» 3B . : La Coco Bella : .

It’s Thursday…almost the freakin weekend! lol but it also means another Girl Behind the Curl! This week’s GBTC is beautiful young mother with beautiful curls! She is some SERIOUS inspiration for Big Choppers…check out how long her hair has grown since she cut it all off by herself…meet Synamon!! <——LOVE her name btw! :o)

Introduction : : Do share a little about yourself!

My name is Synamon (yes, that’s my REAL name, lol) and I’m 23 years old. I’m originally from Buffalo, NY but I’ve just relocated to Charlotte, NC (can we say culture shock??). I have a 5 year old son with whom I share the same birthday and I think that’s pretty cool!

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 mom had 4 boys and just when she thought she was done, surprise! She had me. So needless to say, she was clueless about what to do with my head full of hair. When I was 3 or 4 years old, my mom came home with a box of Just for Me. She popped in the cassette tape with the jingle on it that came with the kit, told me I was gonna look like the girl on the box, and sold me on the idea of straight hair. From that day forward, I was obsessed with straight hair. If my hair wasn’t as straight as possible, I’d say it was “puffy,” and have a fit. However, I absolutely HATED the process. I dreaded the burning scalp and the scabs (relaxed people say that my mom didn’t base my scalp right -__-) that followed. When I was 18, my mom was giving me a retouch and it burned so bad that I was crying like a baby. The usual tightness and scabs followed and after that I vowed that if that’s what I had to endure so someone would think I was pretty, well damnit I’d just be ugly then! I didn’t know what being natural really was back then. I knew that sometimes when I was out I saw women who didn’t have relaxed hair but that was about it. Then the research process began. I would read blogs, watch youtube videos, and look at pictures for hours. After a year of transitioning (and my hair was looking a MESS, lemme tell you, lol) I couldn’t deal with the two different textures anymore. I took my mother’s hair shears, got in the mirror, and did my own big chop. That was 2009. I’ve been happily natural ever since!

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

After about 3 years of that awkward trial and error phase, I finally know what works for me so my routine is pretty simple. I wash and condition about twice a week. I’ll cowash instead of shampoo if I don’t have much product on my hair. My beloved Denman started tearing my hair out so I’ve switched to a wide tooth comb to detangle. When I’m out of the shower, I usually do a wash and go. I’ll section my hair, put conditioner in, and go. I might throw a little serum or something in there if I’m feeling fancy. Twist outs and braid outs used to be my favorite but since my hair has grown I’ll only do those once in a while. I usually put my hair in a very high bun at night. I never refresh the next day. When I start looking like Einstein I just shampoo and start all over. I’m not big on oils because somehow it always gets on my face and on my glasses. I guess I’ll mention that I have a major shedding problem, my mom says I shed like a german shepard, lol! I have color in my hair from a box, even though my hair doesn’t take boxed dyes well because it’s so dark. I don’t do anything special to take care of it. If I ever get my hair colored professionally where they’d have to lift my natural color, then yeah I’ll probably be doing the most, to try to prevent my hair from breaking off lol.

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.

I’d describe my hair as fine but thick, if that makes sense. I guess my type is a 3b or something. As I’ve mentioned, I love a good wash and go but as far as styles, I’d have to say I love wearing twists near the front, and big messy buns. When I first went natural I’d try to keep my hair as tame as possible but over time I’ve gained confidence and developed a real love for my hair so now its the bigger the better! I will say that my shrinkage is CRAZY though, and I don’t love that part so much lol. I don’t care for protective styles too much either because I’m not the most patient and I like for my hair to be free.

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

I have several favorite products. Aussie Moist shampoo is my favorite. I love Aussie conditioners for my wash days and I love Aveeno for my wash and go’s. Tresemme is good for wash and go’s too but I prefer Aveeno. I love Curls Pomade and that cheap blue LA Style (or whatever its called) gel. I don’t use them as much as I used to because I’ve become comfortable with unslicked edges. Unless it’s hot outside because then my frizz must be controlled, lol. My favorite accessories are hair combs and the thin Goody ponytail holders without the metal. I’ve found that two of these are gentler and work better on my hair than one thick one. I wanna get into scarves.

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’d like to learn how to do the nice updos that I see so many natural ladies do on their own hair.