1. What's your name and where are you from? 

I’m Genesis Torres and I currently reside in South Florida

2. What is your hair type?

​​It’s definitely multi-textured between types 3c & 4a

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I decided to go natural in March 2012. I had decided to really fall in love with the natural curls that I was blessed with because I owed it to myself to feel and know that I was beautiful the way God had made me. 

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

Combating Breakage, anxiety over hair growth (not growing fast enough or not the way I envision in my mind) and not comparing my hair journey with other naturals.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

I deep condition weekly, I co-wash 2x per week.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

I refresh my curls with water and a leave in conditioner and I mostly wear my hair in a wash n go.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

I massage my scalp with coconut oil, I detangle with a leave in conditioner and or coconut oil and sleep on a satin pillow case.                 

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

​​I use direct heat VERY VERY SELDOMLY! I know what has helped a lot with the growth and health of my hair is staying away from direct heat as much as possible. I do use a bonnet dryer sometimes to set either my perm rod or flexi rod sets. 

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

My name is Marcian and I am from Jamaica but currently in Florida.              

2. What is your hair type?

My hair type sits between 4a and 3c with super coily texture and normal porosity. 

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

May 2014 I big chopped because I wanted to start a healthy hair journey, to do this I knew I had to stop using chemical relaxers in my hair and embrace my natural hair.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging part of my hair journey was waiting for my hair to grow back after my big chop; I had to learn a lot of patience.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

My washday is fairly simple, I wash with shampoo making sure I concentrate on my scalp and I follow up with a deep conditioner, which sits on my hair for 20 to 30 mins. After my deep condition treatment I do the LOC Method (Leave in conditioner+oil+cream). Then I stretch my hair either with the banding method or large braids. When  my hair is stretch I then do a protective style.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

It depends on the style I am rocking, if my hair is in two strand twist I mist them with water/oil mix to refresh and wake then up.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

My night regimen: I really focus on protecting my hair and preserving my hairstyle by using all things satin, Scarf, Bonnet and pillow on my hair.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

No, I am happy that my hair care regimen excludes using heat.

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

My name is Jessica Harmon and I am and always will be from sunny Miami, Fl, yet I currently reside in Houston, TX

2. What is your hair type?

4C dry hair

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I simply always wanted long healthy hair and with a perm I never achieved that. So at the beginning of 2012 I decided to begin transitioning.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

Transitioning and taking care of the two hair types. After about 6 months of transitioning I big chopped and never regretted it. I rocked my twa?

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

Well I wash every other week. I use 3 products: Shea Butter and coconut oil blend to, Cantu Coconut curling cream, and Eco styler gel to do my twist-outs or my braid-outs for the week. 

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

If I have twist or braids I spritz my hair with water, put a dab of my Shea-Coconut oil mix in my palms and gently rub into the ends of my hair. Then I untwist, finger fluff and go.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

I put a dab of my Shea-Coconut oil mix in my palms and gently rub into the ends of my hair. Put my hair into a pineapple puff and tie a silk scarf around my head. I keep it simple

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

​No, I did once last year and my hair shed horribly so since then I haven't. 

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

My name is Kharissa and I’m originally from Miami, Florida, USA.

2. What is your hair type?

I wish I could say my hair was one texture but it's a combination. I would say it's a mixture of 3B/3C.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I've been natural all of my life. Once when I was younger my mom put a relaxer in my hair because my curls were a bit crazy, but that was the first and last time. I was about 7, and it left me traumatized.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

I can't speak for going natural, but the hardest thing about being natural is having the patience to properly care for my hair and style it. My hair takes a really long time to dry, so styling is usually a 2-day process for me at least.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

I don't really have a weekly regimen. I let my hair tell me what it needs most of the time. If I do plan on styling my hair that happens on weekends, and from there I won't do anything until wash day. If my hair isn't styled I try to moisturize at least every 3 days using the LCO method.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

My morning routine is simple. Take of my satin scarf, shake my hair out, and go!

