*Prepared for BGLH by Meosha Tall of 1MeNaturally
Introduce yourself!
N: Hey everyone! I’m NaturalBBdiamond, 23 years old, YouTuber, Blogger and Scientist (Master degree in Biology). I’m passionate and I love all things creative. I live in France, but I’m originally from Togo (Africa). With my blog and my YouTube channel, I share information, tips and ideas for natural hair care. During 2012–2013, I’ll be the official blogger of the French cosmetic brand Activilong. I’ll also make videos for its YouTube channel.
Why did you make the decision to go natural?
N: As a child, straightening was a habit. I even thought it was an obvious condition to have beautiful hair. I never thought about wearing my natural hair. Fortunately I changed my mind. I started my hair journey shortly after having cut my hair several times because of breakage. I was tired of breakage and bored with my relaxed hair. I started to watch YouTube videos and I found some beautiful American ladies wearing their gorgeous natural hair. Captivated by their beautiful curly/frizzy hair I decided to go natural. I was also curious to see what my hair would look like without relaxing treatments. I think I had a great change of perspective. I’ve been natural for 1 year and 9 months. My last relaxer was in May 2010 and I big chopped at 6 months post relaxer in November 2010.
How would you describe your texture?
N: I have a few different textures, but my hair is mostly 4A/B. My hair is very thick and very dense.
Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month.
N: Twist outs are my favorite style since my 6 months post big chop. Right after my big chop I mostly wore wash-and-go because my hair was very short. Now I love twist outs because it allows me to define my curls and makes my hair softer.
What does wash day look like for you?
N: My regimen is pretty simple. Once a week I wash, detangle, moisturize, seal in the moisture and do between 15 to 20 twists that I remove when my hair is completely dry. I wash my hair with Activilong Natural Touch Conditioning Shampoo or Marseille Apricot Soap. I deep condition my hair using Activilong Acti-Repair Mask. During the mask I detangle my hair with my fingers or with a wide tooth comb, and I do 6 twists. Then I rinse my hair. Sometimes I use diluted apple cider vinegar directly on my scalp. I moisturize and seal in the moisture with Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and pure coconut oil. I use a Tangle Teezer brush to finish detangling and spread products on to my hair.
Describe your favorite go-to hairstyle for days when you don’t have a lot of time to style.
N: I wear twist outs almost every day of the week, but you can see me with my twists in if they are not dry or if I’m being lazy. If I don’t have a lot of time I’ll probably do a bun with my hair or a ponytail with my twists.
How do you combat shrinkage?
N: I use twist outs and the banding method (when I go to sleep) to stretch my hair, but shrinkage isn’t really a big deal. Sometimes I do wash-and-gos and love the shrinkage.
What are some of your problem areas (if any) that require special care and attention?
N: My hair is really dry and needs a lot of moisture. I also have a sensitive scalp.
What are 2 do’s for your texture?
N: Lots of moisture and sealing in the moisture. Avoid loss of moisture by sleeping with satin scarf. Damp or wet styling and being gentle while detangling.
What are 2 don’ts for your texture?
N: Combing while dry. Heat styling. Going longer than 2 weeks without detangling my hair and washing my scalp.
Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
N: Absolutely! My YouTube channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalBBdiamond
My Instagram: NaturalBBdiamond
My Blog: http://naturalbbdiamond.blogspot.fr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaturalBBdiamond
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/NatBBdiamond
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Wow. Isnt she beautiful?
simply stunning!
Very pretty lady
Long time reader, I’m posting for the first time just to say how nice it is to see a fellow Togolese featured on BGLH as a style icon! I’m glad to see more of my sisters join the natural world. And she and her hair are really beautiful too. Keep up the good work!
very pretty woman..
She’s beautiful and I love the bun style
Very pretty lady and hair!
pretty hair on a pretty woman.
pretty
Elle juste “trop” belle !! ^-^ Her blog and vlog are great too.
Elle a des jolie cheveux! French naturals representing! LOL More please
Hey fellow Togolese:)
Super jolie and gorgeous hair!
She is so sweet and lovely, she even translates her videos in english on youtube and she won a hair contest to be a spokeswoman, i voted for her!
Lovely hair and what length is it? I only ask because I want to know how long is long enough for a good size bun and the other styles she showcases here.
Hair grows differently from a person to another, so you cannot base your growth on somebody else’s hair 🙂
BTW, she is very pretty and I’m glad to see a fellow French speaker, Blogger and Vlogger as a style icon 🙂
I believe she wants to know how long your hair needs to be to put in a bun and to do some of the lovely styles that are worn in the pictures.
Exactly, that’s just what I wanted to know. Why must some people project, mind read and come up with 2+2=4?
*14
She misundurstood I guess, no big deal 🙂
Here’s the answer:
http://naturalbbdiamond.blogspot.fr/2012/06/length-check-longueur-apres-un-et-demi.html
Thanks! I’m about 2–4 inches out depending on the area. Another person’s hair can be a guideline lengthwise if you’re thinking about replicating a style seen on them. I suppose I was confused because my previous question seemed both innocuous and logical.
Very nice and simple. Proof that you don’t need heat to be versitile. Nice variety of styles in the pictures you showed.
Very pretty both hair and lady<3 best wishes on your future endeavors 1Love
Gorgeous! i think i have a girl/hair crush!
A beautiful face and hair that my camera would love to capture!
You are simply darling. I LOVE…LOVE…LOVE your hair, pics and interview responses as my hair is very similar to yours. Gonna check out your FB and Youtube. Peace&Love~Yvonne
me too! I hope she has a tutorial on the 4th style in the picture gallery. I hope my hair is long enough to pull it off. I love it!
I’m from Ghana (live in the states) and it ‘s nice to see a fellow African sister talk about her natural hair. I’ll start following her on YouTube and Facebook.
Natural BBDiamond u’re gorgeous as usual girl!!!
Does she have a facebook account..? :p
I saw some of her pictures… She is a model… 🙂
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reviews on salons
hairdressing business
georgina hair
Her hair is gorgeous! It’s nice to see a natural from Togo! =)
I agree sista!! I am from Benin and you?
Hi my name is Doris!!
I am from Benin, but live in France/UK!
I am so proud to see black women being natural!!
Nice work you’ve done!
Keep up I am a fan!
Pretty girl and great hair!
Hi I found you article from 2009 about good hair then deiedcd to see what your blog is all about. I alos use mixed chicks (on my 3yr old son) and it is way pricey! Anyways my question is how do you tell what type of hair your kids have. ie 3c/4a? Is there a website or something that explains this? Thanks.