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

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

Hi, my name is Nia B and I'm from Chicago, IL

2. What is your hair type?

I'd say my hair is a mixture of several hair types (some 3c, 4a and 4b) and my hair strands are very fine.

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

I went natural in 2000.  I decided to do so because my hair was starting to thin in the crown. I was at work one day, and one of my co-workers said I was going bald in the top of my head! Needless to say…that was it for me! I was done relaxing my hair from that day forward and over time proved the constant relaxing and blow drying for me, was the source of my hair thinning.  I transitioned for about 5 months and decided I didn’t want the process to be a long and drawn out one, so on a whim I got my shears and off went all my relaxed hair. 

Back in 2000 when I BCed I had no clue what to do with my hair, so a big tub of “blue gel” was my best friend and I wore a TWA for about 4 months and then decided to loc my hair.  After a little over 8 years of wearing locs, I felt I understood my hair enough that I could take care of it whether it was in locs or loose, so I talked it over with my hubby, said a prayer, and decided to cut my locs. I have enjoyed every part of my hair journey since.

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

Back in 2000, there was very little knowledge on how to properly care for natural hair.  There were also very few products to choose from to determine what my hair needed, so I was left to use the same products I used while my hair was relaxed and those did my natural hair absolutely no justice.  

Fast forward to 2008, there was much more information and a multitude of products to choose from -  which left me spending loads of money on finding “the right one”, but it also taught me to listen to my hair and discover what was working and what wasn’t working.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

Prior to me having my third child, I used to shampoo and condition my hair weekly.  Once my daughter was born, I didn’t have that type of time.  That’s when I learned my hair actually responded better to bi-weekly shampooing and conditioning.  I start off by saturating my hair with Organic Ghee (clarified butter) and letting it sit underneath a plastic cap or two overnight (this stuff slightly reeks as it sits on your hair).  

By morning, my hair is soft and has a nice amount of slip to make detangling easier.  I then proceed to finger detangle my hair and place in either loose braids or twists.  Next , I shampoo my hair in sections and deep condition (putting my hair back in loose twists).  Once I'm done, I add a nice amount of oil to my hair, retwist  and allow my hair to air dry in preparation for styling.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

I like to keep things really simple.  If my hair was twisted the night before, I simply take the twists down and style my hair.  If I'm wearing a protective style, I'll gently restyle my hair if need be (e.g. place my hair back into a bun etc).

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

Each night I take sections of hair, mist with water, add a leave in conditioner, seal in the moisture with oil, a butter or both (depending on what my hair needs).  Next, I retwist/braid my hair or put it in a protective style. 

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

I rarely if ever use heat.  Since 2000, I've used heat on my hair 5 times.

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

No, I don't braid my hair.

10 Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush?

Neither (lol).  I'm a fingers and hands girl.  They are the most reliable, gentle and efficient tools I own.

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

My hair is in some sort of protective style at least 85 - 90% of the time.  For me, protective styling and keeping my hair moisturized has helped me retain length and beyond that, I have seen my hair's heath improve since it's not full on exposed to all the elements I come in contact with on a daily basis.

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

Oh gosh yes!  And the bad part is I knew better.  I wrote a long blog post about it, but I'll spare you all and give the Cliff Notes version of what happened.  Last year I went to the mall to take my son shopping for his 8th grade graduation.  While he was in one of the shops, a young lady at a kiosk that sold flat irons asked if she could she show me something.  My good sense said "tell her no!", my ego said "my hair can take it!", so I sat down in her chair.  It was humid outside and I just knew my hair would revert once we got to my car.  It didn't.  Instead I smelt the familiar scent of burnt hair.  

When I got home, I doused my hair with water and still no curl.  I waited and waited, and after a few hours, I was still left with bone straight hair.  I cut the hair off.  All 13 inches or or so. Luckily, it was only a small section near the crown of my head.  My husband told me not to cut it, but the constant reminder of my bad decision was more painful than simply getting rid of the hair and starting anew.  Honestly, that experience was actually bigger than just my hair.  It showed me when we make bad decisions that yield not so desirable outcomes, we can't hide from it.  We need to face that thing head on and deal with.

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

It's important to listen to your hair, observe how your hair responds to products and styles you choose to wear.  Your hair will show you when you're taking good care of it (both externally and internally) and whatever is working for your hair, continue to do that!   Also, focus on your own hair and not someone else's.  I think we spend more time drooling over someone else's hair, what products they use and their regimen that we neglect our own hair needs.  

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

You can find me on

• My blog: www.nia-b.com
• Instagram: @askniab
• Facebook: facebook.com/askniab
• Twitter: @askniab1
• Youtube: youtube.com/user/AskNiaB/videos

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