1. What's your name and where are you from?
Carmen Christina, I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have lived on the eastcoast for 11 years; I'm a proud New Yorker! 2. What is your hair type? 4B, I guess. Never understood the hair typing thing.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I have been natural since 2007. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? It took a while before I figured out how to maintain moisture. 5. What is your weekly regimen? Shampoo and deep condition. I then usually twist to keep it detangled. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? Mist with water then apply a styler or leave in conditioner. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? I pull it up in a pineapple; sleep on a satin pillow case. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? Rarely, I'm way too lazy!
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
This year was my first time getting braids since I as in college (10 years ago). 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Denman brush. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? It is normally loose; but this year brought more protective styles. I LOVE rocking turbans and headwraps. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? No tragedies, thankfully. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Keep your hair moisturized! Take your time when you are detangling. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Samantina Zenon, I'm originally from Boston, Massachusetts and I moved to NY six years ago, now I reside in Queens. 2. What is your hair type? I have Kinky hair. 4C to be exact.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I went natural six years ago, after I graduated high school. My hair doesn't do well with chemicals. My mother had been perming my hair since I was four, and my hair was constantly breaking. I noticed my hair growing a lot faster without perms. That's when I decided to go all natural. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? Most likely combing it everyday, because I always braid it at night, and when I'm running late it takes a while. Also washing it. There are methods I follow to wash my hair, and it takes a while. 5. What is your weekly regimen? I use Miss Jessie's Baby Butter Creme on my scalp once or twice a week. It helps my hair grow faster. I also use Knot Today Conditioner to help me detangle my hair, after unbraiding it. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? In the morning when I wake up, I untwist my hair, I shower without a cap, so the heat from the hot water can soothe my hair. Afterwards I apply a moisturizer called Nene's Secret; it makes my hair soft and curly. I apply a small amount, because it keeps the hair soft for a couple of days. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? I braid it, and I wear a sleeping cap. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? No, I don't own curling irons or blow dryers.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I braid it everyday, and in the winter I also braid it, it's my way of protecting my head from getting a cold, lol. 10 Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Wide tooth comb and a pick. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? I love afros most likely loose. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? Yes, I texturized my hair, and once again my hair broke, it's kind of like a perm, and you have to do it every 3 months, or your hair will fall off; well mine did. I cut my hair completely and started over. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Learn how to maintain moisture in your hair. This can take a long time to master but is key in preventing breakage. Low manipulation hair styles that can last you from wash to wash can help prevent breakage also. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
Shakira Wallace from Brooklyn, New York. 2. What is your hair type? I think I would be considered a 3c/4a, but I have a lot of different textures in my head to be honest.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I went natural in December 2011 and Big chopped in Dec 2012. I went natural because I couldn't find a hair stylist who I trusted to do my hair, and then I fell in love with my natural texture and stopped straightening and applying heat all together. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? Learning to accept myself as beautiful without straight hair. I noticed as I went natural I was wearing make up far more often and thinking that something was off with my outfit or my look. It took time to realize that my mind was what was off and then even more time to embrace myself. 5. What is your weekly regimen? I co-wash/detangle my hair weekly and cleanse when needed. I used to cleanse monthly but have noticed sometimes my hair wants to hold on to that moisture so I've started just listening to what my hair wants. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? I just take down my twists, fluff and go. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? Most nights I'll put my hair into twist just to prevent excess tangling. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? No, I don't use heat.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I haven't installed braids or twist in some time, but when I do have them installed it is never for more that 6 weeks and always with 4 weeks off to give my hair a break. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Always fingers. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? My hair is protective styled during the week and loose during weekends. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? I haven't had a hair tragedy while natural (thank you youtube). However I had twists in 2010 when I was still relaxed and I maintained them poorly. The result was I lost a lot of hair due to build-up and not knowing how to detangle. Honestly because of my lack of hair knowledge I just prayed for the best and threw in a weave. Luckily for me time heals all wounds! 