"My husband loves my Natural hair" Mane matters with Vivien Beyioku

Hi Naturalistas
How are you all doing?
It's another episode of the Mane matters. Today, we bring to you Vivien

Introduce yourself

I'm Vivien, an accountant, married, live in the UK and a naturalist.

What’s your thoughts about natural hair?

Natural hair right now is a trend, but I think some people confuse the trend with the movement of black natural hair. I feel natural hair is a lifestyle, is an expression of your morals and heritage. I think that because it’s so popular right now to be natural some people don’t see the work in there. A lot of people don’t realise that part of the work is actually connecting with other naturals. Just because you are natural doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your hair, doesn’t mean you don’t go to a hairdresser, don’t mean you don’t take care of your hair. Some people may not enjoy this journey because of their hair growth state. The thing with natural hair is, your growth is going to be depending on your genetics and your healthy lifestyle.

What are your reasons for going natural?

Firstly, I had a very thin and fine hair and I use to fix a lot with my hair out. I would iron and stretch it till it got weak and stopped growing. I noticed I never had breakage but, my hair was always thinning whenever I relaxed it and it burns. It got to a point where it stopped growing and all I did was wear weaves and braids. I decided to keep off relaxer for a while and gain little growth. On seeing how thick my undergrowth was, I kept on longer without relaxer till I decided to see what my hair texture looked like

When/why did u decide to go natural?

I decided to go natural when I saw some childhood pictures of my hair. I remember I had natural hair in my childhood days and how my mom would always take me to the salon as she was natural too. I really can’t remember what the stylist does but I knew my mom liked this particular activator and I will come out of the salon with this very beautiful curls. And I thought to myself, I had a beautiful hair being natural why don’t I give it a go? And seeing how thick my undergrowth was from just being without relaxer for 3months, that was when I decided to go natural.

Did you do a BC or transition?

I did both. I transitioned from October 2013 to November 2014 and my BC was in November 2014

What was the experience like?

It was hard work from washing, combing, styling and really I had no one to share my experience with on what problems I was having transitioning. All I had was videos and channels which really helped me at the long run. I was skeptical about the BC because I had always thought I didn’t look good on a TWA back in my secondary school days. But after the BC, it was the best feeling ever.

Do you have a regimen you stick to? What is it like?

Yes I do, but I never did until 2months after my BC.

I wash my hair with an enormous amount of conditioner every week and shampoo twice a month. But before I wash I apply coconut oil a night before as this helps in detangling my hair (works for me). I deep condition once a month/2months depends on what my hair needs. Light oils every day especially on my ends. At night I hold my hair in four sections to keep my hair a little stretched and sleep in a bonnet, sometimes on a satin pillow case when I have no bonnet on.

What emotional struggles, if any, have you faced since going natural?

Aside from my husband not accepting my BC then because he liked my hair long, I didn’t really have any. So glad he loves my hair now as much as I do 

Do you think you are in it for the long haul or is it just a phase?

Oh yea! I’m in it for the longest haul LOL! My hair is much more versatile than what I give credit for. My hair can do so many styles that I couldn’t achieve with perms (who knew). 

There are people that definitely have negative comments about you hair, how do you deal with that?

So far, I have not had anyone talk negative about my hair not to my knowledge though. I have been getting good responses from my family, friends, colleagues and even people walk up to me and say Hey! I love your hair, what do you use on your hair? For those that are not scared or shy to come and ask me, I tell them. At the same time, I say whatever works for me might not work for you. I am sometimes a topic of conversation at my work place, and I get questions like, did you do your hair yourself? How long did it take? It’s always an amazing feeling when people comment on my hair because I never got so much compliments when I was on perm

What is your go-to style?

95% of the time I wear a twist out because of my job, all I do is wake up, rub on some light oil, pick up some shrinkage, and lay my edges and I’m good to go. 5% of the time I wear a puff when my twist out is all gone and can’t re-twist. 

What’s your favourite product/accessories and why?

My favourite product will be coconut oil because it does so many things on my hair. From detangling, moisturising, locking in moisture, preventing dandruff, cleansing my scalp through to leaving my hair feeling very soft. I love coconut oil. Aside from my hair comb which I use to create my puff sometimes, I don’t really have a favourite accessory at the moment.

What advice do you have for anyone just going natural?

Natural hair journey requires patience. Love your hair first, have a goal, drink lots of water, eat right and have patience. I have noticed that anything that I have done, that I have found to be worth it in life, has taken a little time. It took me a little time to discover the beauty of my hair. Give it just a little time, embrace your hair and its texture. 50% of the journey is getting use to how you look with your natural hair. Once you get used to it, hang in there with patience, you’ll be happy you did.

Where can we find you?

IG:  niv_bey

https://uk.pinterest.com/nenosev/viv/

Her hair is amazing, right? 
Just incase you missed last week's mane matters, read here

Till next time 

Leeznijis