...Yesterday at the park soaking up some sun.  Oh, that dope poncho? Courtesy of Gaye, aka SweetDrk1, aka GG MadeIt

Okay, so I'm on my Oprah with these giveaways.  The ish is getting out of hand. With 8 Nook Colors, 2 iPad minis, 6 conditioning baskets and a product bundle a day for 12 days, up for grabs, it feels like I'm going for the record.  So let's keep the party going!


For your chance to win 1 of 10 Curlformer Limited Edition Sets, tell me how I can better serve you!  Let me know what new features you'd like to see on CurlyNikki.com in 2013, what I'm already doing great, and what could be better!

Thanks in advance!

*Contest closes on Dec. 12th at 5pm EST! Stay tuned for the winners!*

Please introduce yourself!
My name is Dasha (pron. Day-shuh) Parker, and I am 21 years old. I was born, raised, and currently reside in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I love trying new things, and change is my best friend. That actually led me on my natural journey, but that’s another story. Anything that involves food, travel, good music, and positive energy strikes me. I am currently an undergraduate Business Student, studying Accounting, but one day I hope to be able to unleash my creative side. Hopefully sooner than later (:

What is your current hair regimen?
I start by pre-pooing my hair with coconut oil and castor oil mixed with my deep conditioner of choice, every 2 weeks, depending on my hair’s condition. I allow it to sit for 30+ minutes, and wash with semi warm-cool water. DCing first helps me to shorten the time I spend in the shower, and removes the extra steps of getting in and out. I try to be as low key as possible. Then, I cleanse by cowashing or shampooing depending on the type of products used. When cleansing I use a cheapie silicone free conditioner, such as Tresemme Naturals or VO5, and whatever shampoo I can put my hands on first. I don’t pay much attention to shampoos, because for me they all work the same, or can be diluted/tweaked by adding an oil to work for my hair. However, one of my favorites is Giovanni Tea Tree Tingle. I love it because it really opens up my pores- I suffer from an easily irritated, itchy scalp and it really helps to soothe it. I always follow up by conditioning, alternating between a protein and moisture rich formula every few weeks. I have very coily hair, that’s frizz prone, so I prefer the thick rich conditioners that smooths and provide extra slip for easy, light finger detangling while in the shower. Follow up with a leave in conditioner, seal hair and coat my scalp with an oil and detangle my hair while wet, prior to styling.

"the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient. but still its not something myself that i think looks good on tv. what about letting someone a male have waist long hair do the news.what about that (cq)."

Her response led (in part), to her termination. She replied--

"Hello Emmitt--I am the 'black lady' to which you are referring. I'm sorry you don't like my ethnic hair. And no I don't have cancer. I'm a non-smoking, 5'3, 121 lbs, 25 mile a week running, 37.5 year old woman, and I'm in perfectly healthy physical condition.

I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair. For your edification: traditionally our hair doesn't grow downward. It grows upward. Many Black women use strong straightening agents in order to achieve a more European grade of hair and that is their choice. However in my case I don't find it necessary. I'm very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. Women come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty. Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society. Little girls (and boys for that matter) need to see that what you look like isn't a reason to not achieve their goals.

Conforming to one standard isn't what being American is about and I hope you can embrace that.

Thank you for your comment and have a great weekend and thank for watching."

This past new year , I decided to do something "wild and crazy", for me, anyway. I decided to dye my dark brown hair blonde. Well, after two attempts with a box of blonde, and my test strand coming out a weird shade of red, I decided against it. That was not the end of it. Researching online, I found out about a hair dye made from henna.

Since I have been going gray since I was 14, I decided if I could not go blonde, I would at least cover my gray that has been becoming more and more noticeable all the time. Strangers had made comments about it, like the lady cashier, "I know you're too young to have gray hair!" Or the older man on the street, "You look too young to have gray hair, but it's beautiful, though!" And proceeds to offer me his phone number...

Getting tired of the comments, I decided to opt for "Black" henna. A supposed mix of regular red henna and indigo, something natural and safe, an answer to my prayers! The first time I used the dye, my hair was super black, shiny, and looked amazing, just like I'd hoped for! When the gray started growing in, I'd dye it again, always leaving it in for a long time, thinking since it was natural, there was no reason to worry about washing it out fast.

Things were going great until this past April, when I dyed my hair, and woke the next day with conjunctivitis. I had a TV shoot that very morning, and I was going to be a featured belly dancer!
I rushed to an urgent care clinic because my eyes were SO red, and itching. The nurse practitioner on duty saw me for just a few minutes, and said something about the possibility of "herpes of the eyes", something I'd never heard of! He said I needed to go to the emergency room right away; I said I had a shoot in just a few hours, and asked if it could wait until after. His response was that I should not put it off. I was pretty scared by then, and I was thinking my eyes were going to fall out of my head soon.