Okay my beautiful brown of all shades, I'm here to talk about the struggle of a mixed chick. Everyone thinks we have it easy, when in reality it's just as hard, if not harder to navigate the beauty world. If you're not convinced, hear me out.
For one, finding the perfect foundation is horrendous. I myself have to mix two different shades together to get my own. I know of other girls who have to do the same. While the makeup industry has just started to embrace women of color, they forgot about the in between. Hi! We're right here! But I've already written an article about that.
Now for the mother of all problems, what to do with our hair?! My blog mate has already covered natural hair techniques. While I've tried all of those products, I find it hard for them to work for my unique hair texture. Hair is weird already, having a life of its own and whatnot. Then it has to go and be complicated with mixing different hair textures.
A lot of people think we can just wash and go, being that we have what you may call "good hair". But that is most definitely NOT the case. Wash-n-go is far from what I go through with my curly mane. Yes, I called it MANE. Not to sound whiny, but it's hard finding a "natural hair" product for women of mixed culture.
Now, I'm all for a nice straightening. But I can only straighten my hair when it's in the winter or fall. Stale face. In the spring and summer my straight hair struggles to stay straight on a daily basis. One bit of humidity and it's a big poof ball. One drop of rain and it curls up. I hate it. But, summer gives me a chance to rock my natural curls that I've been hiding all winter.
Now when it comes to rocking natural hair for us mixed girls, we almost have to wash our hair every single day to grasp that moisture. That's what I was doing at first until I found out I was stripping my hair of its nutrients. That's when I was using Fructis by Garnier. I literally had to wash or wet my hair everyday and put in leave in conditioner to rejuvenate my curls. But my curl pattern was wrong. Not to mention the clumps of hair that'd be in the comb after untangling.
So then I switched to a product I thought would work for me. Mixed Chicks. It was the rave amongst the mixed community and I felt I had to have it. So after searching high and low for this brand, I found it at Target where it was very expensive compared to other brands. After spending an arm and a leg, I went home hoping that it worked. After using it, it helped with locking in moisture which was a plus. Meaning I could go several days without wetting my hair and it'd still look lively and not dry. But my hair would still shrivel up right above my shoulders. Being that I had long hair, this was very frustrating.
One day, when I was browsing in my local beauty supply I discovered Cantu. This product is what changed my natural hair life. It didn't damage my hair, I could go a week without wetting my hair again, my hair didn't shrivel up, and it smells good. But all good things must come to an end. The product was just too heavy for my hair.
After going through a hair metamorphosis (I cut off all the damaged hair leaving my hair at my shoulders then dyed blonde and pink), I was on the look out for a better product. One that was light, would elongate my curls, minimize breakage and damaged caused by dryness, keep my hair healthy and easy to manage, and that would lock in the moisture. A look out that was slowly turning into a stake out.
It wasn't until I was at work (at walmart) and saw someone stocking new hair products in the Ethnic Hair section. Yes, we have an ethnic hair section. It was called Curly Kids. Now, I was skeptical at first, but after reading what all it had to offer I thought why not give it a try? Then, looking at how affordable it was there was nothing stopping me.
The product did all those things that I was looking for. Now, that's all I will put in my hair. I have the shampoo which doesn't strip your hair but keeps it moisturized and adds to the nutrients, the conditioner, the leave in conditioner that I apply to sections of my hair so it reaches every strand, and the gel which doesn't harden the hair or leave a white residue but still holds it in place. I've never been happier with a product. So, if you've struggled in the trenches with your "mixed hair" as I have, give this product a try.
Remember in your Fashion and Beauty endeavors to Be bold. Be daring. Be lush. But most of all, Be You!
Besos,
Ashley Marie
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