This decision has been a long time coming, but I finally decided to commit and I’m ready to share. I am officially starting my natural hair journey. If you are unfamiliar with the gravity with this decision and the influence of Black hair, I have linked some great reference articles in this post and this post.  

Essentially, hair is a huge topic of discussion in the black community and EVERYONE has an opinion. The choices we make about our hair has implications on everything from how we are perceived by the people that we come in contact with to whether or not we are hired for a job. We are told that our hair is bad, unkempt, and dirty. It’s no wonder that black hair journeys are often rooted in psychological discomfort, and not simply style preference. 

Honestly, I knew that this day was coming. My increasing interest in natural and healthy products has made me more aware of what I have been putting into my body. How could I go on about those topics when I am literally putting toxic chemicals onto my scalp!? Relinquishing my reliance on the creamy crack to chemically straighten my hair was going to be an inevitable hurdle. I will be sharing my hair journey on the blog and social media, so stay tuned! The cover photo of this post is actually the first picture on my Instagram feed without my usual straight hair, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous about being photographed with my hair in a different state.

After I made the decision to transition from chemically processed hair to natural hair, I immediately went into research mode. YouTube has been an invaluable resource so far!  

Here are a few of my favorite natural hair YouTubers: 

Whitney (Naptural85)

Whitney is to natural hair as Jackie Aina is to make up. Basically, their word is absolute gold. Jackie was essential in helping me learn about makeup, more specifically, makeup for my skin tone. I can count on Whitney to provide a thorough tutorial that features products with natural ingredients. Whitney has been natural since August of 2008 and is a seasoned natural hair YouTuber. Her hair type (4a, 4b in crown) seems like it could be close to my natural hair type. In addition, Whitney created her own haircare brand, Melanin Hair Care, which features nutrient-rich products with natural and safe ingredients. My coworker let me sample some of the Melanin Twist-Elongating Style Cream and oh my word is it good!

Here is a video of her using Melanin Hair Care Products for a twist-out!

Jewellianna (Jewellianna Palencia)

I actually found Jewellianna after researching tutorials with Melanin Hair Care. Jewellianna (or JeweJeweBee on Instagram) followed Naptural85’s tutorial and got amazing results (more snaps for Whitney!). I fell into a Youtube spiral and watched many of her other videos as well. One video that I found useful was her Beginners Friendly Routine and Styles video (here).

Shaneice (NaturalNeiicey)

Shaneice was another Melanin Hair Care find (here is her twist out video). I have been really into twist-outs so far in my natural hair journey because it is a great heatless hair option! One of the things that I look for in tutorial videos is a personality match. If I don’t vibe with you through my phone, it’s hard for me to pay attention to the tutorial. Luckily, I found Shaniece entertaining and went on to watch several more videos. For example, here is a video of Shaneice’s weekly natural hair routine! 

Ebony (Ebony’s Curly TV)

Do y’all remember the DMX challenge? For the unfamiliar, people would upload a video that featured DMX’s song “What these B* Want” in which he names several women in a row. The challenge is to feature yourself sporting completely different hairstyles as he says the names. Ebony’s challenge video (here) popped up on my Instagram explore page. I loved her styles, so I went to follow and discovered that she was a natural hair Youtuber! One of the first Ebony’s Curly TV videos that I watched was her natural hair journey video. Watch it here!

Is anyone else on a natural hair journey or have natural hair tips to share? Please let me know in the comments!