Natural Beauty of The Week: Dr. Nina

by | Aug 6, 2011 | Natural Beauty of The Week | 0 comments

Nina Washington is a career woman who has made the choice to go natural.  I am always really intrigued to hear the “natural hair” journey of professional working women who do not fit the status quo of weaves and relaxers. Nina is a pediatrician, wouldn’t you love to walk into your doctor’s office and see your doctor with big beautiful natural tresses? Read on……

Nina before going natural
How long have you been natural:?
Technically, I’ve only been 100% natural for a month! I BC’ed on June 25, 2011. My last relaxer was on June 24, 2010, so I transitioned for exactly one year. So far I love it and have absolutely no regrets. I’m looking forward to many more years of having natural hair.
What inspired you to go natural?
In all honesty, Rachel O was one of my biggest inspirations for going natural. I loved her big, beautiful hair! My other reason for becoming natural is that over the past few years I began to notice that my hair had become so limp and lifeless. I’m originally from Mississippi where roller wraps are pretty much the standard ‘do. My hair was always full and healthy while I lived at home, but then I moved to Chicago where roller wraps are virtually a thing of the past. My regular hairstyle soon became a shampoo, blow dry and flat iron. At the end of three years, I looked at a picture of myself and realized my hair was only a fraction of how thick and full it use to be. Soooo, I decided to give the relaxers a rest and go natural.
How did you transition?
I’ll say right off the bat that I didn’t try to transition all by myself. I found a stylist in San Jose, CA, who was very comfortable with doing natural and transitioning hair. I had my hair shampooed and rodded/straw set every two weeks. I really think this helped prevent a lot of the breakage and damage people talk about during transitioning. I also wore braids for a month, although I had to take them out b/c they drove me crazy. I got cornrows for a month also. I flat ironed my hair 3 or 4 times over the year so I could get my ends trimmed every 2-3 months.






Did you receive any negative feedback from family and friends?
I received nothing but encouragement from family and friends. I think a lot of people are going natural these days so I always had a readily available support group. My younger sister has been natural for about 5 years and she was my biggest supporter and source of wisdom. My best friend was also going natural at the time so we would often pow-wow over what worked or didn’t work for our hair. The only person I’m really worried about is my dad; he’s not really into natural hair and he hasn’t seen me since I BC’ed!!

What’s your natural hair routine?
Honestly, I think I’m still working out a “routine.” The first week was really rough because I had no idea what to do with this new texture of hair. Now, I pretty much shampoo once a week with whatever shampoo is in my bathroom. As far as conditioners are concerned, I really like Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose. It’s very thick and great for detangling. After shampooing, I usually use a little Miss Jessie’s Baby Butter Cream to moisturize and then MJ’s Curly Meringue to do two-strand twists. When I untwist, I use a little One ‘n Only Argan Moroccan oil for shine. If I’m a good girl and retwist every night and sleep with a scarf, my twists last just over a week. On nights that I don’t have the energy to twist, I’ll sleep with a scarf and in the morning wet my hair and apply Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner for a quick pseudo wash n go.

What advice do you have for anyone considering going natural?
I’d say first make sure going natural is something you want to do. Also don’t be afraid to change your mind! While I’m loving being natural, if I wake up one day and decide this isn’t for me anymore, I won’t hesitate to get a relaxer. I don’t think it makes me less of a black woman. I would also say to be patient. This is a process and sometimes (matter of fact, often times) you will want to quit. When that happens go back to your reason for going natural and remember all the hard work you’ve put in so far. And don’t be afraid to enlist the help of a stylist! There are some really great stylists out there who can help your transition go more smoothly. And then there’s the whole texture thing…appreciate and accept yours! Finally, experiment with products and get to know what works best for you.
What is the best thing about going natural?
The best thing is that I have so much more confidence and I’m not using long straight hair as my measure of beauty. It’s also been great to actually “see” my face. I didn’t realize how much of my face was hiding behind my hair!
I think the worst thing is that this is uncharted territory. I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t, which some days makes for some pretty awkward bad hair days – especially when you work in a field as conservative as mine.


Please share 3 natural beauty makeup tips?
1. Use a moisturizer with SPF everyday to protect skin and to give it a glow.
2. Mascara, blush, and concealer are the quickest and most effective ways to camouflage the fact that you didn’t get enough sleep!
3. Keep those eyebrows arched!


 

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