Introduce yourself!
J: Hi, My name is Jasmine, and I’m an Oklahoma girl.
Why did you make the decision to go natural?
J: I went natural because my hair was slowly being damaged by relaxers. I begged my mother for a relaxer and got my first one around age 10. My hair was pretty resilient until after I had my son. My nape has always been shorter than the rest of my hair, but postpartum shedding made the situation so much worse. I remedied it with a Rihanna-esque haircut, you know the short inverted bob. But with shorter hair, comes more frequent relaxers…long story short, I decided to try and transition. I lasted 4 months tops. It was too hard dealing with the two textures. I big chopped in February of 2011, so pretty soon it will be 3 years.
How would you describe your texture?
J: My hair is mainly 4a. However, a more accurate description would be that my crown consists of looser 3c curls, from there to my nape is true 4a corkscrews, and the sides of my hair right around my ears are the tightest, kinkiest sections. I find that my strands are the right in between fine and coarse, and my hair is fairly dense. My mop behaves pretty well, and I’ve never had a major fail with any particular product. I’m a lazy natural, so it’s a huge plus that my strands aren’t picky.
Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month.
J: I rotate twistouts, braidouts, and wash and gos throughout a typical month. Most of the time my hair ends up in a bun until the next wash day, whenever that is. I admire the ladies who can create different updos and flat twist styles, but I am way too lazy with my hair to go through with it.
What does wash day look like for you?
J: I cowash every wash day with Tresemme Naturals, detangle in the shower (with a comb if doing a twist out or braidout, with fingers if doing a wash and go), do an oil rinse, and wrap an old t-shirt around my hair to air dry a little. Then it’s time to style. I only shampoo when I feel there is buildup, or when my hair isn’t responding in its typical fashion.
Describe your favorite go-to hairstyle for days when you don’t have a lot of time to style.
J: My entire natural hair journey I waited to get to the point where I could bun. And baby Jesus I can finally say it’s my go-to!
How do you combat shrinkage?
J: I don’t combat it whatsoever. I have enjoyed all the stages and phases my hair growth has been through. Shrinkage is a part of that, and it’s so much easier to work with it. The shape the shrinkage of my different textures gives my wash and go is the bomb.com, seriously.
What are some of your problem areas (if any) that require special care and attention?
J: Nothing stands out in particular. I used to think the back of my head on the right side gave me issues, but then I realized I always washed, detangled, and styled that part last…so it’s probably my own frustration of wanting to be done.
What are 2 do’s for your texture?
J: Styling on damp hair and oil rinsing!
What are 2 don’ts for your texture?
J: Waiting too long between washes I realized even though the length of my hair stayed stretched and problem free, I was creating a warzone at my roots. The shed hair creates major issues. Too much manipulation is a don’t as well.
Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
J: Instagram: jasamina_b
