Search Results: Nikki Johnson
When you first go natural you might be asking yourself, What’s my hair type? Am I Type 2, 3, or 4?
#ASKNikki: Does hair type and curl pattern really matter?
How important is hair type in helping you pick products, helping you style your hair, or helping you figure out what shampoo or conditioner to use?
I have a friend who has the same type as me. But because of different factors like porosity, length, and density, knowing that we both were Type 3c didn’t really make a difference. We like completely different products. However, a lot of products now will tell you what curl pattern they’re formulated for right on the label, for example loose waves or tight coils. This matters most for styling products. For example, my curly hair is fine and loves styling products that are very moisturizing.
Some curlies get caught up in hair typing, but I suggest taking time figuring out what products work for your hair specifically.
These are some of my longtime holy grail stylers for my unique head of curls.
- Miss Jessie’s Jelly Soft Curls
- Kinky Curly Knot Today
- Camille Rose Naturals Aloe Whipped Butter Gel
- Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea Curl Defining Creme
- Tigi Catwalk Curlesque Curls Rock Amplifier
- Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion
So, does hair type matter to you?
For me, not so much. Of course, it’s a matter of preference; sometimes knowing your hair type is super helpful in choosing the right hairstyles and products for your own unique head of curls. Let me know what you think in the comment section below!
Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel, The Twist. And follow me online @NChanel!
Each new year we try to be better than we were the year before. We’re here to give you the most common hair goals of 2016.
1. Stop envying others hair.
“That was obviously Photoshopped… That’s not all her hair.” Stop it. Now.
2. Stop being a product junkie.
You know, one person probably doesn’t need 70 conditioners. It’s time to hit up a product swap or donate some of those goodies to your loved ones.
3. Deep condition more often.
Set that alarm. You know you need to do it.
4. Grow longer/fuller hair.
Evelyn has proclaimed her jugular length type 4 natural hair. Grab that bottle of Jamaican castor oil and watch the magic happen!
What are your 2016 hair goals? Let us know in the comments below.
New Year’s Eve is around the corner. You probably already have a sequined dress and glitter shoes, but do you know what you are doing with your hair? Not to worry. I’ve created a glamorous side swept hairstyle to ring in the New Year. Plus, since it’s Editors’ Choice season here at the NaturallyCurly offices, so we are trying out all of the products on the market to choose the best of the year. As a result, I am trying out 4 different mousses to create this look. Find out my favorite one by watching the video.
To create the look, you will need a mousse, some large magnetic rollers with the clips, a dryer with hood attachment, edge control and various combs and brushes.
First part your hair in 4 workable sections. This will make it easier to detangle and space the rollers.
Then take a smaller section of hair and detangle. You want to make sure your hair is completely detangled before putting it on the roller.
Next apply a few pumps of mousse and smooth your hair on the roller, spiral rolling it in the direction of your choice. Clip it into place with the cap.
Repeat those steps for each section until all your hair is up.
Allow your hair to dry. You can air dry, but for smoother curls and a faster process, I suggest using a hair dyer with a hood attachment. The indirect diffused heat is better than just blowing drying.
Once dry, separate and fluff. Create a part at the front side of your head. Push all your hair to one side and bobby pin it. Take some edge control and smooth your edges down.
That’s it. Easy.
We have a Curly Q&A section of our website where community members ask questions to be answered by their peers. One of our community members recently posted this question and it tugged at our heart strings, and our editor Nikki felt compelled to respond.
Question:
I am a 15 year old girl, and I’m asking this question on behalf of myself and my sister. Both of us have very thick, tightly curly hair. Until I was 13 my mom did my mom did both myself and my sisters hair. I had never straightened or permed, until the age of about 9 when my mom insisted that my hair needed to be straightened. At the age of 10, my mother got so tired of our hair that she decided to perm it. After about two perms, our hair was so damaged that my hair stylist aunt big chopped both myself and my sisters hair. Now, 3 years later, I’m still working through the kinks but the disapproval of my parents has slowed us down. I can’t remember the last time both of my parents didn’t criticize me or my sis on our hair. Comments like your hair looks too wild or unkempt or it’s time for your hair to be braided again are common. It’s also very difficult to convince them to buy hair products. I don’t have a job or a car yet so I have to depend on them…I’m just asking that if anyone can relate or has any suggestions please help. Thank you.
