Against Tyra Banks’ better judgment, Brenda is definitely growing out her hair.

“It’s no longer a mohawk,” says Brenda with a laugh.

When the 23-year-old administrative assistant and mom from Houston, TX, was eliminated from “America’s Next Top Model” this week, Tyra told her she had lost her spark and fire and needed to go out and build a portfolio with her current look.

But after receiving poor feedback from the judges week after week about how she was failing to embody her “new look,” that’s the last thing Brenda thinks she should do.

“I’m not going to keep my hair (like that) because that is not a confidence builder. I’ll never have a career if my hair’s that short, but I’m interested to see what clients and designers would think of (chin-length hair).”

Brenda started the competition with long red locks and hated her short crop from the moment she got the makeover.

“It’s no secret I didn’t like my hair the first time around but after a few days I said you know what I need to get over this, I don’t want to go home over hair and I started to find different ways to shape it and style it. And then when I got my second one, I hated that haircut even more,” says Brenda with a laugh. “I did the best I could.”

She also received much ridicule from some of the other girls who referred to her as “Chucky,” and “Miranda” from “Sex and the City.”

“I think it hurt even more because it was something that I couldn’t control,” says Brenda.

Brenda had no idea she was going to be sent home this week, even after she produced the weakest photo at a NYC subway shoot with photographer, and Canada’s Next Top Model Cycle 3 judge, Mike Ruiz.  

“The past two weeks I’ve had really good photos with the vampire and the fake photo shoot and then the Cover Girl (one), I liked my pictures. I was extremely shocked.”

But at least she won’t have to face Angelea anymore.

Brenda went head to head with her fellow “ANTM” competitor on this week’s episode, with a heated exchange in the limo that resulted in Brenda calling Angelea “uneducated” and Angelea calling Brenda “a bitch.” Brenda explains that the fight started between Alasia and Jessica and she just happened to get caught in the middle of it.

“When somebody calls me the ‘B’ word so many times, it’s like ‘Really?’ and I just had to say it. I called her ‘uneducated’ only because, ‘Is that the only insult that you know?’ My name is not that, it’s Brenda. I kind of had to stick up for myself there.”

Brenda isn’t exactly sure why Angelea seemed to have it out for her, but says the rivalry began while the girls were still in L.A. for casting. With her long locks, Brenda thinks Angelea was intimidated by her. And when Brenda got her haircut, she thinks Angelea saw it as something she could use against her.

“She just kept pushing it, like putting salt in the wound and I think that’s what she had as ammo against me. I feel really sorry for her.”

Brenda says the drama at the “ANTM” house was at an all-time high this season, not just from Angelea, but from other contestants like Alasia, who frequently spouted off at the other girls at the top of her lungs.

“I do remember particularly that one night, being in bed and I think it was 1 a.m. and it was either Jessica or Raina woke me up and said, ‘Follow me’ and Alasia was in the confessional just screaming, just going off and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we need sleep’ so it was definitely crazy.”

Before making it onto “ANTM” Brenda says she was signed with two modeling agencies but had to give up the contracts in order to compete.  Even though she has been eliminated, she doesn’t regret going on the show and is now looking at new modeling and television opportunities.

“I think it was a great move because I’ve been modeling since I was 16, I worked overseas in Milan and I didn’t have tons of experience and I believe you can always learn more and this is just so much exposure that I’m happy that I did it, win or lose.”

Brenda became close to Jessica and Raina during the show and says they still stay in touch now, texting each other every Wednesday night while they’re watching “ANTM” on TV.

“There were so many highs and lows in the show and I really think my two best ones were the friendships that I made … and (winning) the first runway challenge.”