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Moisture and low tension. All our hair needs is for us to listen and give it TLC! 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My Name is Crystal, and I was born and raised in New York. 2. What is your hair type? My hair is composed of 2 different textures. I am a 3c in the crown area, and a 4a all over the rest of my head.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I went back to natural hair last year, May 17th, 2013. I originally started my healthy hair care journey on youtube, to teach ladies about caring for relaxed hair, and learn from them. After learning more information about how chemicals affect our hair growth, I began to texlax my hair. Soon after I started to transition for about a year and 3 months to my natural hair, before my big chop. It’s the happiest decision I ever made. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The most challenging thing about going natural, was the idea of cutting my long relaxed hair off, in exchange for my tight coils. When your ends are relaxed, they make your curls appear elongated, but as soon as you do your big chop... shrinkage occurs. I was afraid of how I would look, and how others would perceive me. Would my own natural hair suit me? Accepting my natural beauty was the hardest challenge. 5. What is your weekly regimen? Due to being a beauty blogger, I am always changing hair styles a few times a week, and I accumulate a large amount of product build up. I will co-wash my hair mid-week to allow my hair to be more workable, and moisturized/seal for the next style. I will then cleanse, and deep condition my hair once a week. I am always paying attention to what exactly my hair needs. Due to my hair being protein sensitive. I also monitor my hair closely to ensure it does not become over moisturized. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? My morning routine, is taking my hair out of however I wrapped it in satin the night before, and grabbing my favorite oil (usually coconut oil) to apply to my hair. I usually flat twist my hair, so I would use the oil to take down the twist to avoid frizz. If my hair is a wash and go, or second day hair, I may give my hair a light spritz, with my aloe mixture, and scrunch or run a bit of oil through my hair, shake and go. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? Usually at night I will moisturize and seal my hair, especially my ends with oil. I re-flatwist my hair with a curling creme if necessary, and place my satin bonnet on my head. If my hair is not frizzy and still full of curl definition after the day's events, I will just pineapple my hair with a satin scarf, and thats it! 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? I have flat ironed my hair twice since I have been natural, and blow dried my hair once. I usually avoid heat, and choose to air dry my hair. I do sometimes use heating caps, for my deep conditioning sessions.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I put braids in my hair, as a protective style to give my hair a break. I do it once a year, if I choose to, in the summer time. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? I mostly finger detangle, due to my fine hair strands. Whenever I choose to do a heavy duty detangling session, I use both items. The Wide-tooth comb first to get ride of any knots, and then the Denman brush to catch any shed hair, and smooth my hair. I love the denman brush. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? If it was up to me I would mostly wear my hair out and loose. I love having free, big hair. However, that usually leads to tangles, and breakage for me. Thus, during the school year I opt to having my hair in a protective style, underneath my wigs. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? My most devastating, traumatic hair moment, occurred during my freshman year of college in Michigan. I was unaware of the effects of hard water vs soft water. Since my hair was not accustomed to Michigan’s hard water, it began to break, appear and feel dry, stick together, and barely absorbed or retained any moisture. I couldn’t figure out if it was a protein or moisture overload. After searching all over the internet I found out about the effects of hard water, and mineral deposits. I went straight to Sally’s and bought the ION Hard Water Shampoo, which did the trick, in clarifying my hair. I began to wash my hair with jugs of purified water, until the next year when I was able to get my own suite, and buy a filtered shower head. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? LEAVE YOUR HAIR ALONE. I retained so much length, when I stopped playing with my hair, and over manipulating it. I know it is a hard task, especially if you love experimenting with your hair. However, when I protected my hair under wigs, moisturized it with a spritz a few times a week, sealed the ends with oil and deep conditioned once a week, it became much more healthy. I retained more length and was able to see so much more growth. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Shanell and I am from New York. 2. What is your hair type? I actually have 3 different hair types. 3c, 4a & 4b.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I decided to go natural after a bad experience in a salon which left me dissatisfied with my relaxed hair. I made the decision to transition on April 13, 2011 and big chopped August 1st, 2011. The pursuit of healthy hair care made me take the plunge. