Hairspiration! : Kelli

Hello naturalistas!!!

My name is Kelli, I’m a full time student & lifestyle blogger and Naturalista.

Traveling the world is my passion so live in a different state almost every year!

But originally I’m from Philadelphia, the land of the brotherly love <3.

When did you go natural and how did you do it?

I went natural about 3 years ago by transitioning. Then recently I did the Big Chop. I decided to big chop because at one point of my natural journey, I attempted to grow dreadlocks. This dried out my ends and made my hair very damaged. A couple months later I decided to cut my hair being that it felt damaged. Not really sure if it was or not honestly but appearance wise, I decided I really needed a change. I wanted a new look to represent a new me. New and Improved that is !

Tell us about your hair! 🙂

I refer to my hair as “She”:

She’s truly amazing! Having 2 different textures, It’s sometimes hard for me to determine what my hair needs because the middle will be dry but the front isn’t. So sometime it’s very tricky to treat my hair, but it always works out!

Having very very very dense hair is biggest struggle but biggest benefit I have with my hair. Having dense hair makes manageability very hard at times but very beautiful at the same time! With low porosity, having 2 textures makes it difficult to moisturize my hair especially in cold climates but as of now, I have a fro-hawk keeping it moisturized and it isn’t as troubling, yet!

Texture: Front-3c, Middle:4a

How do you take care of your hair?

I use natural hair products and oils (black castor, avocado, coconut). But I use products that are made organically as well. I read the ingredients on all the products  I use in my hair. If a product has something I can’t peruse or have never heard of, I refuse to use it. I stay far away from unnecessary chemicals. Right now I’m trying Kyra’s Shea Melodies, which is a natural skin and hair moisturizer. Most of the time I use the Rejuvenation Butter Cream after co-washing with As I Am.

Using the locking method I start by oil washing my hair with castor oil or coconut oil. After letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes I let copious amounts of water absorb into my hair. Then I apply As I Am Co-wash, letting that sit for about 5 minutes. Finally I let the water run through my hair draining it of all the excess oil and co-wash. De-tangling is never an issue for me at this stage, but i do finger comb through my hair instead of using a comb, while water is still running through my hair to insure minimal breakage.

After washing, I simply pat the left over water from my hair (I never dry with heat) I then apply a little castor oil or avocado, Hot Six oil, or Vitamin E oil in my hair to add a little more moisture to it so that when it dries it wont be super dry. I then apply As I Am Leave in conditioner or the Kyra’s Rejuvenation Butter Cream to seal in the moisture. Then I add some Eco-Styler Gel to hold my curls in place through out the day, This takes away from frizz. Being that I wear my hair naturally curly I then blow myself a kiss in the mirror and walk away for a little to let my hair air dry ! :*

How do you wear your hair?

On a daily basis I wear my hair in a curly frohawk. I will admit that when I go to work sometimes I straighten my hair but I can’t leave it straight for more then 3 days. After 3 days she (my hair) starts to scream for water. I then go back to my frohawk.

Honestly I do feel that the fight to change the perception of natural hair is very real in not only the the work place, but in the world. It’s the fight for natural hair equality. It’s perceived that if someone has a smoother hair texture naturally, that its accepted in the work place. Meanwhile if someone has a denser and thicker hair texture/ type then it appears as if that person “did not do their hair”. This is not the way it’s supposed to be.

If one hair texture is accepted, then all shall be accepted by the time BUE:lifesyle is done!

What’s your favourite hair style?

My favorite hair style is the Afro, I love wearing an Afro because it is natural hair in its natural form without any “taming”. the Afro is a symbol of strength, unity and nature; resembling a tree, the tree of life, especially for women.

 Do you Protective style?

Protective styling for me would be Box braids and Senegalese twists. I feel that leaving hair alone for a while is always good, though extensions do add extra weight and can dry out some hair textures. It’s up to the person to keep their hair moisturised no matter the style.

What inspired you to go natural?

Honestly, going natural wasn’t a conscious decision for me. One random summer about 3 years ago I decided to just slow down applying relaxers to my hair. Then I started to notice that when my new growth was straightened it was just as straight as my relaxed hair. Eventually this led to me not getting relaxers at all. I decided “What was the point”?

Being that I grew up getting monthly relaxers I figured that the texture that was growing from my head at this point was tainted by the years of relaxer chemicals in my scalp. I soon found that the hair that was growing was truly my hair texture. It was soft, curly and strong. It felt amazing eventually I found out there was a name for what I had decided to do for the health of my hair, “Transitioning” .

In the midst of transitioning over a 1 and half year period it began to get very real. My relaxed hair started to slowly shed away in addition to me cutting my ends frequently. I than started to use Eben Organic hair products to make sure that my natural hair was getting all the nutrients that it needed to stay moisturized. Living in Miami FL at the time my hair never got dry that often but while transitioning my natural hair did frizz from the humidity ( being that i live across from the beach) This made my hair look very obvious that I was “going natural”. My go to hair style was Bantu knots and twist outs. This was the easiest, fastest, and cutest way for me to disguise the two textured hair.

Eventually my relaxed hair faded away and my hair was all natural ! It was a curly Afro that I loved. I often wore it out in a Afro style because I loved how easy and cute it was. I attracted loads of attention to my natural hair. especially amongst other ethnicities. But what surprised me was the most African American woman would often tell me “You need a relaxer”. This was shocking and something that honestly disgusted me because this was the way all of our hair was. It confused me as to why it was so despised upon the in African American community. This then gave me drive towards BUE:lifestyle which is all about being yourself everyday. Being who you are and accepting the world for what it is, and not what you want or think it should be!

Do you write a blog or have a twitter or instagram or any other social media you’d like people to connect with you on?

