…I let her. If I REALLY think about it, growing up, the only thing that led me to keep my hair, was that everyone else loved it. I wasn’t that into having a lot of hair, but people were so amazed by it, I was like, “why not.” When I cut my hair for the first time in high school, I was the same age as Eden.

My mom did any and everything with her hair, but as I recall, when I was younger, length was important.

Related: Do So, No Like So: Inspiring My Daughter to Love Her Hair

I always thought my first real hair cut was when I was a senior in high school, but my school pictures say otherwise. It grew very quickly, and that senior year bob was my first real cut AND relaxer. By the time I was a freshman in college, it had grown back, and I was once again, “Eva with the Long Hair.”

Related: If I Cut My Hair – Who Will I Be?

She had been hinting at being over having hair for quite some time. The hours it took to get it done. Black women with long hair have wash DAY. Not a “wake up, wash, dry (maybe), and go on about your day” day. Even a “Wash and Go” isn’t really a wash and go. It is a wash, condition, detangle, gel, define (if you want), sit under the dryer or diffuse, direct heat at the root, and if there’s any day left… go.

I was an easy sell. I did the big chop and started anew with natural hair in 2011. It was one of the most liberating things I had ever done. My husband wasn’t easy to convince that it was a perfectly normal request. Even though Li’l Bit is 14, she will always be 8-ish in his eyes. And 8 year olds don’t get edgy new haircuts.

Related: When My Black Girl Wants to Wear Her Hair “Down”

But once he wrapped his head around what was happening, he was excited for his teen to be bold enough to try something new. Looking back on her myriad of hairstyles, she had pretty much done it all by 14.

She has literally had every color of the rainbow in her hair. She’s had cornrows, twists, box braids, bantu knots – you name it, she’s probably had it.

So she probably doesn’t feel like she is losing out on anything at all by cutting her hair – just a lot of time saved.

I found my good shears and started cutting. She had been inspired by Sanaa Lathan’s photos on instagram from after she did Nappily Ever After, so she went with something short-ish on the sides, and a little longer on top.

She was SO happy getting it cut. It was like she had been wating for the moment her whole life.

Here is the first video that she made for her YouTube channel after the haircut.

She is having a great time getting to know her hair and watching tutorials on how to manage her natural hair. She has learned to flat twist and everything!

I feel like one day she is going to go for a full low/bald look, because she keeps hinting at taking more off the top. In the meantime, she has been watching natural hair videos about her 4c hair, making hair products, and doing product reviews of other brands she is trying.

Related: Happy Crown Day

Apparently this is still too much hair for her. This was my inspo for her haircut…

Her hair has grown out quite a bit since the cut, so I feel like this shorter cut is what’s next. She keeps talking about it. I feel happy that she feels confident with or without hair, and that it is something she enjoys – not a burden. Her dad was happy to see her happy – and her brother’s are her cheerleaders, so everyone was hyping her up.

For more natural hair videos and hair cut updates, subscribe to Eden’s YouTube Channel – Lemonerdy.