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

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

Hello everyone, I’m Rochelle Ward and I hail from the Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

2. What is your hair type?

My curl pattern is an S, so my hair type is 4A although the top of my head produces a much looser curl.

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

I was always natural except for six years of my life. My hair was straightened when I was about 15 years old. At the time, I was comfortable wearing and styling my hair in its natural state. So why did I change it? That year my Christmas gift was a trip to the salon. So it was done. Five years later, as a junior in college, I big-chopped during a summer program in New York City. It was hot and I had no time for my hair.

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

It was not challenging for me. Even though I didn’t have the knowledge I have now about proper natural hair care, my hair was my own and I simply dealt with its stubbornness. One minor irritation was finding styles for my TWA before the social media sharing phenomenon.

5. What is your weekly regimen? 

It used to be co-washing at least twice. And if there is product buildup, I detangle, section my hair into plaits moist with conditioner and oil and wash my scalp with shampoo. Now it is changing as I experiment with other products like Bentonite Me Baby by Alikay Naturals.

6. What is your daily morning regimen? 

In the mornings, I dampen my hair with water and apply a leave in conditioner and grape seed oil and give my edges some love, a bit of product and a gentle massage. Or I do nothing at all.

7. What is your daily night time regimen? 

In the evenings, if my hair had been loose during the day or in protective style, I detangle, moisturize my hair, and always sleep in a satin bonnet.  Sometimes, I style it then and there for the next day.

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

I unintentionally use heat as there is a lot of sunshine year round.  Intentionally, the most heat I would use is warm water.

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

No, I don’t use braid extensions.

10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush? 

I often use a wide-tooth comb after finger detangling.

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

85 % of the time I wear protective hairstyles. Other times, I wear my hair in twist outs or loose afros.

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

Yes, I’ve had a hair tragedy, the same one twice. Two years ago, I received a free braid style at a salon. After the wash, the stylist gave me a blow out so bone straight that a fair amount of my hair never returned to its natural state. The same thing had happened a few years prior when I celebrated my birthday in Trinidad. I had my hair hot ironed.

Both times, I was left in that purgatory of dealing with straight and natural hair on my head and I couldn’t stand it. My solution for both occasion was to chop it all off and start afresh. It took me some time to let go of it as I had been hoping to deep condition my hair into its former health.  I have made my peace with my mistake and now I barely use heat in my hair.  

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

Keep your hair on your head by any means necessary.  In other words, yes, protect your hair from breakage, but most importantly, protect it from people who practice hair breaking methods, no matter how professional they profess to be.  It is terrible when you work for years to maintain and grow your hair and in a few minutes someone else with poor handling capabilities comes in and damages your hard work.

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

• Website: rochelleward.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/dontbreakthecomb
• Twitter: @faizahtabasamu
• YouTube: youtube.com/dontbreakthecomb2

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