Since starting my blog, I have been developing and
nurturing relationships with Curlies and Naturals, and I have been really
enjoying it.
Well I’m happy to say that this has blossomed into something
new. In addition to posting my anecdotes, experiences and feelings on my blog I
will also be a regular contributor to the iHeartMyHair.com website, as a Curly
Ambassador. Añya Grant founded the site in 2009 and foundation is to
Love the Hair You're In.
I also featured her on Canadian Curlies last
October. Check out the POST if you want to know more about her story. Needless
to say it was not a difficult decision to get on board, as I continue to get to
know my hair, not to mention I also believe it’s important for everyone to love
and appreciate the beauty that their hair has, whether it’s curly, kinky or
wavy.
Añya approached me to
be a part of her site late last year and it has been wonderful to join her and her team in
this venture and most importantly to meet and network with other Curlies and
Naturals. We are learning from each other and helping one another on this
exciting journey of being natural.
There are great things to come this year and beyond, so keep
checking in with me. I love getting your feedback and comments.
So yesterday February 19th, was one year since I cut off the remaining relaxed ends off. I can't tell you how liberating and scary that was - all at the same time. I don't regret one minute of my transition or the actual moment I cut my hair.
Over the last year, I've met some amazing like-minded people and have gained respect from others that I didn't expect - all through my journey with my hair. I'm happy to say that I would not have done anything differently and I'm looking forward to next year and I'm very excited about the curlie years to come!
Since it was my hair anniversary, I thought I would kick it old school with a style I did often in my transitioning days - CURLFORMERS. I washed my hair as usual, applied my prep products and a little Lottabody setting lotion. I have to say I love the results and the curls are super cute. Tell me what you think:
Now
that I’m a curly, I often wonder why it took so long and I want to get to the
bottom of the history of the perception of our coils. As the old adage says, “you won’t know you are going, until you
know where you came from.” I will be doing a series of posts throughout
February as my way of celebrating Black History Month. So here I go:
Before
slavery our hair was something that was always pampered and taken care of.
Usually, the person who washed, moisturized and styled your hair took great
pride in the task and was someone close to you. You trusted them. Often your
hair told a story, depending on the tribe wearing a different hair style was a
way of letting the tribe now at what stage of your life, ie: marital status,
social rank or mourning a loss to name a few.
Argan oil
Hand-carved comb
Black
soap was used widely as a shampoo and shea butter, palm oil and argan oil were
commonly used to moisture and style. There was also great pride in hand-carving
combs.
The combs are literary works of art and to me this says that they loved
their hair with all its kinks and coils. It was important to take proper care
of it.
I’ve always been drawn to natural hair. Over the years I’ve gone from synthetic hair extensions to texturizers
to finally purely natural hair. Now that
I’m getting married & soon to be starting a family, I want to be more aware
of what goes in & on my hair & body.
Althea Joseph, co-founder of CurlyCanadians™
Why did you
decide to go curlie?
I’d already begun to consider transitioning from texturized to natural last
summer. Then my aunt passed away from
cancer in the fall of 2011. After my
aunt’s passing, I decided right away to stop putting chemicals in my hair. Better yet, my fiancé, Jason Branton and I decided to
completely detox our home from harmful toxins.
Reading There’s Lead In Your
Lipstick by Gillian Deacon was also a powerful motivator to go natural.
At what point
did you think of creating a business that would promote healthy hair and sell
natural hair products?
After I made the
decision to go natural, I embarked on an extensive Google search for natural
hair care tips and products. I found
some great products yet they were not available in Canada. I wanted to find hair care tips for Canadians
and I couldn’t find much of that either.
My fiancé and I
were (and still are!) inspired to start CurlyCanadiansTM for naturally
curly people living in Canada. Our focus
is on natural hair care for straight, wavy & naturally curly styles for
people from all walks of life.
When was CurlyCanadiansTM
established?
CurlyCanadiansTM was established on October 1,
2011.
What kind of
feedback have you been receiving from Canadian Curlies and abroad and how does
that make you feel?
We are completely astounded by the feedback we’ve been receiving from
across Canada & around the world! People are really excited about having a Canadian resource for curly
hair. Just this morning we received a
message from one of our Twitter followers in the United Kingdom commending us
for targeting a diverse customer base. Comments like this make us grateful for this opportunity & happy to
do what we do.
As a business
owner, what do you think on the Canadian natural community?
I believe the Canadian natural community is the most diverse on the
planet. There are people who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle. There are also people who are becoming
increasingly aware of harmful ingredients in their favourite personal care
products. One of our main goals at CurlyCanadiansTM
is to
provide the consumer with as much ingredient information as possible so they
are able to make an informed purchasing decision.
Secondly, I feel the natural community needs to join forces. Canada is so vast that we’re all doing great
things in every corner of the country without really knowing that our neighbor
down the road is also doing something great. The natural community needs to come together and work together
more. That’s why we are open to selling
Canadian-made “actual natural” hair care products & accessories from
Canadian artisans & manufacturers.
What are your
goals for CurlyCanadiansTM in the next five years?
Our main goal for CurlyCanadiansTM is to be Canada’s
foremost authority on naturally curly hair and natural hair care for all ages
and all walks of life. We want to show
the world how products sourced from nature can help you feel, look and be your
best without exposure to harmful toxins.
What new
products do Canadian Curlies have to look forward to from CurlyCanadiansTM?
Hair Love for starters! Hair Love
is our latest handmade product. Look for
hair care products from Strauss Herb Company (an amazing Canadian company),
handmade hair cleansers from McLeod Naturals and best of all: a new skin care
line called Althea Officinalis, which will debut this spring!
So a few months ago I purchased Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue
and Baby Buttercreme on sale at HoneyFig. I thought to myself, this is my
chance to try these products. I did some research and I found that Curlies
either really loved Miss Jessie’s products or hated them. I actually have mixed
feelings about them.
This product smells delicious. It has a wonderful lemon
scent that makes you want to indulge in a lemon tart, if that is your thing.
The consistency is thick and creamy. I
decided to use it on my freshly washed hair, after applying my leave-in. I made
sure my hair was moisturized and somewhat sealed before applying the meringue. God
knows I didn’t want any trouble, since there is mineral oil in it.
So I proceeded to use half of a finger-tip amount on each
twist. I was very happy with the light hold and shine the product imparted on
my hair. It felt soft and healthy.
After untwisting my hair, I was surprisingly very happy with
the results. I will definitely use this product again.
The buttercream smells like vanilla cake, which made me
happy. The consistency was very thick and buttery just like the name. I applied
the product the same way as I did the Curly Meringue. It went on damp hair
nicely and seemed to give it a little shine. Once the twists dried I unraveled them. When
styling and separating my twists I found that my hair felt brittle and dry.
Nonetheless I worked with what I got and tried to stay positive. By day two
my hair was in rough shape, very frizzy and super dry. On day three, FORGET
ABOUT IT!! I slept with my satin head tie as I usually do and found a humongous
mess. I was in shock! I would like to say that I did not treat my hair any
differently than I do with my other twist-outs, that usually last about five
days.
So I was in a little panic and almost late for work. I
decided to wet my hair to try to create a puff that appeared moist and shine. It
was a TOTAL FAIL. The water only made tons of white residue appear in my hair.
I had a small meltdown and then savaged my hair with a few twists in the front
and the rest was covered with a bean. Needless to say I will not be using the Baby Buttercream
again.
Although, this was product did not work for me, it may have work for
you. Tell me about your experience and if you love or hate relationships with Curly Meringue
or Baby Buttercreme.
