PC: What are your name, age, and how long have you been natural?
L: Hey there :o) I’m Lauren, 27 years young, and I’ve been natural for 7 years.
L: Hey there :o) I’m Lauren, 27 years young, and I’ve been natural for 7 years.
PC: Why did you decide to go natural?
L: I wish I had been natural my whole life lol but I decided to stop using the “creamy crack” in while in college when I had a few friends that were natural but always wore their hair strait. I was so intrigued how their hair was so long, healthy, thick and shiny. So they told me they wore presses and blowouts. So my initial thoughts were “oh I can still wear my hair straight but be natural”. I didn’t really know much about what it took to have natural hair so I tried to transition for a few months, trying to hold on to my “straight hair” notion. I live on the east coast and the humidity is really high during the summer and I had to keep putting heat on my hair to keep it straight. It was too much so I gave up on transitioning and Big Chopped…oh and I rarely wear my hair straight! Go figure :o)
PC: How do you feel about your hair?
L: I love my hair now but I must say it was a love/hate relationship early on. Back when I first went natural there wasn’t as much information about caring for our hair so I had to figure everything out on my own which usually was trial and error. I had moments of insecurity and times where I wanted to just give up and go get a perm but I stuck through it, followed blogs and Fotki hair albums for inspiration and now I love my hair. I think it is so unique and identifies (not defines) me. It’s very regal, truly a queens crown :o)
L: I love my hair now but I must say it was a love/hate relationship early on. Back when I first went natural there wasn’t as much information about caring for our hair so I had to figure everything out on my own which usually was trial and error. I had moments of insecurity and times where I wanted to just give up and go get a perm but I stuck through it, followed blogs and Fotki hair albums for inspiration and now I love my hair. I think it is so unique and identifies (not defines) me. It’s very regal, truly a queens crown :o)
PC: What products do you use?
L: Shampoo :: I really love shampoo bars. They are all natural and always have the best ingredients. They really get my hair and scalp squeaky clean without stripping the moisture. Henna Sooq and Bobeam Naturals have awesome bars.
Conditioners :: My fav conditioners are Aubrey Organics White Camellia, Shea Radiance Maximum Moisture and Oyin Handmade Hair Dew. They are all wonderful at infusing moisture into my hair and they work great for closing the hair cuticle after ayurvedic treatments, which tend to open up the hair cuticle.
Deep Conditioner :: I like doing homemade DC’s using products like yogurt, eggs, honey, molasses, avocado, coconut milk, oils, etc. I play around and mix it up each time. I usually leave these treatments on for at least 30 mins under a plastic cap. I also like to do ayurvedic treatments using amla, neem or brahmi powders. And my all time favorite conditioning treatment is bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar.
Moisturizers :: The number one moisturizer is plain water…the only thing that contains moisture! Each time I twist my hair for a twist-out I spritz my hair with my mixture that contains water, aloe vera juice and a mix of essential oils. My fav water based products are Shea Moisture’s Coconut Hibiscus Hair Smoothie, Koils by Nature Shealoe Leave-in Conditioner and Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia. LOVE these :o)
Sealants :: I consider sealants my “stylers” since I really only wear my hair in twist-outs and bantu knot-outs lol but my favs are Oyin Handmade’s Whipped Pudding, Shea Radiance Curl Defining Cream and Naturalista Cosmetics Juicy Leave-In. All of these are shea-based products which is a great sealant. I also use coconut oil/Vatika oil to seal my hair if I already have a heavier product like the previously listed in my hair. I love coconut oil since it actually penetrates the hair cuticle and strengthens it. I ALWAYS seal my ends and I love using the Oyin Handmade pomades.
Stylers :: I consider this category as the products I use for wash-n-gos, which I don’t wear very often. I like the Curls Unleashed Mousse, Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Argan Oil Eco-Styler.
L: Shampoo :: I really love shampoo bars. They are all natural and always have the best ingredients. They really get my hair and scalp squeaky clean without stripping the moisture. Henna Sooq and Bobeam Naturals have awesome bars.
Conditioners :: My fav conditioners are Aubrey Organics White Camellia, Shea Radiance Maximum Moisture and Oyin Handmade Hair Dew. They are all wonderful at infusing moisture into my hair and they work great for closing the hair cuticle after ayurvedic treatments, which tend to open up the hair cuticle.
Deep Conditioner :: I like doing homemade DC’s using products like yogurt, eggs, honey, molasses, avocado, coconut milk, oils, etc. I play around and mix it up each time. I usually leave these treatments on for at least 30 mins under a plastic cap. I also like to do ayurvedic treatments using amla, neem or brahmi powders. And my all time favorite conditioning treatment is bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar.
