Making the cut
WITH THE new year we want to start a new chapter, a new page, and new hair. Many are chopping their beautiful mane, and this week DIY Jo would like to tell you things to expect, depending on your hair goals.
Clipping ends
For women of colour with natural hair, you should clip your ends. Because they are twisting and plaiting their hair, many are in danger of losing their ends if they clip. But, in truth, you can lose more than your ends if you do not clip your hair. This actually stimulates growth.
When you are clipping your ends, you need to remember that as a ‘naturalista’, while you might have a certain type of hair – anything between 3a to 4c – you more than likely still have different textures (curl pattern) within your hair. You cannot blow out your hair and just give it a straight cut across. No. When you decide to do a ‘twist out’ you will realise that certain sections are stringy and others have been cut too much. So just clip it in small sections.
It is recommended that you either clip stray ends when wet or when it is already twisted or in a twist out.
Bangs
I remember when I decided to cut my bang. I wanted a different look. There were several mixed reviews from friends but I decided to take the plunge. YouTube then became my best friend because I knew that I did not want to go to a stylist, so if it went bad I could only blame myself. It was successful and I enjoyed it but here are a few things you have to consider before cutting a bang: 1. Once you are going to do a twist out, you can stretch the hair since it will be a big cut. When stretched, cut below the nose (taking into consideration your shrinkage with a wash and go or a twist out). 2. Maintenance will need to be weekly or every other week. Your hair will be growing rapidly because it is being cut and clipped frequently to maintain length. Clipping should be done like you would if you were clipping the entire head of hair wet and in small sections, for an even look. 3. Consider styling: are you always going to be doing a twist out? You will not have ends, so twists and certain styles will be a bit harder to achieve. Thus, think of easy styles before cutting and if you are really able to style your hair with a bang at all times. 4. You may have to wash your hair in sections because if you wash the entire head at once, finding the part might be a bit difficult.
A tapered cut
I do love to see a great tapered look but I have never done it. It is beautiful, but there are also a few things that you will need to consider before you cut off your hair. 1. Depending on the cut, the initial cut might come off looking sharp because you will lose the ends of your hair. 2. You need to consider the shape of your face to see which look best suits you. If your face is long, you do not want to go too high on the head to give you an even longer face. 3. You would need to do wash-andgos rather than twist outs. 4. Maintenance and touch-ups will be required. 5. You should never do this yourself. Go to someone professional who specialises in natural hair, or a barber. 6. On the bright side, this will be the easiest daily maintenance routine as there will be little to no maintenance required daily. 7. Gels (eco style, please) and butters are your best friend.