by
Christina Patrice
Introduce yourself!
S: My name is Sydney (known in social media as Posh Syd). Â I currently reside in West Reading, PA , but I am from Brooklyn,NY. I will always be a Brooklyn girl. That will always be home!!!
Did you transition or big chop? Share your natural hair journey with us!
S:Â I made a vow on my 25th birthday (9/19/12) not to get another relaxer. My beautician at the time suddenly quit and I was being bounced around from stylist to stylist. My hair wasn’t getting the proper care it needed and started breaking terribly, so I decided that was it. I continued using heat until 2/13, at which point I started doing my research and concluded heat was almost just as bad as relaxing so I stopped that as well. I went to a salon and had my stylist cut off most of my relaxed ends, but I was so uncomfortable that I had her install a weave . I wore the install until April 2013 and when I removed it, I went in my bathroom and did my big chop. My natural hair journey officially began. Â My hair has been in its complete natural state now for 1yr 9months and it was the best decision ever! My hair is the healthiest its been in my life!
How would you describe your texture?
S:Â My hair is 4c with a little 4b in the middle. I call her Brown Sugar. Â She is the most unruly and unmanageable at times as she is very coarse and dense, but I love everything about her!
Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month, and the rationale behind your various styling decisions.
S: I try not to manipulate my hair too much, so on wash days I usually put in some medium-sized twist and style them some days during the week — or throw a turban over top of them and untwist on the weekend to unleash the fro.  I rock my twistout for as long as I can and preserve it by doing what I call the “4 Puff Method” (similar to the pineapple method – check it out on my YouTube channel) so I am sometimes able to get 3+ days of the twistout once the twist are actually removed. Once there is no more saving the twistout, I resort to my high puff 🙂
What does wash day look like for you?
S:Â Wash day looks like ALL DAY for me lol. It starts with sectioning my hair in 4-6 sections and pre pooing using Aussie moist conditioner and my organic virgin coconut oil. This helps soften my hair. Â I then wash and condition my hair using Cantu shea butter shampoo and conditioner. I do this in sections to prevent too much breakage. Next I deep condition with either my Carols Daughter Monoi or my Eden Body Works Jojoba Monoi deep conditioners and sit under my Huetiful hair steamer. I wash my deep conditioner out and follow up with the LOC method. I allow my hair to dry a little and then I style for the week, usually with Cantu Coconut Curling Cream and Eco Styler Gel or Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting Butter.
Describe your favorite go-to hairstyle for days when you don’t have a lot of time to style.Â
S:Â When I do not have a lot of time to style you can catch me rocking my high puff. I love how I can dress it up with some fierce accessories or makeup and then head out the door. It’s quick simple and cute!
How do you combat shrinkage?Â
S:Â I’ve learned to embrace shrinkage along my journey. During the Summer months its really bad due to the crazy heat and humidity, but in the Winter months you can see my hang time (or length) a little bit more lol. Â Earlier in my journey I tried things like the bobby pin method, but once my hair started growing I just learned to embrace it because it’s a part of wearing my hair in its natural state. I actually love it!
What are some of your problem areas (if any) that require extra care and attention?
S:Â I am known for my protective styles, but my edges and nape area are very sensitive so I have to be very gentle when installing. I also keep those areas oiled with Jamaican Black Castor Oil.
What are 2 do’s for your texture?
S:Â Protect your hair from time to time. Whether that be with braids, twists, sew-in’s etc. Us 4b/4c chicks have very fragile hair so manipulating it too much causes breakage. Â Protective styles will lesson the amount of hair manipulation, in turn decreasing breakage. You also want to deep condition your hair often. Â Our hair texture is naturally dense and dull so this helps keep our hair moisturized, and makes it more manageable .
What are 2 don’ts for your texture?Â
S:Â Do not allow your hair to dry out. Carry a spray bottle filled with water if need be and spritz your hair as needed. Dry hair causes breakage!!! And, do not feel limited because of your texture! We can do anything we want with our hair. Be creative and have fun with it!
Is there a blog/webpage or social media account where we can find you?
Instagram.com/Posh_Syd
Youtube.com/IamPoshSyd
www.Facebook.com/IamPoshSyd
www.twitter.com/IamPoshSyd
12 Responses
Nicee
Beautiful lady with beautiful hair. HMy hair and yours loves similar methods and products!
You are doing a great job Christina I have love nearly every icon since you started doing this feature
Super adorbs naturalista!!!! #WERK!!
Gorgeous lady with fab hair!! Thanks for sharing!
Hair twin! Your hair is gorgeous. And your makeup.
I like your photos and regimen’s. You made it sound so easy. You have striking features too and your hair looks so healthy and moist. Your braid outs are giving me wide eyes. It’s nice to see another 4c.
You know I get fed up of people here presented as style icons telling others what hair can and cannot cope with. Every head of hair is different. You need to learn your own hair not what a hair icon has. This means you need to work out your own density, strand size, porosity, water where you live and the weather where you live not just your curl type. Otherwise you will spend many frustrated months wondering why a hair regime and products advertised here don’t work for you.
Err obviously, style icons can only speak from their own experience. And this they do. You’re right and your caveat is important, everybody should learn their own hair, but you cannot be “fed up of” style icons telling people what to do. Because they aren’t.
Saying you are “fed up” seems like the person is frustrated with her hair and envy’s the Style Icon’s ability to achieve great natural hair. Seems like jealousy to me….too much of that in the natural community as it is!
I agree with your basic point…As a 4b/4c myself I know some of her tips are true for me but that’s because I can say with certainty (from years of experience) that my hair IS pretty fragile and DOES do best without too much manipulation. Everyone should still exercise their brains and experiment to find out what works best for their own heads of hair.
I love your hair! So beautiful…hair, style, and makeup.