Were you a slow transitione r or a Big Chopper & why?
My hair tribulations must have started around age 6. My mother would have to wake me up extra early every morning before school because it took an entire hour to do my hair. Come to think of it, I don’t know why since she always ended up putting it up in a bun. My poor little elementary school head would throb every morning, and it wasn’t because of my overly excited teacher asking if we had done our homework that day. Eventually my mom grew so tired of having to deal with my pouf, she called in professional reinforcement. That’s when I was introduced to the mecca of manes: the hair salon. Little did I know I was about to undergo a grueling science experiment packed with stinky chemicals and suspicious heated devices.
These nice older ladies whipped out the magic white crème that would turn my hair into pin-straight heaven. I will never forget that first time they relaxed my hair and made me look normal. Growing up with this newfound love/hate routine, I never had to worry about looking like a caveman from those Geico commercials. All I had to do was wash my hair, blow-dry and GO! Sadly, like cavemen’s extinction, my hair solution would soon meet a similar demise. As I got older, my hair began to fall out, leaving me with bald spots. To make matters worse, every single summer brought on major damage as sunlight and chlorinated pool water would team up to make my hair extra brittle and tangled. Washing my hair was more of a nightmare than I ever imagined. The tangling was so bad that scissors became a close companion as I resorted to cutting knot balls out of my hair in futile attempts to tame it. This launched my hair insecurity to a whole new level of “WHY ME?! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT MOM, WHY COULDN’T I HAVE GOTTEN DADDY’S HAIR GENES?!”
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Once I got over the fact that I was a patchy poodle, I waited until my 19th birthday to finally say ENOUGH to the relaxer. My mission for healthy hair was sparked by my fellow curly haired girls posting their testimonies on YouTube and NaturallyCurly.com. They shared great tricks and tips for getting your natural hair back, but the one thing that they all mentioned is that once you rid yourself of all the relaxer, you will begin to see your natural curl pattern. Only then will you be able to determine exactly what you need to maintain your hair. It took me about two years (and a lot of haircuts) to take my hair from “dreadful-locks” to gorgeous spiral curls. To my surprise, I actually had full ringlets that you would see Shakira or Beyonce rocking. Hallelloo!
Had you always embraced your texture?
To be quite honest, I used to HATE my natural hair because it made me stand out from all the other girls in my school and they would make fun of how I looked. I couldn’t tell you all the times I’ve been teased (no pun intended) because of “the brillo pad;” it happened on a daily basis. Till this day, the memory of this particular little snot-head named Francisco, would torment me on just about everything OF me and my hair was his number one target. I went as far as asking my mother to braid my hair so the kids wouldn’t have to look at it. I was out of luck because he asked me “Why does it look like you have a turd on your head?” I couldn’t win. To my surprise, almost all my friends and family absolutely ADORE my mane and how much it represents my personality: BIG, free-spirited, bouncy, crazy and FIERCE! It took me a while to connect myself to my hair because it definitely is a conversation starter.
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?
Everyone I know or who meets me for the first time asks me about my hair. Sadly, the only person who can’t seem to get a grip of my newfound love is my mother. Just the other day, I was supposed to go to the salon to do a wash and set to prepare myself for hosting a morning news program, which I do for my job. I told my hairdresser to just wash it and help me define my natural curls. Once I came home, my mother yelled at me asking me why didn’t I straighten my hair? Well mom, I want to be on TV as my natural self and I want people to remember ME. All the times I’ve subjected myself to just looking “normal” hasn’t really compelled anyone to get to know who I am. Needless to say, this comment was said with much haste and disappointment but hey, I stood my ground and I defended what I want to become: Memorable.
Describe your hair (fine or coarse, thin or thick, highly porous, low, etc.)
My hair is extremely thick, frizzy, voluminous, coarse and has low porosity.
What’s your current hair routine? How often do you wash, condition, and style? Favorite products! Deets!
My mini pictorial is above. See the step by step guide below:
1. First I section my hair in two parts as this method helps me wash and condition my hair efficiently. Whilst showering, I wash the first section of hair with either Curly Wurly Shampoo or Karma Komba shampoo bar by LUSH. I then rinse and then apply the Miracle 7 Heavenly Healer Leave-In Conditioner while de-tangling with a wide-toothed comb. This is crucial for achieving your defined curls because this helps distribute the product throughout the whole head to ensure optimal definition. For added weight and leave-in conditioning I use the Mixed Chicks Leave in Conditioner.
2. This is the result after coming out of the shower and beginning the air-drying process. You can already see my natural curl pattern showing, and how shiny my hair became. This is when I would add in my curl defining products to seal in my definition with AG Hair Cosmetics ReCoil Curl Activator AND the Mousse Gel.
3. After my hair has been completely dried, I like to section off the parts of my hair that tend to frizz up more. These are the sections that will need some extra TLC in the last step.
4. I then take a spray bottle with a mixture of water and some leave-in conditioner and spritz the sections that need that extra oomph while scrunching and VOILA!
How do you maintain your hair at night?
The “pineapple” method is my favorite option for keeping my hair semi-intact. To get some of my coils back into shape I use the AG Cosmetics Curl Trigger Curl Defining Spray as my curl reviver.
How do you maintain healthy length?
I TRY to make sure I get a trim every 4 months or so my ends don’t look scraggly and fried. It also keeps my hair looking shiny.
What’s the best thing about being curly?
The best thing I’ve learned about being curly is to give your hair chance. You may not know your true curl-tentional until you have a BC or have the patience to endure the transition. Once you take the leap into this new journey with your hair, best believe it’s going to get rough. You’re going to want to feel like taking the easy way out and head back into the salon. You’ll find that even if it takes more time to maintain your curlies, you will ALWAYS stand out. My hair has acted as an “ice-breaker” when meeting new people and the “deal-keeper” in my business and personal ventures. It has taken on a pure personification of my unique qualities and continuously gives me that boost of confidence when I don’t feel like I can take on a task.
Where can folks find you on the web?
Find me on Instagram/Twitter @krystalpistolet and YouTube www.youtube.com/Couponology
