Meet Nikki V., a lifetime natural with a simple reggie!
CN: How long have you been natural?
N: My entire life on and off, I still use heat from time to time…I have never relaxed, but I have tried hair dyes….my how I regret those.
CN: What is your current regimen?
N: Conditioner wash, I use a lot of conditoner as a leave-in and moisturizer!!! I love coconut oil too. I do not wash my hair with shampoo very often, I prefer conditioner washes.
CN: How do you maintain length? Moisture?
N: To maintain length I try not to fuss too much over my hair, and just let it be. I try to stick to a routine, and I make sure I protect my hair at night. I pay attention to the ends and try to stimulate the roots often. For moisture, I use coconut oil and Nexxus Humectruss. I think you should work with your hair and find styles that compliment your hair in a healthy state, rather than trying to make your hair conform to damaging images of what you want it to be.
CN: How do you protect your curls a night?
N: High bun on top of my head (loose bun, not tight), on a satin pillow/ or scarf wrapped around.
CN: What would you tell a new natural, or transitioning diva?
N: Research and find what works best for you, when you find it, stick to it. Be patient and love your hair, it will love you back. Find positive people who support your natural transition, and surround yourself with them.
CN: What’s the best thing about being naturally glamorous?
N: The freedom of being the best me I can be, without the price of damage, trying to look like someone else.
CN: Anything else you want to add?
N: Too much product can be bad…less is usually the better!
Healthy natural hair is a lifestyle and it takes some work and patience but it is worth it 🙂
I was pretty excited to join this blog…then I read how ugly the women on this blog can be. 🙁
It's been some time since they've posted…hopefully they've healed by now.
Oh and I was wondering if she was mixed too. MOST mixed people have curly hair…you guys need to knock it off. Also, the black people that I've met with straight hair are not 100% black…so knock that off too. lmbo@picking one tribe out of Africa to prove that black people have wavy hair.
"Some folks are trying tooooo hard".
It's just hair…and it was just a question. What works for 2b won't work on 4c…seemed reasonable to me. smh…drops the mic.
To all the anonymous sisters that are dogging Liza…you guys are so hypocritical….you are so into the good hair….i thinks its the funniest thing when black women say , I am not into the good hair thing but black women always say your my hair looks mixed or ask me if I am mixed, ITS NOT A BIG DEAL NO ONE THAT LOVES OR IS ASKING THIS SISTER ABOUT HER ETHNICITY IS MENTALLY BOND. LIZa ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION AND ALL OF THESE COMMENT WITH WOMEN TALKING HOW NON- KINKY and STRAIGHT THEIR HAIR IS…..ALTHOUGH NO ONE ASKED THEM THE QUESTION IT WAS DIRECTED TO THE SISTER BEING INTERVEIWED. AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE STRESSING THAT THEY TOO HAVE SIMILAR HAIR BUT THEY ARE MAD BECAUSE HER ETHNICITY WAS BOUGHT UP, THATS A VALID QUESTION TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND HER HAIR, well said LIZA AND MARKI T. IF YOU EVER WONDER ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE PASSING JUDGEMENT AND POINTING FINGERS THEY USUALLY SEE SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES IN THE PERSON THEY ARE JUDGING! I DID NOT THINK YOUR COMMENT WAS CRAZY, IF I NOTICED A WOMENS HAIT THAT I LIKED AND I WANTED TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HER REGIMINE AND ROUTINE I WOULD ASK THE SAME THING. PEOPLE OF MIXED HAERITAGE TEND TO HAVE CURLY WAVY HAIR AND OF COURSE THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS. NO BIG DEAL! GIRL YOUR HAIR IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! LIZA, DONT EVER LET PEOPLE MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN NOT EXPRESS YOUR OPINIONS OR VIEWS IF THEY ARE OFFENDED THATS SOMETHING THEY NEED TO DEAL WITH MENTALLY.
OH I AM SORRY I SHOULD HAVE ADDED THE WORK HONEY TO THE END TO MAKE MY COMMENT MORE EFFECTIVE!
All people's hair is pretty and everyone has different hair. Being mixed or having multiple races does affect the texture of your hair. In the same manner, black people can have straight hair with little curls or very tightly coiled hair. Just because your hair is straight around the nape of your neck doesn't mean you are mixed. In most cases though, mixed people tend to have longer curlier hair or else this discussion would not have started. If its not that big of a deal and someone simply pointed out an observation that Nikki V appeared to be mixed, why was so much time spent dwelling on it? Anyway Nikki girl your hair is SOOOOO gorgeous!
Marki T (13 yall!)
I know several black women and men with naturally straight hair and they are not mixed either. My mom and dad are black but I get stupid questions from people like is your dad white? I answer No, and then, I get is your mom white. I answer both my parents are black. The I get well you all must have Native American or something in your family line. LOL. I think people like putting labels on others so they can define who you are in their mind and eyes instead of just letting you be you.
