Out
of her own experience Motowngrl has created
a wonderful resource for natural hair wearers. She provides
not only detailed
pictures of her progress in nappydom, but also her hair regimen.
Her mission - "My
mission for this website is to display the beauty
of nappy/kinky/curly hair. Also to demonstrate how
to maintain natural hair by yourself and to show
that it can be both manageable and stylish without
the help of chemicals and hair extensions. You
will also experience my journey as I learn about my hair
throughout the years." We just had to
interview this natural diva!!!
What made you decide
to go natural?
I've had relaxed hair since I was twelve-years old, so I have
never dealt with
maintaining my natural hair. One day as I was planning to make
an appointment for a
touch up it just dawn me on~why do I continue to relax and straighten
my hair like
clockwork? I knew some of the reasons (I did not know how to
take care of natural
hair and relaxed hair was basically all I knew). Also my hair
relaxed hair was
becoming thinner and thinner as the years when on and I knew
I had to do something. How long have you been natural?
Although I've toyed with the idea of having natural hair since
1997, I have been
completely natural since February 2001.
How do you maintain your hair?
I have taken care of my own hair ever since my last relaxer
in November of 1999. As
of now, I have a very basic routine. I usually wear braids
(no extensions added) for
a few days, and then I wear a braid-out for a few days, then
repeat the process. My
other favorite style is to wear a puff. I use a homemade hair
spritz, I deep
condition about every three weeks, and I trim my own hair every
eight weeks.
How did you friends/family/co-workers react to your natural
hair initially?
Since I never had a short hairstyle I did get a lot of surprised
looks since many
people did not realize I was going natural. I did get the ~you
look like Jill
Scott/Macy Gray/anybody else who wore loose natural hair~ comments.
But overall, I
did not receive negative feedback. However, some people did
comment on the length
of my hair. The funny thing is that 8 months later when I hair
grew out tremendously; those same people did not have any comments for
me. lol
What problems have you encountered while wearing your natural
hair?
This is more of a nuisance than a problem, but strangers may
ask what kind of weave
is that in my hair or where I get my hair done. When I state
that it's not a weave
and I do my hair myself I usually get the ~yeah, ok~ look.
lol I dislike when people
touch my hair without my permission or pet my hair as if it's
an animal. Also some
people assume that I am going to judge those who continue to
relax their hair, when
the truth is I strongly believe in live and let live. Other
then that when I wear my
hair big, I also get a lot of looks but for me I do not like
being the center of
attention so it can get uncomfortable at times.
Has going natural taught you anything?
Going natural has been a very freeing experience for me. Not
to worrying about a few
raindrops, going on vacation and to the beach without having
my hair on my mind, and
being able to workout when I want to are just a few things
to mention. I also did
not realize how much money I spent on maintaining my relaxed
until I did the math
(over $1200 per year!!), therefore I am very happy that I do
not need to depend on
anyone to take care and style my hair!
What are your future plans with your hair (locing coloring
etc?)
I simply plan on keeping my hair healthy and happy. I use to
experiment with
different hairstyles, but these days I have my favorite styles
that I tend to stick
with. I never had any ~hair goals~ for myself and I do not
plan on coloring (I love
my jet black hair color) or locing.
Why did you start MotownGirl.com?
My hair photos were initially going to be for my eyes only
to document my hair
experience. At the time as a member of various hair message
boards and sharing
experiences, I decided to post my website. As my pictures increased,
so did my
e-mail inbox which were full of duplicate questions from different
people. That is
how my site grew. People asked about my hair routine, so I
made a detailed page
about my hair routine. Other people asked if I have tried different
products, I made
a Product Review page and so on.
Then my
website grew as a resource to take care and manage natural
hair you at home.
I can recall my frustration with not receiving the information
I needed to learn
about my hair so I wanted my website to be a ~one stop shop~
for natural hair care
for visitors.
Do you have any hair advice?
To anyone debating on going natural, please do not think natural
hair very difficult
to manage. What I like to say it's not that it's difficult;
it's only different then
having straight relaxed hair. Also do not think natural hair
is not for you. You
were born with your natural texture so it is for you.
To the
women that are currently wearing their natural hair~WORK
IT! We have many
hairstyling options and our hair is VERY versatile. If you
ever get bored with your
hair, there are many styles you can wear. Twist/Twistouts,
Braids/Braidouts, Puffs,
Bantu Knots, Rollersets/Strawsets just to name a few. Also
play up your look with
pretty scarves, earrings or a hint of a different colored eye
makeup for a change.
Lastly,
try not to get caught up with hair typing systems or obsessing
over hair
growth. Everyone's hair is different and unique and with the
proper care hair does
grow.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would first like to thank Natural Hair Digest for selecting
me as your
November/December 2004 feature. I also would like to thank
everyone who has sent me
encouraging e-mail or left wonderful messages in my guestbook,
and a very special
thank you to Mark for supporting me to the fullest in everything
I do!
Bravo!!
-NHD
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