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The most challenging thing about going natural was wanting to accomplish a hair goal after just chopping off all my hair. I was always used to having a decent length of hair and wanting to achieve the same length after the cut was difficult. The main thing that saved me was experimenting with my hair and utilizing a lot of different styles and products. It totally took my mind off the waiting and I actually grew to love my short natural hair. 5. What is your weekly regimen? Sundays are my wash days. They consists of washing, conditioning, deep conditioning and styling. The rest of the week (Monday to Friday) consists of just moisturizing and refreshing my style of choice throughout the week. Weekends are rest days for my hair and that's when I break out my wigs. We all need a break sometimes and our hair is no different. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? My morning regimen is actually pretty simple: I always style my hair based on how my makeup looks and it helps to envision how I want to wear it. It usually consists of me taking down my twists and fluffing with my pick to achieve maximum volume. The bigger the hair, the harder they stare! 7. What is your daily night time regimen? I just refresh the style that I had initially done Sunday. So for example, If I did a twist-out on Sunday I would do twists again on Monday, but in larger sections to stretch my hair over time all the while keeping my hair moisturized. My Mango Shea Butter Moisturizing Growth Aid is my go-to product each night! 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? I can literally count on one hand the number of times that I've used heat on my hair in the last three years of being natural and it really isn't that many. There has to be something major going on for me to want to use heat. I always end up missing my curls not too long after.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I've never installed braids or twists, but I would really like to try some. I would love to give my hair a break, especially for the summer. I think I may just go with Senegalese twists. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Both! The Wide-tooth comb is optimal for detangling and the Denman brush is awesome for curl definition. They both have been a great help throughout my hair journey. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? Loose of course! I love to have my hair out and often find myself playing with my curls. Not having restrictions on how I wear my hair makes me appreciate being natural even more. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? I've actually had 2! The first was heat damage when I blew out my hair for a length check. This is why I don't use a lot of heat. The second experience was breakage and until this day I still can't tell you what caused it. The experience wasn't major for me because, hey it's just hair. It will grow back eventually. I recovered from the heat damage by cutting all the damaged parts off and "babying" my hair by doing a lot of deep conditioning and protein treatments. I'm still in the process of recovering from the breakage and it's been going pretty well ever since I started using my Mango Shea Butter Moisturizing Growth Aid. It has 12 different oils and they all contribute to hair growth. Gotta love that stuff! 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Find a regimen that works for you and keep it simple. Sometimes it's best to go back to the basics and use products that work for you. It can be difficult with all the new products that are thrown at us each month, but sometimes it's best to go with what you know. Keeping your regimen simple will also help to make sure you can maintain the health of your hair. Doing too much can have an adverse reaction on your hair and deter you from wanting to go through with it. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Victoria Sallie and I'm from Queens, NYC. 2. What is your hair type? My hair type is 3C/4A. I have very fine hair.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I stopped getting relaxers in January 2013. I was studying abroad and had no idea where to go to get my hair permed. A friend of mine was natural with gorgeous hair and she persuaded me into transitioning. I transitioned for a year and three months and cut the remainder of my relaxed ends in April 2014. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The most challenging things about going natural were learning how to deal with my hair (considering I never really did my own hair before) and dealing with the negative comments/feedback from other people. Both took me a while to get over, but practice and growing a thick skin made me a better person in the long run. 5. What is your weekly regimen? Every week I co-wash and deep condition my hair. I alternate bi weekly between moisture and protein treatments. I seal my hair with leave in conditioner, oil, and whatever butter I plan on using for styling. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? Depending on what style I have, in the morning I'll wake up, take down, shake, fluff and go. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? I'm even lazier at night than in the morning, so most nights I just fall asleep on my satin pillowcase. If I'm really trying to preserve a style, I'll put on a bonnet or headscarf. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? I'm not totally against using heat, but I use it sparingly. I've learned to embrace my hair texture, and I'm scared of heat damage, so I straighten my hair probably once every few months.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I do braid or twist my hair sometimes as a protective style. Right now I only do it once a year, because I get it done professionally and don't want to spend the money or time it takes to install and take down. My hair is also fine and fragile, so heavy braids tend to break my hair off. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Denman brush or Tangle Fix definitely, but I only use them when I want to make sure my hair is completely detangled before styling. Otherwise I opt for finger detangling. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? My hair is normally loose now that I'm fully natural. When I was transitioning I usually kept my hair in a bun, so now I like to experiment with styles. I love playing with twist-outs, braid-outs, and wash n go's. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? I haven't so far *knocks on wood*. I try to be as careful as possible with my hair. I don't have any funny stories to tell! 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Be consistent and be patient. Developing a regimen that works for you is crucial. It's also important to remember to be patient because long, beautiful hair won't grow overnight. Take time and focus on the health of your hair and length will come over time. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Raquel Ford. I am known socially as Blessedcoils or Coils of Love. I am from New York City. I was born in Manhattan and raised throughout New York City. 2. What is your hair type? My hair type is primarily 4A mixed with 3C and 4B. The area just below my crown area is mainly 3C curly coils and my crown area is mixed with 4A and 4B kinky coils. Lastly, the front is a 4A fanatic...lol.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I decided to go natural in October/November of 2011. I decided to go natural because I was truly tired...I was tired of breakage, I was tired of up keeping a relaxer (every 4-6 weeks), and I was tired of being tired. What solidified my transition was my daughter, she started believing she NEEDED a relaxer, she could not wait until she was old enough to get a relaxer, and this was not the mentality I wanted for my daughter. I decided I would eventually big chop, which I did on March 27th, 2012. I have not regretted my return to natural! 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The most challenging thing about returning natural, honestly, was what do I actually do to this "nappy kinky" new growth and how can I make my hair look like hers... 27 months 1 week and 1 day later, I now know my hair will never be like hers, but it will always be like mines and I am truly happy with that. 5. What is your weekly regimen? I honestly do not have a dedicated regimen. I shampoo when necessary, if I know I have used multiple products and have not had a good wash, then its time. Otherwise, I co-wash. When it is time to wash I pre-detangle in 6-8 sections, which you can see here, in the video below, How I Do: Pre-Detangle 4A Coily Hair.
Then I shampoo or co-wash, I follow up with a rinse out conditioner, which I allow to sit on my hair for 3-5 minutes to soften and help with manageability. I keep my hair in the 6-8 sections. Rinse. Deep Condition in 6-8 sections.
I do use a thermal Heat Therapy wrap or Hot Head for in-direct heat, to help with intensifying my Deep condition routine. After the wash routine is finished, I style my hair in either twists to allow my hair to air dry or until damp and then I might twist each section into smaller sections or braids. I prefer to use old hair for buns and ponytails. I love to stretch my twist-outs and see the different styles I can achieve. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? My daily morning regimen is to moisten my hair with steam from the shower or a refresher spray or leave-in conditioner spray. I also seal the moisture in with an oil or butter. Depending on my hairstyle, I may just need to fluff my hair out or shake it. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? My nighttime regimen is similar...except some nights I get wild and don't sleep with my bonnet (and I do not own any satin pillowcases ;-)) 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? Yes, last year for the first time I used a diffuser and I use heat caps (in direct heat) for deep treatments. I want to straighten my hair, but I still have qualms about using such direct heat on my natural healthy hair. One thing I do make sure of, is to invest in quality tools for my hair.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
Yes, I actually braid my hair for braid-outs, which I love. I also braid my hair into cornrows for an up do style or protective style. I braid my hair maybe 8-10 times in a year, maybe more. 10 Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Both. I prefer my wide-tooth comb for detangling and my denman knock-off for smoothing. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? Normally my hair is in a protective-do like medium twists or small twists. My hair is worn out 2-3 days out of a week, but not every week. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? Yes, I have had a hair tragedy. My hair tragedy was when I decided to permanently color my hair. My hair is naturally a dark brown. I decided I wanted to color my hair, which I had not done in years. I bought only one box of dye and once I finished I realized my hair hadn't changed much. So about 8-9 months later, I decided to color it again...Again not much of a color change, but enough. The true color did not match the box display. So I tried 4 weeks later... I suffered major dryness issues, some breakage, and my hair tangled even more (due to the dryness). I am still in recovery, but I am in a much better place. I listen and observe my hair reaction to different products and methods. Currently, using Soultanicals and Eden Body Works Coconut Shea line are helping me provide, retain, and seal moisture. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? My biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair is leaving your hair alone. I go 2-3 weeks without re-twisting. I use a moisturizing product on my twists every other day and seal the moisture in. I also have reduced how many times I detangle my hair, I used to detangle during the wash, condition, and deep condition, now I just detangle 1-2 times during the entire session. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Melissa and I am from New York City. 2. What is your hair type? My hair type is definitely a crazy mix of everything but if I had to pick I'd say it is a mix of 3c, 4a, and 4b.
