Tell me a little about yourself and your hair journey.
My name is Treasure Cooper and I am a 24 year old college graduate. I am from a town called Indio in California. I started my hair journey in 2010 because I had damaged it too much. I was constantly dying my hair honey blonde using box dye and straightening it for two years. One day I washed my hair and my curl pattern was completely gone.
How long have you been natural?
I have been natural for 3 years and 3 months.
What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper? Why?
I decided to transition after I realized that my curl pattern was completely gone. I remember feeling sad because my hair looked so dead to me. I would wet it and it would just hang there straight. I would consider myself a transitioner, because I did do a chop to my shoulders and then slowly cut away my hair as every month passed. I was too nervous to cut my hair off really short which prevented me from doing a real big chop. I felt the best way to go natural was for me to do a chop and then trim my hair as more grew until all of the damaged hair was cut away.
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How would you describe your hair?
What do you love most about your hair?
I love that my hair is healthy. Having really damaged hair and trying to figure out little gimmicks to make it curl naturally, to having healthy hair and it curling on its own because it’s healthy, is everything. I would also say that I enjoy the length of my hair.
What has been the most memorable part of your journey?Has it been easy, difficult, or both?!
The most memorable part of my journey was at my 7th month mark of having heat and chemical free hair. I just washed my hair and I got out the shower and realized that my curls were coming back. I got so excited that I had to take a picture. It was like all of my hard work and patience and nurturing my curls was paying off. The beginning of my journey was difficult because it was time consuming. I had to oil my hair every night and braid it up. Then I had to wrap it. It took a lot of discipline. As time went on, it became easier because I was able to just wet it and go.
What are some of your favorite transitioning hairstyle?
As I was transitioning, my go-to styles were braid outs and buns. Lol I worked at In-N-Out Burger so my hair had to always be up, which prevented me from trying out too many hairstyles. I also did a twist out a couple times which came out pretty cute. There were some days where I hated these hairstyles because I got really bored of them. I remember one day my boyfriend at the time made a comment about me never doing my hair because it was in a bun so much. It did hurt my feelings so I remember researching different hairstyles I could try out. I didn’t end up trying any other styles out though. I stuck to my bun and braid out and learned to love it myself.
What have your experiences been as a ‘natural.’ Any memorable reactions from family or others?
My first big memorable moment was when I posted a picture of when I first cut my hair on Facebook and everyone was so shocked because I did a really bad job. But that just shows you how tired I was of having damaged hair. I didn’t even care that I cut my hair horribly, I just wanted it off.
As my hair became healthier I began to wear it wet and naturally curly. This brought a lot of attention from strangers in public asking me what do I put in my hair and if I could give them any advice. It was a great feeling because I went from extremely damaged hair to people admiring my hair. It made me feel really great because I did it all on my own by doing research.
What is your hair regimen (including fav products)?
When I first began my hair journey, my regimen went as follows:
I would oil and scratch my scalp every night. I would then braid it up and wrap it in a silk scarf. I would take it down the next day and style it and do it all over again that night. I would only add more oil if I felt it was too dry. I shampooed my hair every 2 weeks and deep conditioned it right after. I started my hair journey by using Beemine products because they were organic. However, me being a college student, I couldn’t afford shipping and handling like before so I started looking for products I could purchase in my area. I then found out about Kinky Curly. Not too long after Kinky Curly, Shea Moisture started to surface so I tried them out as well. Then I tested out Goddess Curls and now DevaCurl!
Since my hair has received its curl back, I do not use oil as often because it weighs my curls down and makes them frizzy. However, I still keep it moisturized and wear updo’s such as buns often!.
I also use olive oil and deep condition together while deep conditioning sometimes.
What are some of your favorite natural hair websites,YouTuber’s, or blogs?
My favorite blogs would be curlynikki.com and blackgirllonghair.com
I also use longhaircareforum.com as well because I get to read different conversations ladies have regarding a specific product. This has helped me decide what products I would and would not buy.
Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words?
I would just like to say that make sure you’re doing it for yourself and not to make anyone else happy. As I mentioned earlier, people may end up making some not so pleasant remarks. Unless it’s because you want to, you may have a long and unhappy road ahead of you.
Where can people find you for more information?
For any questions, you can always reach me on my instagram or youtube account because these seem to be where people like to reach me the most. My instagram is @_immathug and my YouTube account is youtube.com/4themane. Of course you can also reach me on facebook at facebook.com/theebestnameever
Benefits of heat free hair: The biggest benefit would be the overall condition of your hair. Heat dries your hair out so to remove heat and chemicals would help aid your hair in physically being and appearing healthier.
