NC: From start to finish on a curly day, what’s your process?
DP: I wake up, give my curls a shake, check for any sticky-outies and give them a spray of conditioner/water mixture and re-scrunch.
NC: What are your favorite hairstyles to wear with your curls?
DP: I feel free and prettiest when I liberate my curls and just wear them loose! If I need a more sophisticated look for work, I’ll scoop my hair up at the back, give it a twist and throw in a bobby pin or stick/chopstick/pencil/makeup brush/paintbrush…whatever I have on hand! If a piece shakes loose it stays loose—the less fussing, the easier my hair is!
NC: What are your must-have products and tools?
DP: A beautiful smelling conditioner, a good and ‘healthy’ gel for styling and a curl cream for softness! As far as tools go, I always have clips on hand to hold my curls in place while air drying.
NC: What do you do at nighttime for your hair?
DP: I use a soft 1-inch wide lingerie elastic to secure my hair in a loose pony tail on the top of my head–the only time I ever wear a ponytail! Then I scrunch coconut oil into the ends.
NC: What about your hair stylist?
DP: I was really hesitant asking my stylist to cut each curl individually and to cut it dry. But she totally got what I was asking and we got rid of the A-Frame. In between trips to the salon, I chop my hair here and there to shape it. You can’t go wrong when you’ve got curls–unless you’re cutting it when it’s wet!
NC: What reaction did you get when you first decided to go natural?
DP: When my husband and I first met, I was in my short and ‘popped up’ stage of hair—big loose curls, and short all over. One day as I was on my way out the door, going to work, he very kindly ask me if I planned on styling my hair before heading out! Now that I’ve grown it out, he thinks I have the sexiest hair. He’s as excited as I am about discovering new curls!
NC: Did you big chop or transition and for how long? Did you ever have any curly girl insecurities?
During my teens, I did the Annie Lennox. My hair wasn’t any easier to control when it was short; it just puffed up all over the place and was too short to form curls. My mom used to refer to my hair as my ‘Rat’s Nest.’ The irony is that growing up in the ‘80s, everyone was getting perms!
As an adult, I’ve had supervisors, co-workers and bosses make comments about my hair when I wore it curly and they told me that my hair looked so much better when I wore it straight. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t really care what people think of my hair; it may not be on-trend straight, but it’s equally beautiful.
