I was a slowww transitioner which forced my impatient butt to go for the “big chop.” I let my hair look cray cray, never knowing its full potential until I was just over looking a mess and decided to start over! My hair was dry, extremely heat damaged, and my ends were too! I remember at one point I tried to dye my hair a golden brown color for spring break, and after being disappointed with the results, dyeing it AGAIN the next day. Not even a 24-hour break in between dyes! So after my “big chop” I started OD’ing on YouTube videos of beautiful naturals. Learning the techniques and the routines needed to get my hair to where I wanted it to be. Healthy!
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Had you always embraced your hair texture?
I’ve always been the “light-skin girl with good hair” so embracing my hair wasn’t a hard thing to do. I was easily accepted by the little boys we were chasing, as opposed to my darker skinned friends who didn’t have “good hair.” This boosted my confidence as a young girl because if it was one thing I never had to worry about, it was my hair! I had wild curly hair and never really minded until I got to middle school and that wasn’t cool anymore. In high school I wanted to experiment with colors. I was frying and dyeing my hair all the time trying to look like these women I’d seen in music videos and all the hottest celebs that were out! I probably straightened my hair once every 4 weeks. Plus the “touch ups” that I would give myself in the morning to try to achieve that bone straight look, but to no avail. My hair would come out looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. Deep in the back of my mind, I knew my hair definitely had the potential to be great, but I was so busy trying to look like everyone else that I let my curly locks fall limp.
How did family and friends react to your decision to go natural? How did they react to the new you? What was your response to them?
My mom and grandmother have always talked me into wearing my hair big and curly and keeping it in its natural state. Once I started transitioning, my family was just happy to see me happy. Getting my hair healthy was a total boost of confidence and it definitely made my family and friends happy to see that I was taking better care of this hair that they knew was great from the beginning!
Describe your hair.
I have thick, fine (in some areas), frizzy, dry (in some areas), 3B hair! I have fine hair around my edges. The crown of my hair is very dry and normally needs some extra TLC. As far as the frizz, that’s errrrrrrwhere!
What’s your current hair routine? How often do you wash, condition, and style? favorite products! Deets!
My current hair routine: I do not have a staple shampoo or conditioner. What I’m using now is Shea Moisture’s Raw Shea Butter shampoo and conditioner. Their conditioner doesn’t really do much for me in the detangling department, so I always use either a Pantene or Tresemme conditioner to detangle my hair. They always get the job done when I’m in need of a quick and easy detangling process. Finger detangling has never worked for me. All I get is tangles, and hear a lot of snapping and cracking from my hair breaking because I’m too heavy-handed. So I just use a wide toothed comb to detangle my hair after I saturate my hair with conditioner. For my leave-in, I use Kinky Curly’s Knot Today and then I towel dry my hair and prepare for my styling products by sectioning my hair. I use Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie and apply that to my hair, which is sectioned into threes: two sections on the sides, and one in the back. After I apply that to all sections, I apply Aveda Be Curly onto all the sections of hair. After that I just let my hair air dry then BAM!
I probably wash my hair once every two weeks. But I co-wash every three to four days. I mostly do wash and go’s because I don’t have a diffuser yet. My styling method is pretty simple, because I don’t do many styles: I wear my hair out, or in a bun. My version of “styling” would be when I’m doing my protective styles (Bantu Knots/Twist outs) to avoid having to co-wash my hair too often. I’m very simple when it comes to my hair. In my opinion the less I bother with it, the faster it grows. Not to mention, I’m a very simple girl so I’m not really that big on styling MY hair, but it looks great on others!
Kinky Curly’s Knot Today is definitely a favorite of mine. It is a great detangler/leave-in and always leaves my hair feeling moisturized. My favorite moisturizer would be Cantu Shea Moisturizer. I use that stuff when I’m styling my twist outs or bantu knots or just to moisturize my hair in between buns and 3rd and 4th day hair. My favorite shampoo/conditioner duo so far is DevaCurl shampoo and conditioner and Jane Carter shampoo/conditioner duo. The shampoo goes through my hair like conditioner and I know ya’ll know when we can find a shampoo that doesn’t make your hair feel like you put glue in it is a WINNER! Most shampoos dry my hair out instantly and make it hard to work my conditioner in, but DevaCurl’s line and the Jane Carter line works GRRRREAT with my hair.
How do you maintain healthy length?
I maintain length by simply keeping up with my routines. I learned that you can’t get lazy with your hair. I have to keep it moisturized and I have to make sure I’m doing protective styling (buns, twist outs or bantu knots) every once in awhile so I’m not wetting my hair too often and drying it too often.
How do you maintain your hair at night?
At night I put my hair in a loose bun, throw on a scarf, and knock out! I haven’t perfected the pineapple just yet, but I’m getting there.
What’s the best thing about being curly?
The best thing about being curly, to me, is being stress free. I’ve come to terms with what my hair looks like in its natural state. I’m not ashamed or uncomfortable with how my hair looks when it’s natural! I’ve embraced it. And after doing so, it has been one of, if not my greatest assets!
Where can folks find you on the web?
I have a youtube that I haven’t been on in months but I am starting up my youtube videos again!
You can subscribe to CURLSSFORTHEGIRLSS on YouTube or follow me on instagram at PRESIDENTKENNEDY!
