I'm not a Hair Stylist, or maybe I am!
All Natural Hair - Just blow-dried hair
I've been a Naturalista since birth. No perm and no chemicals; other than that time when I had to have my hair bleached so I could dye it red, red wine. Did you sing along as you read that? Other than that, literally no chemicals have touched my hair. I'm very proud of that and I do think I'm truly a Naturalista.
I started off by saying "I'm not a Hair Stylist, but I second guessed myself immediately. I think I actually am. I may not be a professional Hair Dresser, BUT I have been styling my own hair since I was a teenager, I do my mum's hair, my sister's hair and people in high school used to ask me to do their hair. I think I am a Hair Stylist after all.
Although I'm not a professional Hair Stylist, I did embrace my natural hair before being natural became a trend on social media, and like I said, aside from bleaching my hair so that I could dye it red way back in 2009, I haven’t manipulated my hair with any chemicals in my 30 years of living. Natural has been me, even when it’s difficult to manage, style and care for, I love it. I have curls, coils and kinks all on one head. I have 3 curl patterns because I have inherited different curl patterns from my parents. But saying that, my hair texture is unlike anyone I know. When my hair is straight (I’ve used flat irons) my hair looks Indian. I attribute that to my mum’s Syrian dad and my dad’s Arawak ancestors. I love my hair in it’s natural state, I tried to leave it curly and put the most products on it a couple of Summers ago, but the shrinkage was real and the curls were not the same at the front left, front right or back. It's crazy becaue, that day I was gettting a Fenty Beauty make-over, I looked in the mirror to admire my face, but all i could say is “Natural Hair Don’t Care!”
When I started doing my YouTube channel and started posting natural hair how-to videos, I vowed to be an inspiration to women who needed to know how to care for and style their hair. Since I was in high school, I not only had friends ask me to do their hair, I also had people ask me what I use in my hair and I have never been stingy or afraid to share. I remeber listing all of my favourite products, however, as I have grown and learnt, I have had to add the caveat that "everyone’s journey, hair texture, scalp and porosity is different" I try to inspire people to love their hair and to learn it. Saying that, the learning never ends because as you get older, your hair changes. It doesnt just turn grey, the texture and thickness changes too. In the formerly Sophisticated K, now K London YouTube videos, I suggest that you #BringIt with your natural hair, go all out, experiment and create your own style.
Over the past 3 years, I have been making my own hair products. I am so sensitive to the world, I have allergic reactions to so much things, even after having used the product previously. When I had a reaction to olive oil, carrot oil and then to coconut oil, I decided it was time to make my own hair grease and hair spray. I created my hair spray from scratch, and I use it when I am blow-drying my hair. Then my hair grease is used to grease my scalp, especially when I’m in the UK. Dry scalp in the winter is a pain.
I go back to the Hair Stylist subject because a hair professional would be able to help you determine whether you have Low Porosity or High Porosity hair. The difference between the two are grand. Low Porosity hair is dry, brittle and breaking, because of this it's important to do steams and hot oil treatments. High porosity hair soaks up product because this hair has the ability to hold moisture.
We all want soft and moisturised hair, hair that looks and feels healthy, hair that's long and curly. So, overall, I want the message to be that the natural grandeur of your hair is beautiful, it is your crown, it’s a part of the essence of your blackness (no one has hair like Black, African, Caribbean people); so we should enjoy and embrace it. Whether we are Hair Stylists or not, we can be experts in our own hair and we can rock it well.
I'd like to close this out by saying, India Arie sings, “I am not my hair” but I’d like to say that this is true BUT my hair is a part of me.
To have a look at some of my natural hair how to videos on YouTube, go to the Natural Hair & Beauty K London playlist.
Be Inspired!
Kayisha
www.kayishaonline.com
All Things Kayisha
Follow me on Instagram @kayishaonline and @Klondontv
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