Girl Behind the Curl....Meet Jennifer!

Hello beauties! This week’s beautiful Girl Behind the Curl is Jennifer from Dallas! (she’s my second Jennifer from Dallas I have featured too! lol) She is a long-time transitioner who, like me, finally gave in and did the big chop! She keeps her regiman simple and goes with what she knows works for her hair! Read more about how she mane-tains her silky curls!

Meet Jennifer!

Introduction : : Do share a little about yourself!

Howdy y’all! I’m Jennifer, 26, recent grad school graduate, and a Dallas-ite living in New Jersey.

In the beginning : : What inspired you to go embrace your natural-ness? OR If you’ve been natural since forever, what inspired you to never get a perm?

My journey to embracing my curls began after what I call my “hair struggle” period. During that time, I was a broke college graduate moving back home, studying for graduate school exams, and not giving my hair a second thought. My hair was thin, growing unevenly, and badly damaged. I wanted to try something new; so I stopped get relaxers and wore weaves. Re-locating to the NYC metro area exposed me to various women with different curl patterns embracing their hair. Watching the different styles all the you-tube gurus were doing also inspired me. I took out my weave and transitioned for 13 months until I finally did the big chop in May ’11.

Relaxer Days

Big Chop May 2010

Mane-tain : : What is your weekly/monthly regimen like? If you have color in your hair, how do you maintain it’s health?

My regimen has been the same since I became completely natural. I wash my hair once a week with a shampoo, either Herbal Essences or Creme of Nature; no, they aren’t sulfate-free but I don’t fare well with a dirty scalp. Then I use a super creamy conditioner, rinse it out, and detangle and twist my hair in four sections with a deep conditioner. I don’t have a sit-under dryer so I improvise by tying two grocery bags around my hair and blowing my hand-held hair dryer around my head for about 10 minutes. An hour later, I rinse out my deep conditioner and do the “LOC “(Liquid, Oil, Cream/Moisturizer) method. The liquid is water followed by my leave in, Paul Mitchell’s The Conditioner, next I use any oil I have available such as olive oil, and seal everything in with a mix of Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioning Hair Repair Cream and Elastic QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer.

Your uniqueness : : How would describe your hair and how do you like to wear/style your hair daily? i.e. wash-n-go’s, twists, straight, protective styles, etc.

My hair is like the weather. My curls will be happy and bouncy for two days and then out of nowhere it will be a big frizzy mess. Twist-outs and Braid-outs are my staple go to hairstyles and helps keep my hair tamed. I’ll usually use the texture I gain from the twist out to do a texturized bun, up-do, or wear it down. On bad weather days, I will keep my hair twisted up, create a bang up-do with the twists and wear a beanie to save myself from damaging my hair. After you have heat damage you never want to go back, therefore I only get my hair professionally straightened twice a year. I have tried and failed numerous times with wash ‘n go’s; my main issue, is when it dries all my “hang-time” has become a shrunken Jheri curl mess. Mini-twists are another go to in cold weather months. They are versatile, keep my hair moisturized, and when I take them out I have curls that last for at least another week.

Choosing favorites : : What are some fav products you can’t live without or would recommend to someone else? How do you use them?

Although I am a firm believer that it is the technique and not the product; I do have a few staple products. Cantu Shea Butter Leave In was the first product I used when I was transitioning and almost two years later I still love it. It doesn’t weigh down my hair and leaves my curls very well moisturized. I also love the new Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque. The smell is great and you can use it as a deep conditioner or leave in.

Drop some knowledge : : Do you have a marvelous hair practice/technique you’ve learned and wouldn’t mind sharing? OR is there something you’d like to learn more about?

I have experienced so many people tell me, “I can’t go natural because my hair doesn’t look like yours”. Whether you hair waves, curls, or kinks; it’s just that, your hair. Love it and it will love you back!