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
My last relaxer was in March of 2012 and I transitioned for 11 months before big chopping myself (what a disaster) in February 2013. I decided to go natural because my hair was sick and tired of being fried and dyed. It was literally falling out in clumps and I had severe breakage. I didn't have much of a choice but to actually stop and think about what I was doing to my hair so I decided to lay off the chemicals and never looked back. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The most challenging thing about going natural was definitely my friends and family's reaction to the different appearance. They were used to long straight hair and now I was rocking short curly hair so it was a bit of a shocking adjustment for them and a huge blow to the ego for me. 5. What is your weekly regimen? My weekly regimen consists of one major wash day with all the fixings so to speak including a pre-poo and deep condition. Besides my weekly wash day I try to style no more than 2-3 times a week depending on my schedule, my choice of style, and how the weather is acting up that week. For the most part I moisturize, massage and condition my scalp during my styling opportunities as well. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? Haha... I'm usually running out of the house early in the morning late for work or a meeting so my morning routine is pretty simple and basic for the sake of my schedule. I just untie my head scarf and use my fingers/pick to fluff out my hair depending on the type of look I'm going for. If I'm in a big rush I stick to the basics of a puff, bun, or a faux hawk as my go to quick easy styles. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? Night time regimen is pretty simple throw on a silk bonnet or head scarf and thats a wrap. If I'm feeling really fancy I'll throw my hair into a pineapple but thats rare. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? I haven't used heat on my hair since August 2012 for fear of heat damage but I am not opposed to the idea of using it in the future since I know much more about proper hair care and heat protection.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I did recently box braid my own hair a month ago and it was very, very, very time consuming but I loved the outcome. My first experience with box braids was last spring and since then I have had it done three times once by myself and two other times by the professionals. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? I prefer the wide-tooth comb less opportunity for pulling/damage and breakage. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? I think 50/50 is safe to say. I try to protective style four times a year for 6-8 weeks with 2 week breaks in between and let me hair out for the rest of the time. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? My hair tragedy was before going natural and that was due to my poor treatment and lack of knowledge. I was relaxing and dying my hair frequently while in college and at one point my hair just had enough. It seemed like it was barely growing and the hair that was growing out seemed just as damaged as the older hair which was scary to see. Eventually my hair just started breaking off drastically and there was nothing I could do to stop it except start over from scratch chemical and heat free. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? My best tip for maintaining healthy long hair is to listen to the needs of your hair. Yes it's great to go on youtube and blogs to see all the reviews, tips, and tricks it can be helpful and inspiring. But at the end of the day you need to do what's best for your hair in order to maintain and retain length and moisture. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Angela Denae. I'm living in New York. 2. What is your hair type? I'm not big on hair typing, however I guess my hair type is 4C more or less
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I went natural in 2012, simply because I was tired of getting my hair relaxed. I realized that I had never had natural hair as an adult (I had my first relaxer at 12) and wanted to give it a try. I mean, it saves you money right? (another bonus point!) I haven't looked back! 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? The biggest challenge for me was figuring out a regimen that worked for my hair. When I first started I thought there was system of multiple magic hair products(s) that would make me "wake up like this", which led to product overload on my hair...NOT a good look ladies. Less is literally the golden ticket for my hair. Also, once I stopped getting obsessed with curl definition, letting my hair do what it does has made my life so much easier! Accept that your hair will not look the same everyday and go with it. Frizz and All. 5. What is your weekly regimen? I wash and deep condition my hair every week. I section then braid my hair and put either olive or jojoba oil on my hair for 30 mins to an hour prior to washing it. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? I wake up. Take my scarf off. Spray my mixture of distilled water, oils and glycerin into my hair. Fluff. Done. 7. What is your daily night time regimen? Spray my hair with my mixture of distilled water, oils and glycerin. Tie up my hair with a silk scarf to "pineapple" it up. Go to bed. If I'm feeling into it I will section out and do a braid out to stretch my hair for the next day...that happens about every 3 weeks or when I want REALLY big hair 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? Nope. My hair is super sensitive to it. I will do it once a year for a trim.