Blog: www.khaammstyle.wordpress.com

Twitter: @khaammstyles

Instagram: buelifestlye

Tumblr: www.khaamm.tumblr.com

(links on side for additional blogs, CLICK AROUND && HAVE FUN !)

http://khaammstyles.tumblr.com

Google+ Khaamm Buelifestlye

Email: kellihammond.kmh [at] gmail [dot] com

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Thanks for sharing, Kelli! Your curls are beautiful and so is your style and bubbly spirit! 🙂

If you’d like to be our hairspiration sometime, leave a comment or email thekinkandi@gmail.com, and I’ll get on it asap! All natural textures and lengths welcome!;)

I was featured by the lovely Bey on her blog last week. Please check it out here 🙂

Love,

AB

xx

Hairspiration! : Kennedy

Kennedy brings Hairspiration back this Friday, with a twist!

Heat styling is something that very many naturals are wary off (with good reason), but Kennedy’s curl pattern is still very much intact, and her hair looks pretty good! Healthy and bouncy and shiny and nice! 🙂

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Tell us about you!

I’m Kennedy. I honestly don’t do much since I’m waiting to start school, and I live in Chicago, IL 🙂

What inspired you to return to natural?

I’ve actually been natural my entire life. I would literally BEG my mom to give me a relaxer because most of my friends growing up were white. She inspired me to stay natural, though. She would always tell me about how relaxers broke all her hair off as a teenager.

Tell us about your mane. Does he/she/it have a name? 

I usually refer to it as The Beast. Whenever I’m texting my friends on wash day, I’ll just say “BRB gotta go tame The Beast” and they know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not that big on hair science, but based on the little bit that I’ve read I’d say my hair is pretty porous.

Are you a less-is-more person when it comes to your hair or do you go all out?

Definitely a less-is-more. The most I ever do is straighten it. On special occasions I like to curl it. This might sound bad, but I don’t even comb it every day. So if you ever ask me what I did today and I respond with “I combed my hair”, just know that’s a pretty big deal. I like to get it cut significantly shorter, too.

How often do you wear your hair out?

I wear my hair out pretty much every day. One time in the 2nd grade my mom let me get my hair braided with weave, and it was down to my butt. It was the best time of my 2nd grade life.

So when you wear your hair out, do you prefer to wear it straight or curly?

I prefer to wear it with a little bit of wave or curl, but usually it’s just straight because before I can curl it I wait for my hair to get a little oily first. My cousin once told me that dirty hair curls better. Sounds gross but it’s true 🙂

Heat styling is something that many naturals are wary of, but you usually wear yours straight, and your curl pattern is still intact! How do you do it?

Once I blowdry/straighten it, that’s it. I’m lazy so I’ll go weeks without washing my hair just so I don’t have to go through that process. Before I blow dry I put oil in my hair just so it can sort of act as a protective shield. I straighten myself pretty much every time, but if my ends need to be clipped or it’s a special occasion (like graduation) I go to a salon. Even though I don’t go to a salon that often, I think it’s important to pick one person and stick with them. The woman I go to specializes in natural hair, so that’s pretty cool.

Are there any special ingredients you look for in a heat protectant?

Not really. The product I use isn’t a heat protectant specifically. It’s an oil moisturizer that just so happens to be able to act as a heat protectant.

What are your favourite products?

My favorite product I like to use before blow drying is Creme of Nature Argan Oil Oil Moisturizer. Then my daily moisturizer is Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum. 

Also, Ojon Hair Damage Reverse Restorative Conditioner. It makes my hair SO easy to comb through I couldn’t even believe what was happening the first time I used it.

Wearing your hair straight, what are your challenges?

My biggest challenge is definitely trying to keep it straight for as long as I can. I wear a bonnet under my shower cap while showering. If it’s humid out, I wear a bonnet under a hat. I remember it rained on a Sunday one week, and the next day I rode the train to school with my hair wrapped up in a bonnet, and on top of the bonnet I had on a hat. I looked like a little boy but I could not care less. That humidity was not going to ruin my hard work of blow-drying and straightening!

Also, keeping people’s hands out of it can be a challenge. My mom and cousins like to run their fingers through it, and I’m not the best when it comes to daily detangling, so that’s always awkward.

What are the DOs and DONTs of wearing your natural hair straight?

DOs: Carry a hair tie at all times. Carry a back-up hair tie for the original hair tie. Have a bonnet, a hat, and an umbrella stashed away somewhere just in case it rains.

DONTs: Flat ironing every morning. Wrapping the hair tie around too tight. Flipping it over your shoulder is a don’t for me. It brings unwanted attention. When it comes to people asking if they can feel it, touching is okay, finger-combing is not. Especially if there are some tangles in there.

Before you go, could you share a tip or trick or a remedy you’ve tried & tested in your journey so far?

Whenever I comb my hair, I’ve found that it helps to start from the ends and work your way up. Also, whenever I come across a knot, I try to untangle it with my fingers instead of tugging at it with a comb. One last thing, SECTIONS ARE YOUR FRIEND. I once went to salon with a woman who tried to blow dry my hair as a whole. No sections, no pre-combing. Nothing. Never again.

Any last words to anyone considering to go natural or a new natural?

Beware of anything that promises to “relax” your curl pattern. Dealing with your natural hair may seem impossible at first, but it gets better. Also, white people WILL ask to touch it.

Do you have a blog, twitter, instagram or any other social media you’d like people to connect with you on?

Couldn’t live without Twitter: @KittyLittuur 🙂 It’s a strange name, I know. But my friend found out that my mom calls me Kit, and she started calling me Kitty Litter.

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Thanks a lot, Kennedy! 🙂

If you’d like to be our Hairspiration sometime, just leave a comment or email: thekinkandi@gmail.com 🙂

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Love,

AB

xx