Image: @kats.curls
What was it like for you growing up with textured hair?
Growing up I was surrounded by other little girls with straight hair. From 1st grade all the way up until high school. In high school girls I know with curly hair wanted their hair straight too! I always wanted my hair straight and never learned to treat my curly hair up until I was forced to learn. I never loved my curls like I do now and honestly, I never ever knew my hair was even this curly.
What made you decide to embrace your naturally curly hair?
I was kind of forced to embrace my curls. After about 5 years of intense heat damage and two years of chemical damage, my hair was fried and dead. Product wouldn’t even stick to my hair and I had no choice, but to learn to care for my hair because at that point I realized (and my mom did too”> that my hair was getting ready to fall out. The damage and breakage was REAL!
What has been the most empowering moment of your natural hair journey so far?
Letting go of all the heat I was so addicted to has been the more empowering moment for me. I literally don’t even remember how to straighten my hair anymore and I’m PROUD of that. Additionally, I have empowering moments every day helping women embrace and learn about their unique natural hair.
Image: @kats.curls
How do you protect your curls at night?
At night time I use a silk wrap and a silk pillow case to protect my curls. Honestly, I’ve tried the pineapple and the double pineapple and other methods but in my opinion silk always works best.
Who is your curl crush?
My curl crush is Amanda Walker @amandarrwalker. Her hair is beautiful and I love all the looks and content she puts out.
What’s your curly girl essential you can’t live without?
Something I can’t live without is a scalp scrub! This is something that truly changed my wash day for the better! My scalp drives me insane and the scalp scrub I have clarifies it exactly how I like it, leaves my scalp feeling clean and itch free! It’s from Rawkyn, it’s called Gold. This is something I use every single wash day no matter what other products I use.
What is your current hair regimen? Any favorite products you’d like to share?
To keep my hair consistently healthy I deep condition once a week, wash once a week (sometimes I will co-wash in the middle of my hair week”>, I do a protein treatment every 3-4 weeks, and I protect my curls at night. My routine is simple and I try to limit myself to 2 products every wash day. Some of my favorite go-to’s are, Breahni Leave-in Conditioner, BounceCurl Light Creme Gel, DevaCurl Supercream, and Rizos Curls Curl Defining Cream. These products are consistent, reliable, and healthy.
What has been the most challenging moment of your natural hair journey so far?
The most challenging moment of my journey was also super depressing for me. It was going through postpartum hair loss. It’s sad because no woman wants to see chunks of her hair coming out. Sometimes I postpone washing my hair just so I wouldn’t have to see that. Nothing I tried helped or would work, but now I am working to gain all my hair back again.
Image: @kats.curls
Are there any techniques or methods that have made a huge impact on your hair health?
Deep conditioning and avoiding heat made a huge differences in my hair health. My hair has always been extremely dry, you would think I bleached it 10 times but deep conditioning changed that and added so much definition to my hair. Even without product my hair looks defined. Avoiding breakage got rid of a lot of my frizz and also made my hair a little thicker. I didn’t realize the damage I was doing and how much I was breaking my hair until I stopped.
What’s your advice to women who are still struggling with loving their natural texture?
My advice to women who are struggling with loving their natural texture is….it’s not going anywhere. Your hair is not going to up and leave you. That’s what you were born with, that’s what you were BLESSED with. There are people who would die to have the hair you have. Learn to love it because it’s a part of you. Damaging your hair is not going to help. In the end, you might even end up with no hair! The sooner you go back to your natural hair state and learn to love your natural hair, the sooner you will realize what you’ve been missing out on this whole time.
