Queen Bola ~ Queen Of Kinks, Curls & Coils® (Neno Natural)

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

My name is Bola Cooper and I am from South East London, UK.

2. What is your hair type?

I would say 4C.

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

I decided to stop using relaxers in April 2011. I had been relaxing my hair for 10 years since I was 16. I decided to go natural for a number of reasons. Firstly I became consious of the influence I have upon my daugters. I wanted them to love and be thankful for the way God had made them but I knew that while I was relaxing my hair, I wasn't being truly happy and thankful for the hair I had been created with. So I wanted to set them a good example. Secondly I have really grown to love the beauty of natural hair. I wanted to learn how to look after my own natural hair instead of paying a hairdresser every 6-8 weeks to do my hair. I also became more aware of the potential health hazards with using such strong chemicals on my hair. I didn't want to continue to take that risk.

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

I would say in regards to my hair texture the most challenging thing is dealing with the tangles. I have up to 70% shrinkage. I'm still learning how to manage my hair so that it doesn't form too many tangles, especially on wash day. As my hair grows longer I have to change different apects of my regime in order to avoid tangles as much as possible.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

At the moment I am:

-Washing my hair with Sulphur 8 or Giovanni tea tree shampoo once a week.
-Rinsing my hair with ACV (apple cider vinegar) once a week.
-Deep conditioning after every wash or rinse with either my homemade mayo, yogurt and olive oil mix or Cantu sheabutter repair cream.
-Moisturing my hair with my aloe vera gel mixed with water spritz and my homemade aloe vera leave-in conditioner a few times a week. I seal with whipped Shea butter or an oil (castor, almond or coconut oil)

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

Nothing much really. I've done all the moisturising the night before so I usually just take of my silk scarf and adjust my hair.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

If my hair is dry then I will moisturise and seal as mentioned above and then twist or flat twist my hair to hold the moisture in.

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

Very rarely. Maybe once or twice a year.

9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year? 

I never do braids.

10 Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush?

I try not to use either. I usually finger detangle 95% of the time. If I use a comb it is usually a denman.

11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do? 

Because I have such high shrinkage and fine, fragile strands my hair is usually in a protective style of some sort. For example chunky twists or chunky flat twists.

12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it?

No not really. The only thing that happened early on in my natural hair journey was when I used avacado in my hair as a deep conditioner but I didn't blend it properly so when it came to washing it out it was an absolute nightmare! I had to wash it 4 times and then blow dry my hair so I could pick out the pieces. I vowed never to use avocado in my hair again and I haven't since!

13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair?

Listen to what YOUR hair needs and respond to it accordingly.

14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).

• Blog & Shop: curlyb.co.uk
• Instagram: @curlyBola
• Twitter: @curlybola
• Facebook: facebook.comCurlyb.transitiontonaturalhair

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