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

29/7/2015

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

My name is Kelly Goins and I live in Asheville, North Carolina.

2. What is your hair type?

My hair type is 4a/4b with a sprinkling of a few unidentifiable strands lol!

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

My natural hair journey hasn’t taken a straight path. There have been starts, stops, and detours along the way. I first went natural in 2007. I hung in there for about a year and later texlaxed. I did my second big chop in December of 2011 and have been natural ever since.

In the beginning, I wanted to go natural because I was tired of the relaxer regimen and shedding/thinning hair. After making a lifestyle change and adopting healthier habits, having natural hair aligns with my core values and overall wellness goals.

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

I thought the main challenge in going natural would be learning how to care for and style my hair. Recently, I’ve become more introspective and realized that the most challenging thing about going natural was the mindset shift I needed to facilitate to truly be content and love my kinks, coils, and curls as they are. I’ve worked to become confident in my natural beauty which has totally transformed my natural hair journey for the better.

5. What is your weekly regimen?

I consider myself a natural hair minimalist. My weekly regimen is simple. Depending on my weekly goals it consists of co-washing or shampooing, conditioning, oil rinsing, and protectively styling. Typically I wear twistouts, updos, and recently I’ve mastered my wash-and-go so that’s been in more frequent rotation.

6. What is your daily morning regimen?

Every morning I moisturize with a leave-in conditioner and seal with coconut or grapeseed oil.

7. What is your daily night time regimen?

My night time regimen is the same as my morning regimen in addition to prepping my hair at night, usually pineappling a Twistout or smoothing my updo and covering my hair with a satin scarf or bonnet.

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

I use heat on my hair no more than twice a year. Each year I flat iron my hair to celebrate my nappiversary and have fun with a few weeks of straight hair styles.

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

I braid my hair fairly regularly for braidouts, too many times to count, but I rarely braid with extentions.

10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush?

Both. Wide-tooth comb for detangling in the shower. Denman brush for detangling and styling wet hair.

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

Both. My styles mostly start in a protective-do and then end wearing my hair loose, like when I rock twists for a few weeks and then wear a twistout for a week or so.

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

Yep. After giving birth to my son I experienced postpartum hair loss which affected my edges. Thank goodness my edges recovered and are almost back to normal. I believe they are in a good place because I kept my edges moisturized and practiced gentle styling, making sure that there was no tension on my edges and I refrained from ponytails and tight braids/twists.

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

My biggest tip is that healthy hair begins on the inside. You can use all the products in the world but nothing trumps eating wholesome foods and drinking water.

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