Answer:
I’m sorry that you are going through this.I think it might be time to have a calm sit down with your parents and just tell them how their comments make you feel and offer them suggestions on how they can help you build confidence and love who you are. The good thing is that you have your sister there with you. I’m sure most parents mean well, but they are humans too. They are flawed too, and they don’t know sometimes how to deal. So, ultimately, you have to build yourself up. You have to love who you are and never let someone tell what you should look like, how you should do your hair; if it’s not sound advice and just plain ignorant ignore it.
I’ve learned to embrace comments like “your hair looks wild.” Im like “oh thank you, I was going for that. Looks great right?” Don’t hide your hair for other people’s comfort. This is YOUR life. Think about it, we do not asks those things of people with naturally straight hair. If you like your hair and it’s not harming anyone, then in the words of Shameless Maya, “do you, boo”.
Also, get on YouTube and find your faves with your hair type and keep people who are positive around you. On products you can totally DIY or make a budget and check out our best cheap buys. I had a job at 15 making pennies so I know what it is like.
Do you have a curly question or want to help others in the NaturallyCurly community with your answer? Visit our Q&A section now!
We’re excited to introduce a new series to you NaturallyCurly world! We’ll be profiling inspiring women who we admire in a new series called Real Naturals. To kick off our inaugural Real Naturals article we’re focusing on natural sisters Virginia and Elizabeth. They are the kind of gals you crush on. The totally approachable, smart, and funny kind that possess a certain type of cool you can’ t buy. That’s just what Virginia and Elizabeth gave us on a typical outing in Austin, Texas.
Virginia, or Ginny for short, is the newer natural and like her younger sister loves to mix and match older and newer styles to compliment her natural hair. In college, Ginny struggled to meet the needs of her natural hair while competing on the soccer field. For the most part, a ponytail was her go to style. Now, she loves playing with different styles like up dos and twist outs and throwing on something with the perfect fit, cut, color and texture.
Lizzie, also a college soccer athlete, has been natural since 2005. Not having a lot of inspiration from blogs, vlogs, and natural sites back then she just stuck to easy pinned back styles. Now, color and hair accessories are typical in her go to look. And her style is just as edgy as her hair. On this day, we caught her mixing a textured black H&M skirt with red sneakers, and rocking a pompadour.
Watch the Video
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The internet is FULL of sage advice. I do have as many hours in a day as Beyonce. I should keep calm and carry on. With all the good advice out there, one wonders how we ever got such bad advice about naturally curly hair.
But we’ve said it once, we’ll say it a million times: What works for you, may not work for the next curly. And these tips just did NOT work for us. Whether it’s an ill-advised detangling tip or a poorly placed bang, we bear all in our latest video for our YouTube channel, The Twist. If you’re anything like us you’ll wince at the words “2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner” and “fine tooth comb.” But what we really want to know is, what is the worst curly hair advice you’ve ever gotten?
For more tutorials, product reviews, and vlogs subscribe to our YouTube channel The Twist.
PHOTO BY TODD WHITE, MAKEUP BY VANITY SALON, TOPAUSTINMODEL OF BUTTERFLYENTERTAINMENT
For some of us the decision to big chop can be daunting. We consult our friends, our YouTube feed, our boyfriends, anyone who will listen. But for NaturallyCurly Graphic Designer the choice was an obvious one (and one she’d done twice before”>.
