What was it like for you growing up with textured hair?
I think I had a little different childhood than other curly girls. My mom wouldn’t force to brush my hair, or she wouldn’t cut my hair short, she always made me feel good about my curls, and she would always encourage me to embrace my natural curls. I’m actually really thankful she raised me in a way to accept myself the way I am.my mom would usually put my hair in a pineapple without even knowing there was a name to this hairstyle. As I grew up and became a teenager I started falling in love with people with straight hair I would tell myself how could they have no frizz?! And I spent everyday using a flat iron to get my hair as straight and smooth as them but not only I never achieved the smooth straight hair I lost all my curls definition and became a frizz ball.
What made you decide to embrace your naturally curly hair?
My curls were all gone, like they never even existed! And I had heat damage, bleach damage all over my hair it was super dry and hard to touch. I was exhausted by using the flat iron, and I was at a stage that even using the flat iron wouldn’t work on my hair anymore. I wanted my curls back but I was so confused about how to get them back, so I bought some gel and started styling my hair with it. My hair became even worse, I searched a lot, and found the “curly girl method” and I stuck to it.
What has been the most empowering moment of your natural hair journey so far?
Giving up on using flat irons cold turkey was the most empowering my part of my journey, and it was hard because I couldn’t style my hair, and my hair looked so damaged and bad for the first month of my journey.
How do you protect your curls at night?
I have thick, high density hair, and my hair is long and heavy, so pineappling is not my best choice anymore as it pulls back my hair and makes my neck and head hurt so much in the morning. I do the LOC method twice a week before bed and put my satin bonnet on my hair, and other nights I just use my bonnet. Or, when the weather is super hot, I put my hair up and sleep on my satin pillowcase. Massaging my scalp with natural oils before bed also helped me alot through this journey.
Who is your curl crush?
God I have so many curl crushes including: hifil3cia, ingecurls, powerdomi, curly.mama, curlsbypearls, curlicue_lu, and jannelleoshaughnessy.
What’s your curly girl essential you can’t live without?
Deep conditioning has been my favorite part of this journey,
What is your current hair regimen? Any favorite products you’d like to share?
The best regimen for my hair is actually listening to my curls needs and giving my hair what it needs, whether it’s moisture or protein or a mix of them both. That’s how I manage to use my products and techniques every wash day. There are two products I’m obsessed about right now – 1 is the co-wash by As I Am, and 2 – a leave-in conditioner by SheaMoisture. I usually put them in my hair with the praying hands method, and then use a brush to distribute it evenly, and my clumps start to form, and then I scrunch gel into my hair.
What has been the most challenging moment of your natural hair journey so far?
There was this one wash day I realized my hair was really limp and lifeless, and I knew it was time to give it a protein treatment. So, I got my rice water ready and used the bowl method to put it in my hair. My hair was clumping as I was squishing the rice water in, and I was so excited! I put my plastic cap on and I was planning on leaving it over my head for 15 minutes, but then I fell asleep for 3 hours, and when I woke up and rinsed my hair, my hair was a mess! It was overloaded by protein, and my hair strands would break by just touching them. Recovering from that took me quite a few weeks, and it was the most challenging part of my journey.
Are there any techniques or methods that have made a huge impact on your hair health?
Using the praying hands method and finger-coiling helped me get bigger clumps. Beer rinses and using my hand made flaxseed gel was great for my hair health. I also realized that squishing leave-in conditioner with the bowl method is the best way for moisturizing my hair.
What’s your advice to women who are still struggling with loving their natural texture?
I do believe our body is the happiest when it is in its natural and healthy state, and we’re responsible for making our body and our hair healthy and happy. The world becomes more beautiful when we start loving ourselves the way we are, and when we learn to be happy in our own skin. Every hair texture is unique, and we must be thankful for our hair type and care about it. It’s a long journey, it’s not easy, this journey has its ups and downs, but don’t give up! Because every failure is a lesson! And in a year from now, you will thank yourself for when you started caring about your hair.
What’s your hair story? Share your story with us here to be featured in our Texture Tales series.
