Introduce yourself!
I am Sandria Patterson. A full time registered respiratory therapist and creator and author of That Little Southern Girl blog. The name of my blog pays homage to my southern roots–born, raised, and still residing in Savannah, Georgia for the last 10 yearsI don’t know exactly how long I’ve worn my hair natural. I started my healthy hair journey in 2009 with relaxed hair. Somewhere between 2010 and 2011, I cut all of the remaining relaxer, although my timeline is a little fuzzy as to exactly when.
sandria 650×365″ src=”https://diana-cdn.naturallycurly.com/Articles/tY_2-1-sandria-650×365.jpg” alt=”sandria patterson”>What is the biggest lesson you have learned about your personal beauty and hair in the recent years?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned about my hair is the need to properly moisturize and deep condition it. Regularly! Because my hair is so kinky and tightly coiled and it’s color treated, it’s a challenge to properly moisturize it and retain moisture. I’ve suffered tons of setbacks due to my dry hair popping, breaking, snapping off due to a lack of moisture. But! Lesson learned. I know what what I need to do now. Just requires a few extra steps and products that are definitely worth it. Also, as a close second, I’ve learned that in order to prevent my hair from popping off and breaking even more, I need to detangle my hair with my fingers. I save the small combs and Denman brushes and Tangle Teezers for when I want to smooth out already detangled hair. Going straight in with those tools without finger detangling first, a definite no-go for me.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned about my hair is the need to properly moisturize and deep condition it.
What are your go-to hairstyles for the work week? What about the weekend or at night?
I don’t really have any go-to hairstyles. Right now I am on a personal style challenge so I am challenging myself to a 3 Month Rod Setting Challenge that will end the middle of March. So I’m playing around with different sized perm rods and flexi rods to achieve different looks. It’s fun to go from an elongated spiral curl one week to a very tightly curled tapered ‘fro the next week. However, if I’m lazy, or the curls have fallen, it’s either a bun or a puff until the next shampoo day. Whenever I want to wear my ‘fro, I just spritz my hair with a water/glycerin mix and allow it to “big up” or swell from the steam in the shower. That’s always a fun look!
What is your nighttime routine?
My nighttime routine, if I’m in a flexi rod or perm rod set, is to simply stuff all of my hair into a satin bonnet. That’s it!
Do you have any favorite hair products right now?
Yes, I absolutely do have favorite products!!! My all time favorite moisturizer is Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter moisturizer. I like to seal this in with either castor oil, first choice or shea butter, as a second choice. All of those products are very thick and heavy, but in order to penetrate and moisturize my thick, kinky hair they have been a complete Godsend. I also really like Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Conditioner for deep conditioning and At One Dry Itchy Scalp Shampoo… for when my scalp is dry and itchy!
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What piece of advice would you give someone who wants to rock their natural hair but might be insecure or lack the confidence to do so?
For anyone wanting to make any changes to their physical appearance, be it wearing your natural hair, coloring your hair, getting tattoos, piercings, changing your style of dress, etc, my #1 piece of advice to you would be to make sure it is you! Make sure it’s something you are comfortable doing and wearing, and not just something you’re doing to follow the crowd or because you think it is the “In” thing or the “It” thing of the moment.
If you’re doing it to appease the masses, you’ll always be trying to keep up.
Moments change. What’s cool right now may not be what’s cool tomorrow. If you’re doing it to appease the masses, you’ll always be trying to keep up. If you do it simply because you like it, feel good about it, and know that it is you, it will ALWAYS be in season.
How can we keep up with you?
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