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

My nighttime routine consists of moisturizing (if necessary), putting my hair into a pineapple, and wrapping a satin scarf around my head.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

I used to only wear my hair straight (talk about heat damage)! Now, I only use direct heat (flat ironing) every 6 months to do a length check. I do use indirect heat (a bonnet dryer) to help dry my hair when styling. ​

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

Coby and I am from South Florida.

2. What is your hair type?

3b/3c curls.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I’ve been natural my entire life, but decided to embrace my curls in 2012. 

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging thing was definitely finding out what products and styles work on my hair and staying away from heat tools.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

I wash my hair once a week, usually a Saturday, and then I’ll either complete a wash n’ go or a braid out to last the entire week. . Leaving me only to moisturize daily. 

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

I usually just take down my pineapple that I slept with and use my favorite moisturizer/oil to loosen and refresh my curls. 

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

I moisturize my scalp/hair and create a pineapple to sleep on. Then cover with a satin scarf/bonnet.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

Very rarely, I may straighten or blow out my hair to stretch or trim my ends.

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

I'm DeShaunah, I am from South Florida, USA. 

2. What is your hair type?

4a/4b curls.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I big chopped in 2013 after badly damaging my hair from relaxers and constantly coloring my hair. 

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging thing was finding styles for short hair.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

I wash my hair every 2 weeks, and do a twist/braid out to last the entire week. Again, moisturizing daily.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

I usually use a moisturizer/oil and fluff out my curls and make a large puff on top of my head.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

I moisturize my scalp/hair and create a pineapple to sleep on. Then cover with a satin scarf/bonnet.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

Very rarely, I may straighten or blow out my hair to stretch or trim my ends. 

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

I'm from Adrianna and I am from South Florida, USA.

2. What is your hair type?

3c /4a (in crown) curls.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I transitioned and cut my relaxed ends in 2012. I had a relaxer for most of my life and due to the relaxers, constant straightening, and color, my hair became extremely damaged and short. I decided that I wanted my hair grow longer and healthier, while also embracing my curls. 

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging thing was definitely finding out what products and styles work on my hair and staying away from heat tools.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

I wash my hair once a week, usually a Saturday, and then I’ll either complete a wash n’ go or a braid out to last the entire week. Leaving me only to moisturize daily. 

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

I usually just take down my pineapple that I slept with and use my favorite moisturizer/oil to loosen and refresh my curls. 

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

I moisturize my scalp/hair and create a pineapple to sleep on. Then cover with a satin scarf/bonnet.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

Very rarely, I may straighten or blow out my hair to stretch or trim my ends.

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

Hey curlfriends! My name is Jumoke and I am a current student at the beautiful Florida International University and reside in Miami, Florida.

2. What is your hair type?

To keep it simple for people, I mostly refer to my hair as kinky lol. My hair is a myriad of 4s with tighter 4c at the nape (kitchen) and sides of my head, looser 4a curls at the crown of my head, and 4b everywhere else! (Ironically, I still am not fully convinced what 4b hair looks like. My 4a and 4c hair are easy to differentiate but I honestly don't know what 4b is lol!)

In addition to my hair type, I believe I have low porosity hair for many reasons. For one, it was really difficult for me to learn how to moisturize my hair! My hair hates silicones or anything that just sits on top of my hair which is why I switched to the Curly Girl Method. Also, deep conditioning never really worked for my hair unless if I use heat or steam otherwise it seems like a waste of time and money.

In regards to my texture, I have a mix of fine, medium, and coarse hair depending on what part of my head. The parameter of my head and my "baby hairs" tend to be finer and silkier. The crown of my head is the coarsest and my 4c hair is medium in texture. Overall, my hair is thin in density. I really am living proof of multitextured hair!

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I "returned" natural coming into my freshmen year of college in fall 2012. I have a whole article dedicated to my hair journey on my blog which you can find here: My Hair Story

Basically, I struggled with my hair my whole life and there came a point in high school when I only found beauty in weaves. By my senior year of high school, I decided to jherri curl my hair (worst decision ever smh) and hated it so I hid under self made weave caps until I could get a job and car in college to fund salon appointments. When I started college at FIU, I was overwhelmed with the amount of natural haired women on campus! (At that point, I didn't even know natural hair was a thing lol.) 

