I have another great interview to share with you all today! Meet Precious.
I asked Precious these questions...
Do you like your hair? What would you change if you could?
I love my hair! There's not a thing about it that I would change!
Do you use chemicals in your hair or have you ever? If so, what made you decide to and did you regret it?
Yes, I have used a perm on my hair before. What a mistake! My hair went from super thick to super thin and see-through. And all because I wanted the hair of someone else of another ethnicity! It was mainly those in my own family and others around me saying bad things about my hair and calling it all sorts of names, and the images on TV I saw of the black girls with long silky straight hair that made me want a perm. I was continuously bombarded with these images and it implied to me that THAT was how I was supposed to look. I heavily regret rejecting the beautiful hair I was born with. I wish I knew then what I know now.
What is your hair routine?
I moisturize my hair twice a day. In the morning I moisturize, seal, and style for the day. When I come back home in the afternoon/evening and I don't plan on going out again, I moisturize and seal again, twist my hair into four sections, pin the twisted sections up, and cover my hair with a scarf for the rest of the night and for bed. If I do plan to go back out, I will moisturize my hair again before going out and again right before I go to sleep.
Every weekend I use a sulfate-free shampoo and wash my hair and afterwards I use a conditioner and leave it in. I then detangle my conditioner-laden hair and twist it into eight sections and pin up the sections. I cover it with a scarf before bed and the next day I start again with the daily routine!
What products do you use on your hair?
I shampoo with Avalon Nourishing Lavender Shampoo. It is great because I can buy a 32 oz container for about 8 bucks and it lasts me forever!
I condition with Moja Conditioner from KomazaCare. I add olive oil to this conditioner and it provides me with excellent slip for detangling and leaves my hair ultra-soft!
I moisturize with Califia Moisturizing Spray from KomazaCare. If I run out of that, I use plain old water.
I seal with shea butter.
I style my hair with either the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel and Aloe Vera Gel. I don't use gel every day, only when I need to. I also use either gel depending on the style. If I want a sleek ponypuff I'll use the Eco Styler; if I want to provide non-crunchy hold for twists or braids, I'll use AVG.
I moisturize my scalp using plain water and any oil (olive, coconut, melted/rubbed in shea butter.) I first wet my scalp with the water and then apply oil. The water keeps the scalp moisturized and the oil seals in that moisture into my scalp so that it does not evaporate.
What is your hair type? (if you know it)
My hair is mostly 4a with some 3c curls thrown in.
What is the best and worst hair advice you have gotten, and what advice would you offer?
The best hair advice I have ever gotten was to use protective styles. Protective styles are styles that keep the hair up or that keep the hair in styles that will last a long period of time. Twists and braids are very low maintenance protective styles that don't require you to mess around with your hair every day. Protective styles like twists and braids can last weeks. Updo styles like buns keep your ends tucked away and prevent them from rubbing on clothing and also protects them from harsh weather (like the winter!) Protective styling has contributed very much to my length retention.
The worst hair advice I have ever gotten was to style the hair tightly. I received this back before my first perm at age 12. I was told that if I styled my hair tightly, my hair would grow. Huh? The only thing I suffered was a sore scalp and traction alopecia!
The advice that I have to offer that many newly naturals fail to do is to moisturize properly! The moisturizing process comes in two parts: moisturizing and sealing. Moisturizers are products with water as the very first ingredient, or water itself. Sealants are oils and butters. You must use a moisturizer on the hair before using a sealant. Water molecules are small and are able to penetrate the hair shaft. Oil (butters are just oils in a solid form) particles are much larger and cannot penetrate the hair shaft (except for coconut oil which many say can). The oils sit on top of the hair strand. If you use a moisturizer before you seal, the moisture will be inside the hair shaft while the oil surrounds the hair shaft and prevents the moisture from coming out. If you seal before you moisturize, the oil will be blocking the water from being able to enter the hair shaft. I can't count how many times I made this mistake as a newly natural. I tried to use shea butter on my hair alone since I heard so much about shea butter making the hair soft. And after using it alone my hair felt drier than it did before. This is because it was never moisturized! Oils and butters are NOT moisturizers and should not be used alone! You also should not moisturize without sealing. Moisture easily evaporates from the hair. For me, if I moisturized my hair without sealing it in, half an hour later, it might not even seem like I ever moisturized my hair! Sealing in moisture will prevent the moisture from evaporating too quickly from the hair. Just remember to moisturize, THEN seal. Don't seal without moisturizing first, and don't moisturize without sealing!
Can I see some of your favorite hairstyles? (or tell how you usually wear it if you don't style it)
I usually wear my hair in a bun or a ponypuff. However, this gets quite boring after a while! And it also takes a toll on my hairline. Since the front of my hair is a bit short, I have to PULL to get it into the pony, and this is very bad for my hairline. So what I do is I use styles that only manipulate the front of the hair. This way, I can still wear my hair in a pony but I don't have to worry about putting any stress on the front of my hair. Here are a few examples:
I asked Precious these questions...
Do you like your hair? What would you change if you could?
I love my hair! There's not a thing about it that I would change!
Do you use chemicals in your hair or have you ever? If so, what made you decide to and did you regret it?
