Tiffany “New York” Pollard
“I think one reason for the breakage may be due to the blow outs,” she says. “When I wash my hair in order to get it cornrowed, it draws up so much that the stylist has to blow it out. If she doesn’t, she can’t get her fingers through it. I need other options. So that’s where I am right now. I’d love to learn ways to stretch out my shrinky hair without applying heat. My hair likes to stay close to my scalp [laughter].” I offered up a few styling options for Tiffany, including twists or braids to stretch out her hair and wearing buns for a couple of days preceding the stylist visit, to pull some of the curl out. After giving her some product suggestions, I asked what she currently has in her arsenal. “I love any and everything from the Organic Root Stimulator line – the carrot oil, the olive oil – those things really keep my hair moist, which is so important. I also love Carol’s Daughter: her Black Vanilla Leave-in Conditioner, and her Hair Smoothie. And I love Miss Jessie’s to style the hair when it’s out – MJ really helps to lock in the moisture and keep the curl.”
Tiffany says the response hasn’t been all roses. There are several close friends that aren’t feeling her new, natural look. “Sometimes it’s not about the style,” she says. “It’s about what the style means or portrays to that certain person. If they see straight hair as being better than curls, then yes, they’ll look down on my natural curls. But I’m at a point that I accept everything about myself, all of my features… big nose, big lips, big feet, and big kinky hair! Until you arrive at a place where you can embrace yourself wholeheartedly, you might have an issue with people that are hating, but I’m good with it, I love it. I do find that people who don’t have hair like ours – because it doesn’t grow like ours – look at it in fascination. They love it because they think it’s beautiful, and many approach it without the stigma and tell me, ‘Wow, your hair is gorgeous – it’s so fluffy and beautiful.’ Those comments don’t make or break me, but they’re nice to hear.”
“I personally think natural hair is very sexy, very strong on a woman, because we get that height that will not fall at the end of the day. Hot curlers, hair spray, all the teasing in the world, falls at the end of the day. But if your hair is natural, it’s going to stay boosted and big all day long and I love big hair. It’s just really sexy… something so sexy about the natural look. Natural hair is becoming more accepted and it’s showing up everywhere! I love that! A natural hair explosion!”
When asked if she had found love, Tiffany laughed, and responded, “Oh my goodness. The quest is still on! Which is a good thing as far as coming back to TV… the possibilities are endless, so stay tuned. I guess that’s a very roundabout way of saying ‘Yes, I’m still single.'”
And finally, a message to us, the divas of CurlyNikki.com, “I want to tell the CurlyNikki community to keep on keeping on. All you ladies are so beautiful and vivacious, and I just love to see women of all shades, all shapes and sizes, just loving themselves and putting the best them forward. And that’s all the women of CurlyNikki. That’s the impression I got as soon as I tuned into the website. I clicked it and watched a few of the YouTube videos, read a few articles, and felt like I was right at home. Actually, I was only planning to only get on for a few minutes, just to check it out, but I got so side tracked that I probably stayed on for like 4 hours! I love the website, I love all of the positivity on the site… you couldn’t have done a better job with it!”
Tiffany is ready to rock her curls, but needs product suggestions, styling tips, and words of encouragement to help her on her journey.
Share your advice in the comments below! She’ll be lurking!
