Afro-haired female in Europe wants to go Short and FuNky!!

I`m a college student living in Dublin w/ shoulder-length afro-hair. It is quite coarse and has a thick appearance. Many people have commented me on my hair as I have been blessed with strong, beautiful afro-hair. My issue, though, is that I have an absolute yen to cut my long hair,short, and create a spiky, funky look. I am reluctant to go forward due to fear that my hair won`t grow back to it`s original length;there aren`t any professional afro-stylists which I have come across here and am wondering if a European professional hairstylist would be advisable;my hair is due for relaxing; and my mom is completely emotionally attached to my hair. I have not voiced this decision to her as I infer her response would be `no! I feel that it would be more manageable short however, what products would mantain this style? I also have a square face.

Thanks for hearing me out,
Pippa!

hi pippa;
my advice is to follow your instincts and go for the buzz! as nick said, it`s hair, it`ll grow.
my last girlfriend had very damaged hair from coloring and straightening and decided she wanted to "start from scratch". she wanted it all buzzed off, but first i buzzed it close on the sides and back, trimmed it short on top, and left the bangs, or "fringe" as they call it in the west indies. she looked really cute with black, natural hair on the sides and back, with short, lighter relaxed hair on top and in front.
she decided to buzz the rest later on, too. she looked great with hair buzzed close. you see the woman, not just the hair.
good luck with your decision!
steve
ps how do you like ireland?

hey springy;
thanks for the support, but on behalf of myself, Steve, (and i assume Nick); we`re not ladies. a minor detail, but an important one to us. :-)

-steve