I had met another fellow Nigerian girl who had been natural for three years and her hair always blew me away! I started to think to myself, how are we the same race and nationality and your hair looks like that and I'm still struggling? Before you know it, the day after Thanksgiving Day, I was chopping the remainder of my jherri curl. Coincidentally enough, since my hair was so damaged from the Jherri curl, I only had two follicles of hair to cut and had a year of new growth underneath so I don't know if one would call it a "big chop" lol.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging thing about going natural is the learning curve definitely! Literally having to undo years and years of what you thought you knew about your hair to learning something completely different. I keep telling folks that going natural isn't for the faint of heart lol. Returning natural requires a lot of love, patient, and willingness to try something new if your old routine doesn't work.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

My weekly regimen fluctuates to whatever suits my hair. Unfortunately since I'm a college student, I have bouts of not taking good care of my hair during times of stress. I'm also a technique junkie (haven't heard of that one yet have you lol) so I tend to either start and fall off different regimens or end up incorporating them into my overall regimen. For example, I incorporate the LOC Method, Curly Girl Method, Greenhouse Method, and the Maximum Hydration Method. Although it seems like a lot, I pick and choose what works for me and what I learn from each method.

I usually wash and reset my hair every week preferably on a Saturday and my routine goes as follows:

• I shampoo my hair once a month with a sulfate free shampoo (doesn't matter which as long as it's Curly Girl Friendly)
  
• In between shampooing, I alternate between cowashing with Tresseme Naturals or I do a bentonite clay mud wash to keep my hair clean. Since I only use CG friendly products, I don't have much buildup.
  
• I deep condition my hair every week with a fabulous homemade concoction I created myself. :D I use Tresseme Naturals Conditioner as my base, add molasses, honey, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and tea tree oil to an old Tresseme Naturals Conditioner bottle (those things come in handy!) and I microwave it for about 30 to 40 seconds so that it stays relatively warm while I wash my hair. When applied to my hair, my hair feels like butter and it melts away all my tangles! I deep condition my hair my using the Greenhouse Effect Method so after my hair is saturated with the concoction, I apply a plastic cap and then layer it with two satin bonnets and a beanie or two to keep my head warm. I usually leave it on for a few hours not because it benefits my hair more but as a college student, I'm always busy!
  
• Once I rinse out my conditioner, I keep my hair moisturized by using the LOC Method. Since my hair is already wet, that works for my liquid. Then, I immediately apply a mix of extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil to my hair. Finally, I apply my cream which I'm currently using Creco Pelo Tratamentio (the slip in the stuff is AMAZING!! It's pretty easy to find it in Miami where there is a thriving Spanish community. I got mine from Publix) and I top off everything with some organic Shea butter whipped with lemongrass. I braid my hair into 10-12 plaits and then I undo them in 24 hours for a well defined, moisturized braid out that I wear for the week.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

In the mornings, I'm either undoing my braids which I do with oil coated hands. If not, I usually style my hair in a puff or frohawk once my braid out starts looking puffy and afro-y.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

At night, I usually just spritz my hair with water and seal with my oil mix. For those days that my hair is unusually dry, I remoisturize my hair with Creco Pelo and oil (I try not to use Shea butter more than once a week as it weighs down my hair).

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

Yes I do! Occasionally (like every two months), I blowout my hair on warm/cool hair to avoid damage. I straightened my hair once and I was so adamant on not damaging my hair that it ended up looking like a blowout lol.

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

Hey guys!! My name is Lavoryia (aka “BeautifulBrownTresses”) and I live in the very rural Zephyrhills Florida right outside of Tampa FL. I am a true born and raised Floridian who’s originally from Fort Lauderdale FL. 