“I feel like I now have freedom to let my hair just be my hair and not something I’m constantly worrying about how to take care of or style. When it was longer I just didn’t have the time or ability to style it in a way that felt really polished to me and I like to be able to have that look. My close shaved fade gives me that without me really having to lift a finger. I was a bit nervous leading up to the big chop, because I thought I might regret it since I had quite a bit of growth. But then I realized that caring for longer natural hair just doesn’t suit my lifestyle right now.Particularly with my new modeling endeavors, it’s a relief to walk into hair and makeup prep for a photo shoot and once my makeup is done, I’m ready—as opposed to spending the entire day before preparing my hair for a 10 minute photo shoot.”
We all admire Priscilla’s confidence to rock her hair just the way she likes it, and to spontaneously dye it blonde on the same day! Watch the video to see the full cut and color, and we’d love to hear your big chop story in the comments!
Would you ever shave your head?
Watch the Video
PHOTO CREDITS FROM VIDEO: TOPAUSTINMODEL OF BUTTERFLYENTERTAINMENT 1. MAKEUP BY VANITY SALON, 2. DESIGNER NICOLE MARIE; ACCESSORIES SIMMANG DESIGN; MAKEUP RAE COSMETICS ; PHOTO PETER TUNG PHOTOGRAPHY, 3. BOUTIQUE WILDFLOWERS; STYLIST BRITANY WALKER; MAKEUP RAE COSMETICS; PHOTO PETER TUNG PHOTOGRAPHY, 4. DESIGNER KRISTA HARTY; MAKEUP RAE COSMETICS; PHOTO PETER TUNG PHOTOGRAPHY
For a show-stopping wet, sexy look inspired by the 1920’s, start with clean, wet hair.
- Next, work the Pantene Pro-V Curly No Crunch Curls Whip into hair from root to tip to define frizz-free curls. Then brush through with a paddle brush to create soft, piece-y waves, and scrunch hair to help keep its definition.
- Spritz the Pantene Advanced+ Keratin Repair KeraGloss Oil Mist to add brilliant shine.
- To go from sexy to modern ‘20s chic, dry hair with a diffuser. Point the diffuser toward your crown to keep hair smooth at the root and use underneath at the ends of hair to achieve volume.
- Continue to scrunch hair until dry for added body. Use a 1/2 inch flat iron and wrap small pieces of hair around it to create additional soft waves, similar to a curling wand, to create a few additional waves.
- Tame flyaways at the roots of hair by using the Pantene Pro-V Stylers Shaping Hairspray. It’s important this style looks messy and flawless, so a small amount of product at the crown is all you need.
- Finish off the look with the Pantene Advanced+ Keratin Repair KeraGloss Oil Mist for shiny, effortless waves.
Finally, Saturday Night Live hired a black woman! It has been 5 long years since Maya Rudolph left the cast, so this is a real cause for celebration. Saturday Night Live recently came under fire for the lack of diversity on their cast, and since then the producers have been on a hunt for talented black comedians.
We are happy to announce that Sasheer Zamata will join the cast along with musical guest, Drake, on January 18th.
Zamata is a comedic veteran with an impressive resume to prove it. Zamata graduated from the University of Virginia and was performing at the UCB Theater in New York before scoring the new gig. The triple threat comedian writes, directs, and acts.
We particularly love the web series Pursuit of Sexiness (warning: adult humor”> that she created with Girl Code’s Nicole Byer (another amazing comedian”>. See, Kenan? There is talent out there.
In addition to her stand up performances, she has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell. And Cosmopolitan just named her one of 13 Women to Watch in 2014!
Of course, at NaturallyCurly, Zamata’s natural hair caught our eye. Whether it is fro’d out or pinned under, we appreciate that she embraces her natural texture. Since natural hair is such a defining feature for black women we can’t wait to see if and how her hair will play a role in upcoming sketches. Let’s hope they don’t all require a wig.
We’re so excited about this new addition because, though we thoroughly enjoyed it, we couldn’t possibly ask Scandal’s Kerry Washington to make another guest appearance in which she plays every single black character again. Nor will we sit and suffer through any more of Kenan Thompson’s female impersonations!
We’re looking forward to seeing more of this fresh new face on SNL in 2014.
Video blogger Shana does a product review on Cibu.
For more product reviews on Cibu and other product lines, click here.
