Hiiiii Beauties & CURLfriends!
My name is Brittany, and some may know me as “BeautywithBJ” on Youtube and Instagram. Let me first start by confessing: while many may have decided to go natural, I was sort of forced to. Forced as in, I didn’t have much of a choice once I experienced a cute protective style gone WRONG and the results were irreversible. [In short: I had Senegalese twists installed. When the stylist installed them she used beeswax AND Spritz in my hair, unbeknownst to me. It was not until I kept them in for about 1.5 months and tried to take them out that I realized my hair had begun to lock and knot in the majority of places around my head]. My only option was to cut it off and start over.
If any of you have ever had to go through a BIG CHOP or even have to cut your hair due to damage, you can understand the hurt I felt. I felt ugly, and inadequate. Its funny how secure we are with ourselves, how beautiful we think we are, and how much we got it allll together. . . until our hair is compromised or gone! It took many days of me trying to be ok and attempting to have a brave face in public before I finally got a grip. I decided one day that I was going to OWN my situation and hair, regardless of length, and that this mishap wasn’t going to own me – and that’s exactly what I did! Once I shifted my mindset and I started to focus on the overall HEALTH of my natural hair, the length followed. One year and 6 months later, and I haven’t turned back!
If I had to give a few words of advice on maintaining healthy curly hair, it would be:
MOISTURIZE/DEEP CONDITION your hair regularly [or as often as needed]. Deep conditioning is so important and many times, we over look this step. This is the step where we infuse extra moisture into our tresses [using indirect heat to open the hair cuticles can increase results]. This helps our curls to bounce, thrive, prevents breakage by improving its elasticity, and shine, to name a few benefits.
LEARN YOUR HAIR: Many times, we focus on what product(s) someone else may use and because we are in love with the results, we rush to the store to purchase that item only to potentially be disappointed because it didn’t produce the same results as we saw on our CURLsista! The truth is everyone’s hair is different. From one texture to mixed textures, no one has the exact same hair type, strands, and so on. So learning your own hair and what your hair needs/likes is more beneficial than using a particular brand or product. Learning your porosity is KEY when learning your hair, as this will help you effectively moisturize your hair. Low porosity [your hair has a hard time getting water into its cuticles], normal, & high porosity [your hair has a hard time getting the water out of the cuticles]. You may want to Google this for a more in-depth understanding.
FOCUS ON THE OVERALL HEALTH OF YOUR HAIR AND DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU: Dont compare your natural hair journey with those around you. Your journey is YOURS and while you can use product or styling tips, and inspirations from others, don’t allow yourself to compare your hair and its growth to the next woman so much that you feel unaccomplished. Truth is, everyone’s hair grows differently and as long as your hair is healthy, that’s all that matters. Wear your crown proudly. After all, it is YOURS!