This is Christina, fashion/beauty blogger of LoveBrownSugar.com and I am overflowing with excitement that I’m getting the opportunity to be a correspondent for Texture On The Runway! So as an introduction: “Hi, my name is Christina Brown and I’m a natural.”
I’m a social media specialist by day and a fashion/beauty blogger by night. I’m a lover of all things sparkly & vintage and I consider myself a cupcake connoisseur (Yes, I know all cupcake eateries within a 5-mile radius of wherever I am – thank you Foursquare”>.
Over the years, I’ve learned to love and appreciate my kinky-curly strands, but it took quite some time before I was even comfortable with wearing them out! Here’s my natural hair story!
My Journey to Natural
It all started in second grade. I got my first relaxer at about 9 or 10 years old, and after that, I relaxed my hair religiously every six weeks up until my high school senior prom. It wasn’t even a thought, it was a ritual that I practiced without fail. No questions asked.
Once I got to college, I didn’t feel like dealing with the maintenance or the monetary commitment, so I chopped off my relaxer in 2005. It grew out beautifully for four years while I studied in school, but I kept it under braids and weaves for the most part so I didn’t have to deal with it. From time to time, I checked online forums for hair tips, but I was mostly just figuring everything out on my own. I went through a lot of trial and error. Carol’s Daughter was my saving grace back then and I used their Mimosa Hair Honey religiously. When I reached my one year natural mark, I colored my hair honey blonde! It was so much fun.
Relapsing & Restarting
Then came graduation time in 2009. It was a scary time for me. I didn’t have a full-time job yet and I was about to embark on a corporate internship that I hoped would lead to a full-time position. In my panic to fit in and excel in the corporate world, I had a relapse and relaxed all my natural curls. Just a few months after, I started to regret it. I missed my curls! I mean, four years worth of curls, gone!
I went on a quest to get them back and started weaving my hair on a regular basis to allow it to grow out. When I chopped off my hair in 2006 there weren’t really any popular forums or websites like NaturallyCurly.com, so I wasn’t very informed about my hair. But by the time 2009 had rolled around, there were sites like CurlyNikki.com, YouTube forums full of natural-haired women with tips & tricks for making it work and every product under the sun catered to maintaining my curl type. When I decided to chop off my hair for the second time in November 2010, I was armed with hours of YouTube tutorials and website tips to keep me occupied. And from there, it’s been growing and flourishing. I’m enjoying every minute of my natural hair journey thus far.
On Products & Styles
I’m the type of girl who loves versatility. I like to have a Solange moment one day and a Beyonce moment the next – just because I can! So between wearing my natural curls out, I’ll give my ends a break and switch up my look by wearing half-wigs and weaves from time to time. Always love surprising my co-workers and getting those, “OMG your hair! Look!” comments from them. Gives me a kick.
As for my natural hair, I have an arsenal of tried and true products that I absolutely love. I alternate between shampoo and co-wash every week, so I wash my hair once a week in total. I deep condition every week, and during weeks that I shampoo, I do a pre-poo treatment with a mix of organic coconut oil, argan oil and cheapie conditioner.
My favorite shampoos include Hair Rules Daily Cleansing Cream and Carol’s Daughter Monoi Repairing Shampoo. For co-washing conditioners, I’m into Hair Rules Quench Conditioner, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration or Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Balanced Moisturizing conditioner.
My favorite deep conditioners are SheaMoisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque, Carol’s Daughter Monoi Repairing Hair Mask and Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner.
As for stylers, I swear by Beija Flor Naturals Crème Brulee and and Oyin Handmade Shine & Define. Eco-Styler isn’t half bad either!
So that’s my hair in a nutshell. I so look forward to bringing you guys the tea, straight from the runways at Texture on the Runway!
