Iphie on her Natural Hair- ‘I enjoy the sense of… royalty’.

Tell us a little about yourself and your hair journey.
My name is Iphie and some call me Tai, the short version of my middle name. I currently reside in Boston. My free spirit and love of experimenting brought me back to my natural hair. I enjoy the sense of individuality, pride, and royalty that the people I’ve encountered associate it with.

How long have you been natural? Have you always embraced your curls?
I have been natural for 4 years, now. I have always embraced my curls, but my mother was not able to style my hair. I permed it when I was in 8th grade because I could not do hair either.

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What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper& why?
I like change. I’ve always loved the versatility of natural hair. However, my plan was not to go natural. I was just experimenting. I’ve always contemplated a caesar cut because I find the women who rock them so attractive. One day, I woke up and wanted to see what I would look like bald. I went to a barber and shaved it all off. Thankfully, I didn’t look that bad. I fell in love with my natural hair and here I am.

How would you describe your hair?
My hair is wooly when it is stretched and air dried. One of my classmates thought it felt like a sheep and my coworker wants to make a pillow out of it, if that gives you an idea. When wet, it is somewhat curly and the curls become very small and tight once it dries.

What do you love most about your hair?
I might have the most resilient hair ever!!! I’ve tortured my hair so much and it remains unphased.

What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy, difficult or both?!
The most memorable part has been what I call “the ugly” phase. At the beginning of my journey, I didn’t realize that there was a whole community out there. I was so clueless about what to do with the different stages. I hated braids and my weaves only last 2 weeks, maximum. It was not easy at all because whenever I’d find a hairstyle, my hair would outgrow it. Then, I’d be back to square one. And having to do my hair myself, was not my type of fun either.

What are some of your favorite hairstyles?
My favorite hairstyle was definitely my caesar. Wait, that’s not a hairstyle is it? Well, my go-to when my hair started growing back were the faux hawk and the high puff, ohh yea! I abused those two.

What have your experiences been as a “natural”? Any memorable reactions from family or others?
It has been great!!! My loved ones have always been supportive. They’re always waiting for my next haircut, hairstyle, color etc. Some of them have gone natural as well and I love it!!

What is your hair regimen (including fav products)?
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of wash and gos due to the summer weather and laziness. I love anything Shea Moisture. I usually cowash with Aussie Moist or Loréal Eversleek conditioner, use the Curl Enhancing Smoothie by Shea Moisture as leave-in, add the Hair Milk by Shea Moisture for hold, and coconut oil to seal. Sometimes, I use Eco-Styler gel, the olive oil one, to make my hair last longer.

What are some of your favorite natural hair websites,YouTuber’s, or blogs?
I don’t think I have a favorite because I love them all. I can spend hours on YouTube watching videos and on other websites. I love the inspiring natural Instagram pages like, luvyourmane, hair2mesmerize, thecutlife, and so many others.

Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words?
Calling it a natural hair “journey” is not an exaggeration because it truly is. But once you fall in love with your hair, which also means falling in love with you, then it stops feeling a “journey”, for me at least. I love my hair no matter the length, the color, the hairday, the opinion, the Bantu knot result… I just love it. Best experiment by far!!


Where can people find you for more information?
Instagram & Tumblr : Lemondelle