Anonymous @ 11:07pm – didn't think it was that deep. We all have our opinions and I'm entitled to mine. Thanks 'dear'.
Liza dear, the thing about the mixed statement is that she never brought it up, you did. I feel if someone submits an entry to be published on CN and they (the person being published) brings it up (wether they are mixed) that is when it is open for discussion. For someone who is just viewing a few photos and has no relationship with the person in the photos to infer mixed heritage in my belief reflects into a deeper pathology that requires that we put people in a box. ie: mixed, dk skinned, nerdy, pretty… the list goes on and on. Better yet, view the beauty, bless it and move on… loving yourself in this grand MIX we all live in. Be blessed!!
daaang yu guys jumped on Liza for no reason. Nikki V is obviously mixed and obviously has gorgeous hair.
Maria's right. This is a celebration of the entire gambit of curly hair! Whether you're thick and kinky, short and silky, or long and wavy, your hair is beautiful and will be represented on CN.com.
I wasn't trying to stir anything up by pointing out the straightness of the hair around the nape of her neck. I also wasn't insenuating that she was necessarily biracial. When I say "mixed" I mean there could be a number of different races/ethnicities in her background. I consider my husband mixed because his grandmother is from India. Sorry for offending those who got offended and I never said it made her, or anyone else, less beautiful or less black.
i wish more of you had a better sense of self and your history. first off about 99 percent of african americans are what some call MGM aka multi-generational "mixed", second i know "bi-racial girls with extremely kinky hair, and girls that are not apparently mixed with loose curls, waves with little to no shrinkage.third there are women in west africa , the woodabi who live in the Niger delta who have thick coarse,curly,silky strands, that is shiny and long!!!! having white or ancestry of another ethnicity does not ensure a certain hair type, even though genetic do determine your hair type!!! seems many of you still have to free yourself from mental bondage, so sad!!!!
Hi everyone, thank you for all the lovely comments, to answer your questions about the coconut oil: I apply it to my hair directly usually I put it on after my shower right before I put in a leave in conditioner, then I simply let it air dry. I use as little as possible b/c it is a very heavy oil. I also use it day to day on dry hair, just to keep my hair from getting too dry. Just remember less is more with coconut oil. My parents usually just allowed me to wear my hair in braids and ponytails b/c it was so thick. I never felt the urge to really relax, especially once I began using flat irons. But the freedom of being naturally curly is just something I absolutely love…if I could give any advice, it would simply be to fall in love with your hair and research whats best for it 🙂 If you want length then stimulate and protect your scalp b/c this is where your hair growth begins. Most of all don't give up. When I cut all my hair off people told me I made a big mistake and it would never grow as along as it was, but 3 years later they were wrong, vitamins and diet also help out alot.
I just have to add this and then I will let it go. As a black woman with nearly straight hair, I notice that everytime the media wants to exemplify a "sister" they show someone with tightly coiled hair. A lot of sister that are natural have hair that is not tightly coiled. Can't we get a little love as black woman and not mixed?
You know, my hair texture is very closely matched to Nikki's; and, I am not biracial. It's funny though how many black women say to me, "you got that pretty hair, you must be mixed" . . . nada, I am just a black girl and my hair is no more nor no less prettier than any other black woman's. Why is it that if you have straight hair somehow you are considered less black? My mom's hair is bone straight and long. I have never in my life seen a curl in her hair and she's a natural. She never had a perm. There is such a variety of Black Hair, so let's think twice about questioning someone's ethnicity because he or she has straight hair.
Gorgeous hair! What does it matter if she's biracial or not? Its still beautiful natural hair, right? I thought this blog was about celebrating ones natural hair.
Beautiful! I would love to know what made her stay natural her whole life. If her parents played a big role in that. I would love for my daughter to stay natural into adult hood.
Liza, I beg to differ, geneology does matter, as much as we would like to believe that it dosent, it does. I agree, she does appear to be of biracial heritage but her hair is simply gorgeous.
Beautiful!! Your hair is fantastically thick! Loves it! 🙂
www.elantresses.blogpsot.com
Gorgeous hair and cute puppy. Coconut oil is awesome. Please share how you use it in your hair. Do you mix it with other oils, conditioners or use it plain?
Simply gorgeous…if only I had your thickness with my texture…it would be on and poppin!! 8-}
I've been natural all my life as well and my hair is about 3/4 the length of hers! I'm trying to get this length-retention thing down.
Not that it matters, but she looks mixed to me. Look at the hair at the nape of her neck and her sideburn area…its straight.
I love your hair. You have such pretty curls!
Beautiful! Do you mix the coconut oil into your conditioner and then cowash?