Yes, I have used a perm on my hair before. What a mistake! My hair went from super thick to super thin and see-through. And all because I wanted the hair of someone else of another ethnicity! It was mainly those in my own family and others around me saying bad things about my hair and calling it all sorts of names, and the images on TV I saw of the black girls with long silky straight hair that made me want a perm. I was continuously bombarded with these images and it implied to me that THAT was how I was supposed to look. I heavily regret rejecting the beautiful hair I was born with. I wish I knew then what I know now.
What is your hair routine?
I moisturize my hair twice a day. In the morning I moisturize, seal, and style for the day. When I come back home in the afternoon/evening and I don't plan on going out again, I moisturize and seal again, twist my hair into four sections, pin the twisted sections up, and cover my hair with a scarf for the rest of the night and for bed. If I do plan to go back out, I will moisturize my hair again before going out and again right before I go to sleep.
Every weekend I use a sulfate-free shampoo and wash my hair and afterwards I use a conditioner and leave it in. I then detangle my conditioner-laden hair and twist it into eight sections and pin up the sections. I cover it with a scarf before bed and the next day I start again with the daily routine!
What products do you use on your hair?
I shampoo with Avalon Nourishing Lavender Shampoo. It is great because I can buy a 32 oz container for about 8 bucks and it lasts me forever!
I condition with Moja Conditioner from KomazaCare. I add olive oil to this conditioner and it provides me with excellent slip for detangling and leaves my hair ultra-soft!
I moisturize with Califia Moisturizing Spray from KomazaCare. If I run out of that, I use plain old water.
I seal with shea butter.
I style my hair with either the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel and Aloe Vera Gel. I don't use gel every day, only when I need to. I also use either gel depending on the style. If I want a sleek ponypuff I'll use the Eco Styler; if I want to provide non-crunchy hold for twists or braids, I'll use AVG.
I moisturize my scalp using plain water and any oil (olive, coconut, melted/rubbed in shea butter.) I first wet my scalp with the water and then apply oil. The water keeps the scalp moisturized and the oil seals in that moisture into my scalp so that it does not evaporate.
What is your hair type? (if you know it)
My hair is mostly 4a with some 3c curls thrown in.
What is the best and worst hair advice you have gotten, and what advice would you offer?
The best hair advice I have ever gotten was to use protective styles. Protective styles are styles that keep the hair up or that keep the hair in styles that will last a long period of time. Twists and braids are very low maintenance protective styles that don't require you to mess around with your hair every day. Protective styles like twists and braids can last weeks. Updo styles like buns keep your ends tucked away and prevent them from rubbing on clothing and also protects them from harsh weather (like the winter!) Protective styling has contributed very much to my length retention.
The worst hair advice I have ever gotten was to style the hair tightly. I received this back before my first perm at age 12. I was told that if I styled my hair tightly, my hair would grow. Huh? The only thing I suffered was a sore scalp and traction alopecia!
The advice that I have to offer that many newly naturals fail to do is to moisturize properly! The moisturizing process comes in two parts: moisturizing and sealing. Moisturizers are products with water as the very first ingredient, or water itself. Sealants are oils and butters. You must use a moisturizer on the hair before using a sealant. Water molecules are small and are able to penetrate the hair shaft. Oil (butters are just oils in a solid form) particles are much larger and cannot penetrate the hair shaft (except for coconut oil which many say can). The oils sit on top of the hair strand. If you use a moisturizer before you seal, the moisture will be inside the hair shaft while the oil surrounds the hair shaft and prevents the moisture from coming out. If you seal before you moisturize, the oil will be blocking the water from being able to enter the hair shaft. I can't count how many times I made this mistake as a newly natural. I tried to use shea butter on my hair alone since I heard so much about shea butter making the hair soft. And after using it alone my hair felt drier than it did before. This is because it was never moisturized! Oils and butters are NOT moisturizers and should not be used alone! You also should not moisturize without sealing. Moisture easily evaporates from the hair. For me, if I moisturized my hair without sealing it in, half an hour later, it might not even seem like I ever moisturized my hair! Sealing in moisture will prevent the moisture from evaporating too quickly from the hair. Just remember to moisturize, THEN seal. Don't seal without moisturizing first, and don't moisturize without sealing!
Can I see some of your favorite hairstyles? (or tell how you usually wear it if you don't style it)
I usually wear my hair in a bun or a ponypuff. However, this gets quite boring after a while! And it also takes a toll on my hairline. Since the front of my hair is a bit short, I have to PULL to get it into the pony, and this is very bad for my hairline. So what I do is I use styles that only manipulate the front of the hair. This way, I can still wear my hair in a pony but I don't have to worry about putting any stress on the front of my hair. Here are a few examples:
I also did a protective style on my hair for a month - mini twists:
Thanks so much for featuring me!
~Precious~
precious-curls.blogspot.com
~Precious~
precious-curls.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for being a part of our blog Precious! I also got the same advice about tight styling making your hair grow! Where do people come up with such ideas?! I feel so bad for the way I used to style and care for C's hair :( Good for you for going back to natural after all the negativity you went through!! Thanks again for the great information and sharing your pictures and stories! You have beautiful hair, and it shows that you are taking great care of it.
Be sure to check out Precious here!
*I have no specific times for features, so if you would like to be featured as a Curly Friend, please feel free to email me for instructions and I'll put your interview on right away!
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