Mel-Naturally Glam Hair Idol

Meet Mel…a natural vet who shows that Fros are appropriate for every occasion. So chic!

CN: How long have you been natural?
M: I had my last relaxer in late 2005 and cut off the last of my straight ends Spring of 2007.

CN: What is your current regimen?
M: Once a week (usually Sunday evening) I wash with DevaCare No-Poo and condition with a very generous amount of DevaCare One Condition. I rinse the excess One Condition out, but I leave some of it in. After I wash and condition, I either use DevaCare Set-It Free or Curls Gel-les’c. (The Curls is a recent discovery and I notice less knotting when I use it, so it might permanently replace the Set-It Free. We’ll see.)
To style I twist my hair in relatively small sections, put a little jojoba oil on my scalp and my twists, and then I sleep in them. (I usually do this too late at night to dry in time for work on Monday, so I usually have to sit under the dryer for a bit, but I need to get away from that. It really dries out the top layers of my hair.) When I wake up in the morning, I untwist and fluff. You might notice that I’m missing a good deep conditioner…I’m lazy about that…but I’m working on it.

CN: How do you maintain length? Moisture?
M: After I style my hair on Sunday, I don’t manipulate it much the rest of the week. I just let it do its own thing, and I think that helps with maintaining length. The combo of One Condition, my styling product of choice, and jojoba oil usually keeps it pretty moisturized. Also, I never ever use shampoo, only No-Poo, so I’m never stripping moisture from my hair.

CN: How do you protect your curls at night?
M: I sleep on a satin pillowcase with my hair out and pull and shape it in the morning.

CN: What would you tell a new natural, or transitioning diva?
M: If your family has a negative reaction to your transitioning plans, take it with a grain of salt!! I love my mom, but she had nothing nice to say when I first started growing out my relaxer. She even threatened to give me a relaxer in my sleep (she was sort of joking, but there was some truth there)! Also, let go of any preconceived notions you might have about your hair texture. It’s a weird thing to reach your mid-twenties and have no idea what your natural hair looks like, but that’s where I was. My granny started pressing it when I was a toddler and I got my first relaxer in elementary school, so my natural texture was a mystery to me and I was scared of it. I was always told that I didn’t have “good hair,” but I’m so glad I didn’t let that stand in my way. I love my hair now. I wouldn’t change a thing!

CN: What’s the best thing about being naturally glamorous?
M: Oh there are lots of good things! Here are some off the top of my head: 1) Personally, I think it’s a lot less work, and I’m kind of lazy, so that’s great for me. Yeah, the once a week styling might take a while, but then I don’t really have to do anything else until it’s time to wash again. 2) Compliments on my hair from strangers. 3) My fro jazzes up my outfits. It’s like a really great accessory. 4) I feel more like myself with big curly hair. Don’t know how to describe it really, but I’m sure some naturals out there know what I mean. 5) Last but certainly not least, I have fallen in love with my hair as it grows out of my head. I never thought I would be able to say that.

CN: Anything else you want to add?
M: Come visit me on my blog Life of Belle. I don’t do many posts about my hair, but if more naturals/transitioners start to read and request hair tips/product reviews, I’d be happy to do more hair posts.

Thank you!

**Got questions for Mel? Contact her in our Community forums…shoot her a private message, or call her out in a thread!