Feature Friday - Sherry in the Spotlight

 
Tell Us About Yourself:
My Name is Sherry. My husband and I live in coastal North Carolina. But, I grew up in Tidewater Virginia. I stopped relaxing a little over four years ago. I made the decision years after a couple of friends encouraged me to do so. I thought they were crazy. I was not letting go of my relaxer. Mind you, I lived in Virginia Beach, with 100% humidity summers. My hair was very rarely ever really straight anyway. My hair was constantly at the same length, right above shoulder length or shorter. When I moved to North Carolina, I didn't have anyone to do my hair. There aren't any salons here that work with ethnic or very curly hair. I found one hairdresser that would trim my hair, but that was all I was able to get done. Plus, I was always battling with the elements and my hair to get it to look just right and to stay that way. I made the decision to go natural after my husband and I had been married for about 7 months.

Were you a slow transitioner or did you Big Chop & Why?
I was a slow transitioner. I had no idea about the  Big Chop. My hair wasn't ever really long, but I had never had very short hair. I didn't know what I would look like. Plus, I really didn't even know that I was slow transitioning. My thought was that I was just going to gradually cut off the ends. (Who knew there was a name for the process!) I kind of went in blind on the whole thing. In hindsight, I should have done research before I started to transition. (But, I had my lady that was trimming my hair for me, and she was one of my biggest fans!) I finally cut off all of the relaxed hair after a year and 3 months. However, I was still straightening my hair the whole time, so I was not really familiar with my real hair. Now, summer in North Carolina was coming and I had no idea what to do with my hair! Finally, I started checking out YouTube. (You can find anything on YouTube, anything) There are so many smart and talented ladies that helped me with my natural hair journey. Plus, I started to find other sites like CurlyNikki and NaturallyCurly.com. There's so much information that one can find to get healthy hair.

How did you feel after going natural?
After I finally cut all of the relaxed ends, I felt better not having to deal with the two textures. But, I don't know that I felt any differently about myself than I did before. I didn't feel more fabulous or sassier, lol. I still hadn't figured out what to do with my hair yet. I think I just felt like it was more like Sherry. Plus, I was spending less time worrying about my hair. It wasn't until after I started to educate myself on my hair that I started to feel more confident in what I was doing.
 
How did family and friends react to your decision to go natural? What was your response to them?
My family is used to me being "up to something new" So, it was not surprising to them that I made the decision to go natural. Plus, I didn't ask them, lol. No announcement was made. I just told them after a while that I wasn't going to be relaxing anymore. Their response was, "OK."  And that was pretty much it. We just moved on to the next subject, probably food. My husband has always said that since it's my hair,  I can do what I want with it. Of course, he likes that it is longer now, but I like that too. Now, I do have to say that in the beginning I didn't know what I was doing, so there were some moments where the hair was not cute. Thankfully, they stuck with me and didn't make a big deal about it. As I became more skilled with styling and taking care of my hair they have really been a great support to me.
 
Describe your hair.
Most would say I have type 4 hair, I guess.  But, I really have kind of a patchwork of hair textures going on here. The crown does not really curl, but it's not straight either. The sides above my ears are my tightest curls and my most fragile. They are most prone to splitting and tangling. So, I have to baby them a little more.  The back has a looser curl pattern. So, I really have a mixture going on. And then throughout, there is a mixture of coarser and fine hairs.

What’s your current hair routine? What are your favorite products?
I either shampoo or co-wash my hair in four sections, once a week. Right now I am using Tresemme Naturals Shampoo. (I'm still on the look out for a great shampoo. Any suggestions?)  I also deep condition before I shampoo with either coconut oil or olive oil. I use the Suave Naturals line for co-washing. (However,  I just tried the Yes to Cucumbers line. I think that might be a winner for me) After I wash my hair, I load up the four sections with a cream conditioner and detangle each section with a wide toothed comb.  I always use a leave-in conditioner (Infusion 23) and seal with an oil. I twist my clean and detangled hair into four large sections and wrap my head in an old  cotton t shirt to absorb the water. Next, I let that sit on my hair for about 30 minutes. After that, I twist my hair into medium sized twists, usually about 30 twists.  That's pretty much it. Usually, I wear my hair in the twists for a day or two so that they are completely dry. Then I unravel the twists for the next few days, until I'm ready to star over again.

How do you maintain your hair at night?
My night time routine is pretty simple. I apply a little oil to my ends, pull my hair into a ponytail and wrap my hair in a satin scarf. If my hair has gotten frizzy and lost definition during the day sometimes I'll spray a mixture of leave-in, water and oil on individual twists, comb it out and re-twist it. Most of the time I don't have to do my whole head, just the ones that frame my face and a few on the top. That's pretty much it.
 
What’s the best thing about being natural?
It's hard to pick just one thing! Well, now I'm am trying to be more conscientious about the products and chemicals that I put on and in my body. So, being natural goes along with my healthy life choices. Plus, I love that I can wear my hair curly or straight. Oh, and I don't have bad hair days. If my twist out doesn't turn out right, I can whip it into a bun or a headband or whatever and I can still look nice. My style doesn't get ruined by the weather. Most of all, I like that my hair is uniquely mine. My hair and I are no longer battling, we are finally at peace with one another.
 
Where can people find you on the web?
I can be found at my blog site www.curlybrowngirl.com. Please feel free to stop by!

For a chance to be featured email me: TiffanyNicholsDesign@gmail.com