Tales From the Kinks: Ebony Edition
1.Introduce yourself? Hey Cia! My name is Ebony and I’m a 19 year old full time college student and newly natural! 2. When did you do your BC? I BC’d July 14th around 2am. 3. Why did you decide to go natural? I had always been interested in natural hair and after doing a lot of research on it, I decided to try it out. I was also struggling with self-esteem issues and decided that going natural would help me get to the root (no pun intended) of those problems because my hair wouldn’t always be bone straight and once I big chopped, I would have to deal with a completely different head of hair. 4. What was your support system like once you went natural? My support system was very small. A lot of people didn’t understand why I did it or they thought I did it to follow some type of trend. 5. What is one of the strangest comments you have received about your hair? “So what are you gonna do with it?” 6. How to you maintain moisture and curl? I maintain moisture and curl by co-washing every other day and using moisturizing products that contain humectants. To define my curls I use Fantasia IC Styling Gel with Olive Oil. When combined with a good leave in, it makes my curls pop and leaves them soft and moisturized. I spritz my hair at night with water/conditioner/oils and apply a whipped shea butter mix to it before wrapping it in a satin bonnet and going to bed. I also deep condition my hair once a week for about two hours, using a plastic cap and towel (no heat). I’m still trying to figure out what works for my hair and what doesn’t. 7. What are your favorite hair/homemade products? Fantasia IC Styling Gel with Olive Oil, Suave Naturals conditioners, Suave Humectant conditioner, Hawaiian Silky 14 n 1 Miracle Worker and my whipped shea butter mix (unrefined shea butter, oils and suave conditioner) I love Lustrasilk Cholesterols for deep conditioning as well. 8. What advice would you give to new naturals or naturals period? My biggest piece of advice to new naturals would be to not get discouraged with your hair. The way your hair looks and feels right after your BC is, most of the time, not what it will look and feel like in a few weeks. My curls and texture change everyday and it took my curl pattern a while to reveal itself. All naturals should remember that water is our best friend and to keep your hair moisturized. Also, don’t focus so much about what other naturals look like. Embrace YOUR hair, they way that it is. God blessed you with it, so love it. 9. If you had a choice would you revert back to permed hair? No. I love my natural hair. My curls are fierce! 10. What are some of your favorite sites for a support system? I love the forum on CurlyNikki.com. Also, for college curlies, collegecurlies.blogspot.com is a good site also. Some others I visit include Black Girl Long Hair and Naturally Obsessed. 11. How do you spruce up your natural hair on a fun night/special occasion? My twa is very short so I usually use a cute headband or flower to jazz it up. 12. What was your transition process like? I transitioned for 3 months and because I had done so much research, it wasn’t that bad at all. I had intended to transition for 8 months, but after 3, I was tired of the relaxed hair and wanted it gone. While transitioning, I co-washed my hair 3 times a week and rocked bantu knot outs, half wigs and ponytails. 13. What are you hair goals? I don’t have many hair goals right now. I just want my TWA to grow out long enough for me to be able to wear protective styles by November/December. I am always striving for healthy, moisturized hair, no matter what the length is. 14. Where can we find you on the blocks of kinks? aka the net? You can find me on facebook (Ebony Kashan Ragin), Twitter (@GodGivenNatural) or the CurlyNikki.com forum Do you have a story you would like to share? Visit >Tales from the Kinks