2. What is your hair type?

I have two different textures in this rather large head of kinky curly coils. My hair has the loosest curl pattern in the back of my head which I will call a 4B. It continues to get kinkier toward the middle and on the sides which makes up most of my hair and that is a 4c.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I went natural by accident. Once my husband and I got pregnant with our daughter, I was told by an older woman in my family not to get a relaxer while expecting. Being the very “superstitious” person I am I listened to her advice and decided to refrain from relaxing my hair while pregnant. 

I wore lots of kinky twists to disguise the two different textured hair I had at the time. Once I removed the twist for good I was honestly surprised at the amount of “new growth” I had and thought it would be a shame not to give myself a chance to enjoy this beautiful new found natural head of hair. In November of 2012, I big chopped just four months after I gave birth to my baby girl and I can honestly say it has been the very best decision I’ve made my entire life concerning my hair.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

When I did big chop I had known very few natural-haired women and I had not yet discovered the YouTube natural hair community. I was almost bald and had no clue as to what to do with this head of hair I’ve had my whole life but never cared for in its unaltered pure form. I had tons of support once I cut my hair so I had no difficulties from overly opinionated people but I did have a problem with learning how to wash and sleep on my hair. 

I tried combing my hair while in the shower and it would come out by the handfuls. I typically did my hair at night before bed and I didn’t know how to sleep at night with dripping wet hair. I have to be honest, I did have some hesitations after cutting my hair and seeing its course, thick, and shrunken type 4c hair but I have since learned to love it all!

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

On a weekly basis I deep condition my hair for hours with almost always a DIY conditioner. I use my banana masque deep conditioner when my hair is very tangled and dry. I use the egg/mayo deep conditioner when I notice my hair looks extra frizzy and when my curls are basically non-existent. 

I have tutorials for both conditioners on my YouTube channel. I finish off with the LOC method after washing it out. I also stretch my hair with either braids or two jumbo flat twist. I finger detangle my hair once weekly and add products as needed for moisture. I do not wash my hair weekly anymore though I did when I had a TWA

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

On a daily basis in the morning I dampen my hair with water/aloe vera juice mix or just plain water. Then add a light oil or a light conditioner depending on the needs of my hair that morning and how I slept with it the night before.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

On a daily basis, at night I ALWAYS use some type of protection for my hair. I will either tie my hair down with a satin scarf or pineapple my hair with a satin scarf PLUS sleep on a satin pillow case at night. The reason I do both is because sometimes the scarf moves or slips off while I’m asleep and I want to be sure my hair will still be protected either way. 

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

I have not used much heat on my hair as a natural. In total I have used heat on my hair three times in the last three and a half years of me being natural.

1. What's your name and where are you from? 

My name is Yataye (Pronounced “Yah-Tay”) Keaton and I’m originally from St. Petersburg, Florida.

2. What is your hair type?

My hair texture is very coarse and varies from the front of my head and crown to the nape of my neck; but for hair typing purposes, it would be classified as 4C.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it? 

I began the process of returning back to my natural hair texture on August 18, 1999 while serving in the U.S. Navy; I’d made the decision because I got tired of having my hair relaxed, the awful smell and my scalp being irritated by the chemicals.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? 

The most challenging thing about me “Going Natural” at the time was staying within military grooming standards/regulations and experimenting with different protective styles while trying to be creative.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

My weekly regimen consist of keeping my natural hair moisturized with Shea Butter, Nature’s Blessing (Hair Pomade), or some other essential oil (I.e. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Castor Oil or Jojoba Oil, Etc.) and shampooing & conditioning it (Every 7 – 14 Days). 

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

Since “Twist-Outs” are my signature style, I untwist my hair; rub a light moisturizing agent through it; separate my twists in the desired look for the day and lift my hair at the roots with a metal pick to add volume and remove the parts.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

My daily night regimen begins with me misting my hair lightly with water, two-strand twisting it (adding an essential oil to the ends for overnight protection) and tying it down with a silk or satin scarf or just sleeping on my satin pillow case.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? 

Yes, sometimes I use a hooded dryer (or hooded Hair Steamer dryer) for deep conditioning.  My natural hair stylist also uses a ceramic hair dryer (warm setting) when creating various styles that may require my coils to be a little loose.