Where are you from and what do you do?
N: I’m from Baltimore…and I’m in transition. I’ll be a college student (somewhere, God willing) in the spring. But right now I work in a high school as a Project Intern for the Youth Development Unit.
When did you go natural? Why?
N: I’m natural by default. =) I had a relaxer once when I was like seven. And it took my hair out….never again.
My mom is natural so it was something that I knew I would probably follow.
My sister, my aunt and my cousin all began to lock and their hair was growing! My hair was short, in fact when I was really young I didn’t even have hair..lol I remember the day I decided to lock my mom kept telling me how I was gonna watch my sister’s hair grow and be mad, and that day I was supposed to get my hair done, which didn’t happen. So i just declared, I’m gonna lock my hair. And that was the summer before sixth grade.
You’re 17 and you’ve had locks for a long time now. How have people around you reacted to your hair?
N: In middle school, people thought I was Jamaican..lol But my friends love it. People tell me how cute and neat they are. It’s funny, cause people randomly tell me when they see my hair, “I want locks,” or “I’m tryna lock my hair”. So..yeah. People are pretty in love with my locks. Lol.
What do you use in your hair?
N: To wash it I use a shampoo bar from a company called Wonderful Oils of the World. It has Tea Tree Oil, Thyme and Rosemary or I use Nadina’s Shea Butter Shampoo and Conditioner. To lock I just use pure shea butter and I occasionally oil it with Sunflower and Olive Oil.
What style do you love to rock?
N: Umm..since it’s been cut just straight, showing of my cut. I’m soo happy with it!
But I used to love to braid my hair, then take it out so it would be crinkly. That was two styles in one. And really convenient. I could swim in the braids and when i took them out, they’d be crinkly.
Why do you prefer natural hair to relaxed hair?
N: I really love the versatility of being natural, because you can still do a weave or press and still have your natural texture. When you perm, you lose that…and it takes a minute to get it back. And I never wanna lose my natural texture.
For more from Nia check out her blog.
