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Hacking It Off! What I got up to in January #1 – personal

jacquelineobyikocha

My 2016 started with a big step that I had been contemplating for some time. For the first time in forever, I hacked off my hair. It was a way of saying Happy New Year to me.

The Flavour of Now.
The Flavour of Now.

I even jump in alarmed trepidation as I say this.

I never knew that I would finally have the gumption to take the step to cut my hair down to a low cut and carry it like that, but I am totally loving it.

Why did I take such a drastic decision after decades or perming, curling, weaves and all what not?

The answer is as simple as the fact that I just needed a break from all the stress. Let me give you a brief synopsis.

  1. A lot of African ladies or women of Negroid genetics might relate with me. Our kinky hair can be quite ‘a handful’ to manage and because of that, we have it in constant perm or weaves or braids which takes hours on end to go through the process in the salons. I was just tired of living under the thumbs of a salon dryer.
  2. Due to the time involved in having these hair-dos, and the need to keep it looking good, we avoid our hair getting wet by all means; hence, when I go to the pool, I find myself keeping my hair at an odd angle, never willing to enjoy a good swim because of that. A good number of African ladies that I know don’t mind getting soaked to the skin under the rain but they must find a piece of nylon to shield their hair. Giiirlll! I was sick of the torment especially living in a neighbourhood where the pool stared at me, morning, afternoon and evening.
  3. The cost of keeping the hair in the latest style is not cheap. I am not complaining about the cost, but sometimes, I think it’s a big rip off especially in the Western World where doing your hair costs an arm and a leg. Besides, all the perms and stuff was just making my poor tendrils get thinner by the day.

So there it is and that list up there could go on…..

Now I stand under the shower and enjoy the warm water cascading down and soothing my poor, frazzled brain.

I swim without any worries. I don’t even bother to blow-dry it. Just apply coconut oil and let it dry by itself.

I don’t have to bother plunking my butt down for hours on end for any hairdresser, for now at least. I am totally tickled and thrilled.

Now, I will rock it until I get bored and I can always choose what next to do. I can always revert to the braids and weaves to switch up my looks, though I am seriously contemplating getting them locked into fabulous locks.

The good thing is that I thought I wouldn’t have the nerves to do it, but I braved it and did it. My dear Himself was shocked at first, but it’s growing on him 😉

A few of the different looks.

Published by jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.

109 thoughts on “Hacking It Off! What I got up to in January #1 – personal”

  6. Love your new look! I spend more time (and money) on my hair, it’s crazy! And my girlfriends and I talk all the time about cuts and color, going gray, doing highlights, etc. And if your hair looks good, your whole life looks better, right?

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    1. Honestly, I was just tired of the entire cycle and just wanted a break. Believe me when I say that I am feeling so glad that I did it. I shall enjoy every moment of this new look till I get tired of it. We women are completely held bound by our hair 😉

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  8. You look lovely in all hairstyles! But nothing beats the low maintenance of newly chopped hair. Going head to toe under the shower whenever you want is pure haven. Sometimes I feel like going back to my TWA days.

    I’ve been natural since 2011 and I have never looked back. I did because I have always wanted big afro hair but was afraid to go natural because I could only associate the hair with painful combing etc 😀 Then I stumbled on the natural hair vloggers on Youtube, learnt how to maintain our hair through their videos and I took the big step.

    Enjoy your short hair while it lasts!

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  15. I love your hair and your reasoning behind your choice. There is a certain freedom when you go in the shower and not have to worry about anything! Ah! I love it! Also, I am like you with changing up my hairstyles and the easiest and cheapiest way to change it is with wigs. I get synthetic wigs when the weather gets cold here and it’s like my second hat!

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  16. Hi Jackie,

    You did a big chop! It suits you, frames your face nicely. 🙂

    Ah! The ups and downs of afro-textured hair, I actually think that, of all the races, we have the most fun with our hair. There are so many hairstyles to play with- weaves, braids, perm, short or long etc.
    Your photographs are lovely.

    Still, our hair is the most prone to breakage because of its brittle structure.

    On Sunday, I spent an agonising hour under the hair dryer, it felt like my brain cells were being fried, all because I wanted curls in my relaxed hair. Lol

    I plan to ditch the chemicals in a few years and embrace my kinky curls so I can be as tickled and thrilled as you are right now.

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  18. It’s a cute look girl. In fact, all the hairdos are awesome on you. What I love about this post is that it speaks of what the spirit truly desires to do and the exterior look (hair) was presenting a problem. Swimming is the 2nd best exercise to Walking. I believe in living as simply as I can but, of course, I want to look good too-change is good.

    I thought about shaving half my head and letting the grey hairs come out as they are only in certain areas. I do it the cheap way with $5 coloring from CVS. I wear my hair in ponytails 85% of the time. It’s Winter out here so we’ll see what my spirit feels like in the Summer. Hugs and Blessings, Emma p.s. keep doing YOU!

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  19. Good for you Jacqui. You are a beautiful woman that can carry off any hairstyle as I can see from your pictures. It must be liberating to not have to worry about swimming whenever you want to and not being a slave to the hairdresser! 🙂

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  23. Oh fantastic Sis, welcome to the natural hair club, where we rock our Afro low cut corn rolls and natural braids. I hacked mine some years back, because I got tired of staying under the salon dryer. It is liberating to be under the shower and feel the goodness of water from your head to toe. You look absolutely stunning Sis. 😀 😉

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  30. My mom started straightening my hair when I was four years old. Except for my afro period, I continued straightening until about 15 years ago, when I cut if off. Yea, yea, no more straightening combs!! Your look is beautiful.

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  32. Still beautiful! I know you are truly enjoying your freedom from the salon and being able to enjoy those things you had avoided before. I must say, though, that of all these pictures my favorite is the closeup with the braids and the big pearls.

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  36. Good for you Jackie!! For some reason I was thinking you were already natural. This reminds me of when I did the big chop 8 years ago. It was definitely very liberating as you have said! I bet locks will look fabulous on you!

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      1. Actually 7 years…my mistake. I started transitioning in aug 2008 and did the chop in feb 2009. Not sure why it took me so long…those relaxers were torture for me. It was like someone poured gasoline on my head and lit it on fire each time. It burned so bad yet i continued applying it on my scalp for many years. The things we do to fit in with society’s standard of beauty.

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  42. I think hair-changes always accompany life-changes, what’s happening on the inside/you have to see on the outside too. Very symbolic. Well done you for taking to the scissors and freeing yourself, though having said that, your hair looks lovely in every picture!
    Dagmar

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  44. Life was recieved Jacqueline! The new look is slaying us! 😀 Well, me at least. And you rock all the styles. You know what works and you rock it! Love that. Oh but that Black thing of having to watch what happens to our hair can be annoying… But when it’s short, there’s no need to worry (as much anyway.) Thanks for sharing 😉

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