can be really hard. This is why the decision to big chop or transition can take months and days’ worth of hours of research. Fear is a real factor; how will you look with really short hair? How long will it take to grow back? Does the big chop help hair growth? Not looking ‘feminine’ enough is a real concern if you’re a woman, so you don’t big chop your hair lightly.

So it may shock you that two years ago, I happily did a thirteen-inch big chop on my natural hair without a care in the world! I had zero fear because I had a hair treatment that guaranteed I would have the best big chop journey ever, and two years later, I can share it with you.

My Last Big Chop On Natural Hair

Every big chop journey starts with hair damage. The hair damage that most commonly causes a big chop is heat damage and chemical treatments. When you have natural type 4 hair, hair damage is always around the corner. So most of us have done at least one big chop in our lives. I’ve done three in my adult life, but the last one was actually the best big chop journey of my life!

The damage that caused my last big chop was the Brazilian Blowout.  Before doing the Brazilian Blowout, I had been treating my natural hair with the Four Naturals Treatment for over a year, and my hair was the strongest, softest, and curliest ever! I could even use heat on my hair without the heat damage that caused my first two big chops.  I did two Brazilian Blowouts in 2020, which wrecked my hair and curls. It made my hair strands super thin, and I lost a ton of hair after the second Brazilian Blowout. But because I regularly treated my damaged chemically treated hair with the Four Naturals Treatment, my hair looked great straight, and I even shot a season of TV and grew my hair! I waited over a year before deciding to big chop because I wanted my curls back! 

So on October 26, 2021, I turned on my camera, smiled, and chopped off thirteen inches of hair for my Four Naturals Curlfriends. In 2022, we launched the Grow With Me Challenge, where I retained half an inch of hair growth with the Four Naturals Treatment. At the time of writing, I’m more than two years post Big Chop and can share with you how this Big Chop journey is different.

Hair growth with Four Naturals Treatment one year after big chop

Why This Journey Was Different

So the first phase after the big chop is the TWA. And during that time, you either love or hate your newly chopped look. Some of us hide out under wigs or protective styles until our hair gets to a better length, anxious for hair growth. Before Four Naturals, it seemed like my hair took forever to get back to shoulder length, but after Four Naturals? I had enough hair to put into a high ponytail in 5 months! The ‘hang-time’ was not long, but it didn’t matter; the overall growth was noticeable and felt fast!

So let’s discuss ‘fast’ hair growth. The average rate of human hair growth (no matter the race) is half an inch a month. Any hair product without FDA approval that says it can ‘speed’ your hair growth is lying. Hacking growth retention is the key to unlocking your hair growth potential. And that’s what I have in the Four Naturals Treatment – a hair growth retention aid.  The Four Naturals Treatment strengthens, fortifies, and balances the porosity of the hair strands with every treatment you do. So my first year after my Big Chop flew by, and I had hair singing around my face again in no time!

Over the past two years, I’ve worn my treated natural curls, flat ironed my hair maybe two dozen times, and only wore braids for one month after the initial chop. Today, after 3 or 4 trims, my hair is hovering at just above 13 inches. Before Four Naturals, I could never get my hair that long, especially if I used heat as often as I have. So this time, I have the freedom to style my hair as I please, get amazing curls with just water, and retain just about everything I grow along the way!

The growth between year one and year two after big chop with the Four Naturals Treatment

Conclusion

Fear is a factor at the beginning of the big chop journey, but it doesn’t have to be part of your journey after you do it. That was my biggest takeaway: With the Four Naturals Treatment, my hair game is fearless! And every month, my hair’s length allowed me to do more and more – the Four Naturals Treatment strengthens the ends, so it has been so easy to retain what I grow!

Two years of hairstyles and growth after a big chop