Kala’s Big Chop!

“What made you cut your hair?” 

“Why would you want to start over?”

These were questions I was consistently asked after announcing that I was planning a Big Chop (BC) on my 32nd birthday. Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat — virtually every social media platform I had a presence on — had a theme of, “Why is Kala cutting off her hair?” Honestly, I expected a few questions, but not as many I as received. In addition to the questions, there were requests from followers to not move forward with the cut — to call it off! I didn’t realize how invested others were in my hair journey. Yet, as a natural hair, beauty and lifestyle blogger, I understand that my journey and personal experiences are used to inspire and teach others.

In 2011, I posted a video entitled, “No BC 4 Me,” where I outlined the results of my hair’s heat damage from years of extreme heat styling. The declaration I made in that video was clear: Do what makes you happy. If that means cutting your hair, do that. If that means not cutting your hair, do that. I didn’t “big chop” following my heat damage. Fifteen years ago, I transitioned from a relaxer to natural. Ten years later, I transitioned from heat damage. Even though, I loved seeing women rock a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro) and found their pixie cuts to be inspiring and admirable, I was happy with my transitioning styles. I was good…until last year. Life changes provide lessons learned and a sense of freedom. Last year in 2015, I decided that it was time to do something a little different.

I remember thinking last spring, “Hey, it’s time for a change.” By this time, I had colored my hair several times. Highlights, different shapes, every style that you could think of, I did. Gradually, I got less motivated to style my hair and I quickly became a serial wash ‘n goer. I liked my hair best when my natural curls were on display. But then I grew bored of wash ‘n gos and gained a new sense of freedom and adventure after moving to Dallas, TX. I decided I would cut it all off. There was a gradual transition for this, as well. First, I cut (not quite a TWA) and colored into a shorter style in June 2015. The cut and color in June turned out very different than what I expected. I was devastated. I wore scarves and moped around for about a week. Then I attempted to style it. I played around with some looks and came up with this:

As my hair grew out, I saw that my wash days were shorter. But I looked forward to completing the BC.

Then, I big chopped in January 2016 during my birthday month, and shared the experience with a great group of women! I believed I was the perfect person to share my BC experience because as the co-founder of the I Define Me Tour, the importance of “hair” is secondary to the very real message of inner beauty. Even though I decided not to BC years ago, I always knew that it was just hair. It did not define me and I could, if I wanted to, change it. I also wanted to share the experience with others because it was exciting for me to experience the Big Chop of those who had done it before me.

I decided to use my BC to motivate others to take a deeper look at themselves — their character, their faith and their self-confidence.  On the night of my Big Chop Slumber Party, the discussion was epic! Women came away with the sense of freedom in that our beauty choices do not define us as women. When the time came for my hairstylist — The Mane Queen — to cut off my puff that night, I have to admit, I was nervous. More than 30 women gathered around lil ‘ole me to support and watch. Without a mirror to watch the cut myself, I relied on their faces and reactions to tell me what the results looked like. I was astonished, happy and felt so free the moment I saw my TWA!

It’s now a month later, and I’m LOVING my TWA! I plan to keep this low-maintenance look for a while.

I had so many reasons to do the BC, but more than anything I did it because I wanted to. If you’re inspired to make a drastic change in your appearance, don’t hesitate. The only constant is change. Embrace that change and the blessing of the versatility of your hair, your style and your look! Your inner beauty will shine even brighter when you’re being your most authentic self!

Peace & Blessings,

Kala (@thekglifestyle)