Forever Tanaé ❤

Her Hairstory

Name: Tanaé
Age:20
From: Chicago

When & why did you decide to go natural: Relaxers were just TOO STRONG and damaging to my hair. It made my hair thin & stringy & lifeless. & once I found out that I was putting a harmful chemical on my scalp (believe it or not, I didn’t know that’s what a relaxer was) I knew I had to stop. I always loved big, kinky/curly hair & my relaxed hair had become so ugly to me that I literally went in the bathroom & cut it all off 🙂

Were there any negative or unexpected reactions regarding your decision?: The unexpected reactions were that everyone loved it! They loved my short fade on me and they love my 6 inch hair on me now. People love how thick and curly and versatile my hair is. My mom still tries to dictate how I wear my hair when we have get togethers and people come over, but I’m naturally rebellious so I don’t care what anyone has to say about it.

Did you big chop? If so, what was that like: YES! I was afraid to at first because I thought I had a football-shaped head lol. And a lot of women tell me you usually go through a depressed stage when you go from having long hair to having a “boy” haircut. But I loved it. I felt that it looked great on me and other people did too. The only downfall was a random guy yelling “Dyke” at me one time, automatically assuming I was a lesbian because I had short hair & basketball shorts on. But that didn’t bring me down at all.

Haircare routine? Type? Starting length? Goal length?:

My routine is very simple. I shampoo every 2 weeks. I deep condition once a week. I do a hot oil treatment before every shampoo. I don’t use any gels or stylers (unless I coil my hair). I moisturize with my shea butter mix twice a week. I only have to do it twice because it keeps my hair moisturized for so long! I have 3 different hair types. The front of my hair has a loose, fine 3a/3b curl pattern? The middle of my hair is very coarse & tight, I think 4a? The back of my hair is a tight 3c. All of my curls have an S shape. My starting length was half an inch. My goal length is for my hair to be waist-length when straightened!

Favorite products: I use 100% natural products because store bought products just did nothing for my hair, & I have tried A LOT lol. I use raw, unrefined shea butter, castor oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil. I’m currently still using Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Shampoo, but I plan on switching to their Black Soap shampoo soon. When I need to use a styler, I use Olive Oil Ecostyler gel.

Go-to style: As of lately, it has been a stretched afro and twistouts, because my shrinkage is so bad it looks like my hair is still only an inch long if I leave it curled 😦 lol

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned while on your journey?: Definitely to learn to love your OWN hair, your OWN curl pattern, your OWN thickness and stop trying to figure out what you have to do to make your hair looser or curlier because your hair is your hair, not anyone else’s and it was made to look great on you!

If you could do it all over again, would you? & what would you do differently?: If I HAD to, yes lol. Being natural is the best decision I’ve ever made. What I would do differently is NOT color my hair. Or wait a little longer to do it. It looks awesome on me, especially in the summer time but the colored parts of my hair are so dry & coarse compared to the parts that aren’t. Also, I would start using 100% natural products from the beginning. Would’ve saved me a lot of money lol.

Any words of advice for a new natural or transitioner? Try not to worry about what other people think of your hair because you’re the one who has to be okay with it, not them. Love yourself! Experiment with different products until you find out what works for you personally. Stay away from harsh chemicals! Be patient, don’t quit so easily & go back to that creamy crack! It takes a LOT of patience & energy to take care of your hair but it will be soooo worth it, I promise.

Website or place to follow your journey:

Tumblr: littlejibril.tumblr.com

Youtube: youtube.com/user/superrthuq

Twitter: twitter.com/littlejibril

🙂

ForeverAsia: Thank you Tanae for sharing your story! That’s freaking awesome that the people around you were supportive of your decision the whole way through, I wish my friends/family were like that -_- lol I live in a family of shittalkers so they’d probably just bag on me smdh.. Freaking wow at the rude asshole who called you that, smh people can be so stupid but you responded in the best way possible. My policy: let people like that deal with their own karma. Reading the part about the hair color all I could think was ” aww snap O_O *thinks twice about coloring hair*

 It was a pleasure having you & thank you again for your participation! xo