Moisturizers :: The number one moisturizer is plain water…the only thing that contains moisture! Each time I twist my hair for a twist-out I spritz my hair with my mixture that contains water, aloe vera juice and a mix of essential oils. My fav water based products are Shea Moisture’s Coconut Hibiscus Hair Smoothie, Koils by Nature Shealoe Leave-in Conditioner and Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia. LOVE these :o)
Sealants :: I consider sealants my “stylers” since I really only wear my hair in twist-outs and bantu knot-outs lol but my favs are Oyin Handmade’s Whipped Pudding, Shea Radiance Curl Defining Cream and Naturalista Cosmetics Juicy Leave-In. All of these are shea-based products which is a great sealant. I also use coconut oil/Vatika oil to seal my hair if I already have a heavier product like the previously listed in my hair. I love coconut oil since it actually penetrates the hair cuticle and strengthens it. I ALWAYS seal my ends and I love using the Oyin Handmade pomades.
Stylers :: I consider this category as the products I use for wash-n-gos, which I don’t wear very often. I like the Curls Unleashed Mousse, Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Argan Oil Eco-Styler.
PC: What is your hair care routine?
L: I wash my hair or do an ayurvedic treatment (which cleanses) once a week. I always do a pre-poo treatment which usually consists of heavily coating my hair with an oil and leaving it on for a few hours or overnight. After I wash, I do a deep condition with a heat cap, a steamer or just a plastic cap – depending on what I condition with. Sometimes I will use a conditioner or I will make my own using things from my kitchen! i.e. yogurt, eggs, honey, etc.
After this, I will style my hair, usually in twists and I always seal the ends. During the week, I will either re-twist my hair or just loosely tie a scarf over my twist-out and re-fluff in the morning if I am feeling lazy :o)
I repeat this process each week!
L: I wash my hair or do an ayurvedic treatment (which cleanses) once a week. I always do a pre-poo treatment which usually consists of heavily coating my hair with an oil and leaving it on for a few hours or overnight. After I wash, I do a deep condition with a heat cap, a steamer or just a plastic cap – depending on what I condition with. Sometimes I will use a conditioner or I will make my own using things from my kitchen! i.e. yogurt, eggs, honey, etc.
After this, I will style my hair, usually in twists and I always seal the ends. During the week, I will either re-twist my hair or just loosely tie a scarf over my twist-out and re-fluff in the morning if I am feeling lazy :o)
I repeat this process each week!
PC: What are your favorite hairstyles?
L: My fav is just a plain ole twist-out! Lol I love wearing my hair out, the bigger the better! I love having it just free and wild.
L: My fav is just a plain ole twist-out! Lol I love wearing my hair out, the bigger the better! I love having it just free and wild.
PC: What has been the hardest part of your natural hair journey?
L: The hardest part for me was the beginning and when I started losing my hair and damaged it by coloring it myself. In the beginning, I hated going through tons of products trying to figure what worked. It was really frustrating and expensive! I also hated the stage where it was “too short to be long” and “too long to be short”. It was an awkward phase and I didn’t know how to style it so I always wore a head band or twisted the sides.
More recently, losing my hair was actually emotionally scary. I thought it was down hill from there. I was like wow my glory days are over lol but I didn’t give up and just changed my approach, tried new things with my hair and scalp (more so my scalp) and my hair started to grow back. Relief!
More recently, losing my hair was actually emotionally scary. I thought it was down hill from there. I was like wow my glory days are over lol but I didn’t give up and just changed my approach, tried new things with my hair and scalp (more so my scalp) and my hair started to grow back. Relief!
PC: What was your proudest natural moment?
L: My Big Chop and starting my blog in March :o) I know this sounds weird and I hope this doesn’t get taken out of context lol but I also feel proud when I get compliments from men or people from other races, those who most likely know nothing about natural hair have appreciation for our crowns :o)
L: My Big Chop and starting my blog in March :o) I know this sounds weird and I hope this doesn’t get taken out of context lol but I also feel proud when I get compliments from men or people from other races, those who most likely know nothing about natural hair have appreciation for our crowns :o)
PC: What tips/suggestions do you have for other naturals?
L: Go with what works for YOU. If you think about it, most of what you find on blogs are just opinions and people sharing what works for them. Do the same for yourself. Use what others share as inspiration but mix things up and experiment until you find what works for you.
Always read product labels and take note of ingredients in products that you like. Then find other products with similar ingredients. The purest, all-natural ingredients will always give you the best results :o)
Blog: www.LaCocoBella.com
Twitter: @lacocobellablog
Instagram: lacocobella
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaCocoBellaBlog
L: Go with what works for YOU. If you think about it, most of what you find on blogs are just opinions and people sharing what works for them. Do the same for yourself. Use what others share as inspiration but mix things up and experiment until you find what works for you.
Always read product labels and take note of ingredients in products that you like. Then find other products with similar ingredients. The purest, all-natural ingredients will always give you the best results :o)
Blog: www.LaCocoBella.com
Twitter: @lacocobellablog
Instagram: lacocobella
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaCocoBellaBlog
Lauren's twist-out is just stunning! I'm loving her hair care routine too! Thanks so much for sending in your feature Lauren! Be sure to check out her blog, La Coco Bella!
2 comments:
Beautiful!!!
gorgeous lauren!
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