Linda's Natural Hair Journey so far

Hi people, Linda of Roots 4 Lia has graciously decided to share hair journey so far with us. We hope you get inspired by her experience.

1. Introduce Yourself!

Hello! My name is Linder and I live in NYC. I'm a current graduate student studying for my Masters in Health Care Administration. I love to travel,I've been traveling since high school and I can't imagine not being able to travel!I've been to Europe, South America, Africa and Middle East. I love meeting new people and learning about other people's cultures. Besides natural hair, traveling is my number one passion.

2. Tell us about your hair journey! Why did you go natural?

My hair journey started when one day I told my boyfriend how much money I had spent on getting my new weave done and he joked that with that much money, I could feed an entire village of Children in Kenya for a week. I'm somebody who is passionate about helping other people who are less fortunate than I by volunteering worldwide, and so when my boyfriend told me this, I felt a pang of guilt seep through me. But it wasn't until one year after his comment that I really started looking into natural hair. When I was growing up my mother and my sister always braided my hair for me, because I was seriously hair illiterate. I didn't know anything about hair, I had a relaxer when I was 13 and at that time, it was the coolest thing ever because if your hair wasn't relaxed, you simply did not fit in. Over the years, my hair began to thin out and the stress of braids and weaves literally left me with no edges. I remember my freshman year in college the back of my hair was literally going bald, relaxers and weaves had done their damage and left me with little to no self esteem. All my four years in college I didn't know there was an alternative to relaxed hair, I never, NEVER thought of going natural (because I knew nothing of it or if it was even possible) until last year when my hair reached a breaking point. Years after years of chemicals and tight braiding had finally caught up with me, I didn't know what to do with it anymore, and my self-esteem plunged downhill. I was sick of weaves, and yearned for the freedom to wash my hair anytime without the fear of ruining my relaxed hair with water. I was also tired of spending so much money every 5 weeks to get it done, and so I took to google one day and started searching about hair. I don't know what i was searching for specifically, but when I stumbled upon curlynikki.com website, all my long lost hope came rushing back, it was in that moment that I knew exactly what I wanted.

3. What do you wish you knew before you went natural?

I wish somebody had told me how much research after research I would have to do. I wish someone had told me that I needed to have a jar full of patience! My hair has taught me so much, I didn't know anything about hair before but after going natural, it seems like everyday I learn something new. It is so amazing the amount of sheer infromation out there about natural hair. I feel like I was living in a parallel universe of wigs and weaves and I've finally stumbled upon a 'natural' universe. The rules are much different now, the stakes are much higher, water is no longer my enemy, research is mandatory, everything I once knew about relaxed hair does not, CANNOT apply in this 'natural' universe.

4. What's your regimen?

Regimen. This is one word I've came across thousands of times on many natural hair blogs. I don't know if what I have is a regimen, because this would mean that I actually HAVE to follow it for it to count as a regimen. I don't want to lie, I don't have a specific regimen. I have learned to listen to my hair, give it what it needs when it needs it. I think my hair has its good days and bad days, this is why having a regimen doesn't do it any justice. My hair does whatever it wants whenever it wants. On its bad days, I deep condition four to five times a week, do hot oil treatment once or twice a week. On good days, I deep condition once a week and co-wash almost every other day. And then there are those days that I'm so busy I neglect to care for it, but I always end up paying the dear price of neglect which are dry hair, split ends and single stranded knots. My worst enemies.

5.  What are your favorite products?

My hair is like my own personal lab.LOL. Sometimes when I read great reviews about a specific product, I get the urge to really really try it. But I always learn my lesson and continue learning, because what works best for other naturals out there, does not work for me. So I usually just buy products that I think will work best for my hair type and then experiment with it. I recently stumbled upon Shea moisturizer curl enhancing smoothie and really loved it. It works extremely well with my hair so I went and bought the whole Shea Moisture line. I'm yet to experiment with their Shampoo (tomorrow), but so far I love their conditioner! I love Jamaica black castor oil, Vatika oil is a must have for me, and can't go without the raw Shea butter! I usually mix it with coconut oil! 

6. Any words of wisdom for other naturals?

I have learned that having natural hair comes with a certain aurora. People are ALWAYS going to want to say something about you or your hair. Natural hair is like a comment magnet, it attracts and repels different eyes. Some people will love your hair, some people will utterly hate it. I find it quite absurd really,why some people acts so negative about hair natural hair. I live by these 4 P's. Pride, Passion, Patience and Positivity. I take pride in my hair, God created me with it, why should I be ashamed to wear it? I'm passionate about it, I even created a blog for it! It has taught me patience, because there is no way i could have made it through countless youtube styling videos if I didn't have patience and the willingness to keep learning. Positivity is Mandatory, because negative attitude is a waste of time, and I wouldn't have made it this far in my journey without an affirmative attitude.

You can read more about Linda's hair journey here http://roots4lia.blogspot.com/

And watch her here...Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Roots4LiA?feature=mhee

P.S: In the meantime, don’t forget to enter for the chance to win one of our giveaway prizes in our African Naturalistas 10-Mega giveaway, if you haven’t already done that.