Where are you from?
M: I live in Atlanta GA, I’m a bartender.
When did you go natural?
M: I went natural in 2004. I did protective styles for about 3 1/2 years and I still wear protective styles sometimes. I wasn’t really around my family when I decided to go natural. They don’t have a problem with it and they like my hair now. Now, at work it was a different story. I been called nappy head and told I need a perm. It hurt my feelings at first because I was transitioning and I didn’t know how to handle negative remarks in the beginning.
I started to learn the history and the science of my hair so when people say something negative I could handle myself alot better. Now when they something negative, I tell them I’m only expressing myself culturally and I do not follow the European or western standards of beauty. I like the freedom of being natural. My hair grows much more without the aid of chemicals.
What do you use in your hair?
M: I use mostly natural products — Burt Bee’s shampoo and conditioner, cantu shea butter, and 100% pure extra virgin coconut oil. I don’t use alot of products.
What mistakes have you made with your hair that you’ve learnt from?
M: When I was transitioning I did a big chop on my hair leaving barely 2 inches. I went to a stylist to get comb twist and she used brown stying gel to hold the curls or twist. The gel severely damaged my hair, leaving it very dry and brittle. I had to cut my hair again and at the time I didn’t know anything about maintaining natural hair. My lesson is don’t let everyone in our head and learn how to maintain your natural hair. I am very thankful for YouTube.
What is the best/most effective thing you do for your hair?
M: The best thing I do for my hair is saturate it in coconut oil overnight once a week. I wash out the coconut oil in the morning. The coconut oil leaves my hair very soft and it stimulates hair growth.
If your hair had a nickname what would it be?
M: I would call it Biggie, because it’s huge especially if I blow dry it out.
