*Prepared for BGLH by Meosha Tall of 1MeNaturally
Introduce yourself!
F: My name is Fatima and Iโm from Paterson, New Jersey.
Why did you make the decision to go natural?
F: I never actually โWent Naturalโ. Iโve been natural my whole life and never had a relaxer. However, I did transition as most relaxed girls do, but from heat damaged hair. I did this transition because I wanted my natural curls back. For about 5โ6 years I flat ironed and blow dried my hair at least 2x per week. My hair was severely damaged and I wanted my natural curls back. I was in highschool and I was finally becoming my own person. Even though it wasnโt the popular/trending thing to do I decided to try it anyway.
How would you describe your texture?
F: Iโm not really sure. My hair is very thick when itโs dry but when itโs wet it is a wavy/curly texture.
Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month.
F: I like to experiment with different styles. On Sunday I usually detangle with any Vo5 Conditioner, shampoo with Vo5, deep condition with Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayo and style with Eco Styler Gel. I only cowash with Vo5 Conditioner once per week and restyle on whichever day I decided to cowash. Sometimes Iโll do wash n gos and then on my cowash day Iโll do a braid out. I prefer to switch it up every few days. I repeat this pattern each week. Every once in a while I will use Aphogee 2 min Keratin Reconstructor for a protein treatment. It really depends on the needs of my hair.
What does wash day look like for you?
F: First I finger detangle in the shower with Vo5 Conditioner. Then, I shampoo with any Vo5 Shampoo. I only concentrate the product at my roots and I always work in four sections. Next, I apply my favorite deep conditioner, Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayo for 15 minutes to 1 hour. I rinse and then style in either a braidout, protective style, bantu knots or wash & go. Using Cantu Shea Butter Daily Oil Moisturizer and Eco Styler Gel.
Describe your favorite go-to hairstyle for days when you donโt have a lot of time to style.
F: Wash and Goโs used to be my favorite style. I wore them all summer long. However, I started noticing breakage and dryness so I no longer wear this style. I recently started a โHealthy Hair Challengeโ on my blog. So I am wearing protective styles for a couple of months.
How do you combat shrinkage?
F: My hair doesnโt shrink much, but when it does I just embrace it as it is.
Tell us about your hair color?
F: I color my own hair. Itโs a mixture of chestnut blonde and honey blonde by Dark and Lovely. Itโs growing out now and I donโt plan to re-dye for a while. It has changed the texture of my hair, but not drastically. I do have to be more careful with heat and more persistent with moisturizing my ends.
What are some of your problem areas (if any) that require special care and attention?
F: My ends have been really dry and I noticed a lot of split ends recently. In order to combat this problem Iโve been doing protein treatments, moisturizing my ends daily and trimming my ends as needed.
What are 2 doโs for your texture?
F: Creamy moisturizers, which make my hair super soft and shiny. Deep conditioning once a week keeps my hair strong.
What are 2 donโts for your texture?
F: Dry combing or brushing leads to breakage. I always detangle on wet hair! Wash and Goโs although this was my favorite style this past summer it no longer is. My roots get severely tangled and my ends always feel dry after a wash n go.
Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
F: www.sewingstardom.com is my lifestyle blog. @Fatima_FF on Twitter and IG. I would also like to invite anyone that is interested in joining me on โThe Healthy Hair Challengeโ to check out my blog for all the details!
Hey everyone! Iโm a teenage girl expressing her love and appreciation for natural hair. I would love it if you checked out my blog!
Thank you and be blessed
xoxo Teenage Naturalista
http://theteenagenaturalista.blogspot.com/
@Teenage Naturalista, Iโve see this post on other articles on this site. Please stop advertising your blog in this manner. Thanks in advance.
Fatima, your hair is gorgeous!
No offence to this style icon because she has lovely hair BUT I find the style icons hair types/textures pretty repetitive. Most seem to be either 3C or 4A with the occasional 4b thrown in. Someone once said looser hair types get less attention but maybe people just relate less to those icons.
Anyway not trying to throw shade, just realising that its rare that I can relate to these journeys and icons.
Thanks for bringing it up,itโs kinda discouraging โcause I want to know how to care for my extremely kinky 4c hair. Iโm kinda envious of Fatimaโs hair,its gorgeous and NO SHRINKAGE!! OMG what Iโd give for that. Its so bad Iโm even considering texlaxing to loosen my curl a bit.
Just my opinionโฆbut donโt texlax your hair. Part of this journey is loving the hair God blessed us with. All I do is search 4C in the upper righthand corner and get many style icons. โฆstill you can do what ever youโd like. Just my suggestion considering this site is here to help us love our hair regardless of itโs type. ๐
Beautiful hair and I can relate to the texture.My roots get tangled too and I have split ends.I also like the hair color and thanks for giving the color used. ๐
The thing is with Afro hair is it behaves different when wet and dry.My hair when wet has waves and tight kinky curls but when dry it looks like their is NO visible curl pattern.I may not understand it all but I love my afro hair anyway. ๐
#there
Pretty hair!
Different note: 3a 4a canโt be the ONLY hair people out there!
Granted they throw multi-texture hair people in but theyโre mix of 3a&4a!
It will be nice they show 3a one day 4a the next 4b the next and so forth, so EVERYONE
can relate and get ideas.โฆ
Just my two cent
Au-revoir tout lโhomme
To be honest, 3a are rarely featuredโฆ
It can be difficult to find a bunch of natural-haired women who only hair one hair type. I have at least 3 different hair types on one head. Therefore, your wish may never come true!
Am I the only one who thinks the website shows quite a range of hair types! Maybe more 3c/4aโs put themselves forward! Anyone considered that? Anyway I think the style icons are quite diverse.
I love Fatimaโs carefree golden mane! And though it looks great on her, I understand growing out the color. Fun range of styles, the length really suits. Great interview and will check out the site it looks fun!
+1 I totally agree.
Beautiful hair Fatima!
Yeah maybe itโs me but I feel like I see 4b-4c textures moreโฆ3c not so much, and it is true that 4bโc hair gets more attention on here, textures like this only get at most 14โ15 comments lol, itโs cool I just thought that maybe I saw things differently. I look at all the icon posts so it doesnโt really matter to me.
@Nooni I agree. Iโve found the icons very diverse but maybe women with certain hair patterns arenโt contributing as frequently. For those who feel their patterns are underrepresented, consider submitting yourself as an icon.
I actually think, generally speaking more 3โs and 4aโs go natural than 4bโs anyway. Iโm a 4b/4c and some people seem so afraid of this hair type. My mumโs a type 2/3 and sometimes, my hair is the easier type to manage. Mine will hold the same hairstyle for day, but because herโs is so silky it wonโt stay in place as easily! So every hair types have their drawbacks and advantages But I do think the website showcases a lot of different textures, but someone always has to moan! lol! I enjoy seeing different textures and I like Fatimaโs… Read more »
Love Love Love the Tracy Ellis Ross inspired with paired with the pink lipstick. ๐
Thanks everyone for all the nice comments!
Going to co-sign with @Nooni. Iโve seen a variety of lenghths and textures here. Great job Fatima
your hair is beautiful
Lovely hair,beautiful girl
My hair is over 3 feet long and very thick. I have been searching for YEARS for a good conditioner that would make brushing my hair post-wash easier. The Shielo Smoothing Conditioner & Smoothing Collection is amazing. I have no tangles in my hair after washing and my hair looks and feels great. I would suggest anyone with long, color treated, or dull hair give Shielo Smoothing a try.