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03
Nov
Why did you go natural?
Basically, I just wasn't satisfied with the current state of my relaxed hair. It was thin, breaking off in many spots, shedding like crazy, and it wouldn't grow past a certain length. I was raised in an 'every 4 week relaxer' household, therefore, I thought that that was the way it was supposed to go. I would get agitated when I could feel the 'naps' and rushed to get rid of them. While in graduate school, I became close to a natural, and she gave me the dish (however inaccurate LOL) on natural hair. Shortly After, I watched Good Hair...beat myself up for being so ignorant, and immediately began to transition. While transitioning, I wore braidouts and rod sets. :) Currently, I have been natural for 15 months.
How did people respond to your natural hair?
My b/f did NOT like it. It was more the length than the texture. He favors longer hair. But he didn't give me too much of a hard time with it. :) My family was o.k. with it, but like my b/f, they just said they couldn't wait for it to grow back. My friends were the most supportive and they all loved it!
What is your regimen? What are your favorite styles?
I wash my hair every 2 weeks. My favorite styles are two-strand-twists, twist updos, and braidouts. I rarely wear my hair out because it strinks, strinks, and strinks some more until it is literally impossible to detangle. I would retwists throughout the week, but my strands are thick and do not hold bigger twists well, and I would have to manipulate it too much in order to retwists, which I think would cause more harm than help.
What products do you use in your hair?
I use a variety of products - ('My name is Coya and I'm a PJ). Among my favorites are Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Repair Cream, Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Shampoo, Castor Oil, and Shea Moisture Purification Masque.
What are some tips and/or information that you would like to give to natural newcomers?
That hair typing is flawed when it comes to truly figuring out a regimen for your hair. There are more things that go into creating a successful regimen than just comparing the outer look of your hair to hair that's similar and using the same products. Hair/Product compatibility is built on more than that - Porosity, strand-thickness, strand density, curl pattern. Those are also things that must be taken into consideration when selecting products for your hair. I had to learn this the hard way.
Research, experiment and always know that this will be a change. You won't be able to do the things to your natural hair that you did with your relaxed hair. It's not necessarily difficult, Just different.
What are your 5 MUST-HAVE products/tools?
Water, Shea Butter, My Denman Brush, My OTHER Denman Brush (I have 2 different types), and bobby pins. I'm not necessarily tied to products because I am a product junkie. LOL!
How can viewers contact you?
http://imanaturalblackgirl.blogspot.com (Natural Hair/Life Blog)
http://twitter.com/DSTNatural_Coya (Twitter)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Im-a-Natural-Black-Girl/189545371075426 (Facebook)