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I haven't yet, but I'm actually looking to give it a try this summer. Twists here I come...maybe. I DO braid my hair after I wash it for stretching purposes. Other than that I don't braid it much, unless I want a larger fro. Doing it every night is too much manipulation for my hair (and my time) at this point. 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? Neither. I use a paddle brush to detangle my hair (in sections) in the shower with conditioner in it. This has equaled less hair ripping and great curl separating. Best.Thing.Ever. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? My hair is usually in afro, fro-hawk or pulled up to a bun. I don't really do protective styling since I don't manipulate my hair much and it's so curly that it hardly ever touches my shoulders unless it's straight. One day though! One day. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? The only real hair tragedy for me was when I got fed up trying to maintain 2 hair textures while transitioning. I got so tired of braiding my hair to "blend" the textures that I took the scissors and cut my hair myself. Yep. I big chopped my own hair. I was also going through a break up, so add that to the mix. Haha. I was not ready for the change of perception of myself and others, but you really don't learn that until after. I did not realize how much I depended on my long straight hair to make me feel pretty. With that said, now I can't even recognize myself with straight hair. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Moisturize and stop doing the most with your hair. DAILY hair acceptance is vital. One day my curls are popping, the next they are a little frizzy this means my fro is huge...I love to go with it. Love your hair! It's all yours. 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).
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1. What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Lichelle, I'm from NYC 2. What is your hair type? I have a mixture between Kinks, Coils, and Curls. It ranges from 3c to 4b
3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?
I decided to return natural in May 2010 after suffering from a bad relaxer. Result? I did the "Big Chop" not knowing the term, nor the natural community as of yet, but I was relieved to find out that there was a whole community of women who were very open and supportive of each other and who had done the same as me. It really inspired me to embark on my own journey, and inspire others to return natural as well. 4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural? As for being newly natural, I didn't know anything about taking care of my freshly chopped hair. My biggest challenge was keeping my hair moisturized. I was relieved to finally discover the L.O.C method. My hair was super soft after I mastered that technique. 5. What is your weekly regimen? If I'm not sporting my kinky-Curly 'fro, I'm protective styling. Twists, Braids, Up dos, Buns are really part of my go-to, protective and weekly regimens. 6. What is your daily morning regimen? I've been styling my hair in lots of wash and go's recently, so my daily routine is pretty simple. I use a very light leave-in moisturizer to refresh my curls. (Making sure it's damp but not soaking wet) and I also use a small bit of gel to re-define my curls (if I want my curls to pop a bit more. I Use my wide-tooth comb to fluff out my roots, and I "Shape" and "Sculpt" my hair in a desired style for that day. And that's it! Easy right? :) 7. What is your daily night time regimen? It depends on the style that I'm looking for in the morning. If I'm doing a twist-out/braid-out, I always prep my hair in the night, using a leave-in conditioner as well as a heavy or light butter. It all depends on whether or not I want a "Fluffy" and full hairstyle, or a more "defined" and curly one. To keep my hair in it's style, I just Pineapple at night and wear my satin bonnet. 8. Do you use heat on your hair at all? I don't use heat anymore on my hair due to heat damage back in 2012. Around that time is actually when I did my second big chop and opted for a more tapered cut, which I've been maintaining since cutting my hair. I really don't see heat at all in the near future for my curls and kinks!
9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?
I love box braids, and I have installed box braids in the past on myself, but it's really time consuming and I can't stay away from my 'fro too long! :) 10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? I prefer a wide-tooth comb over a Denman brush, but I often finger-detangle my hair more than either. 11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? I wear my hair loose a lot, but I protective style as often as I can. 12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it? I've never experienced a real "tragedy" from being natural. When I did experience heat damage, I felt that I wasn't as knowledgeable about using heat, and how often I should or shouldn't be using it . I embraced every experience as a natural, as just a learning process. Learning to love and care for my hair, and having fun with it. 13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair? Keeping a vitamin enriched diet, protective styling, trimming shabby/split ends, and taking good care of your scalp, are all great ways for retaining healthy, long and thick hair! 14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc). Thanks so much for having me Neno Natural! It was a pleasure :) You can keep up with me at my website as well as all social sites listed below :
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Who's The Queen of Kinks?You are! Everyone is the queen of their own kinks, curls & coils. On this blog you can enjoy the natural hair journeys of dozens of curly queens. Categories
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