Tell
me a little about yourself and your hair journey.
My name is Sheriden. I’m 23 years old, and I’m a writer
who’s all about being transparent, authentic, and putting good, real vibes out
into the world. I blog at The Indie Byline where I collect life moments – both
big and small, go on the best foodie adventures, and fumble at love one boy at
a time lol.
I also have a YouTube channel where I am curating love
lessons through real talks with people sharing their views on love and self-love.
My natural hair journey started 4 years ago when I decided I just wasn’t about
that relaxed hair life no mo’. Since then I have grown, I have chopped, I have
dyed, and now I have grown some more lol.
How
long have you been natural?
4 years strong! It is annoying at times but I wouldn’t
change it for the world. There’s so much personality and versatility with black
hair that I love and that goes doubly with being natural. I am actually
thinking about getting starter locs this winter…
What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper & why?
I transitioned before going full blown natural for about 6 months. It was easy to deal with the two textures as long as I paid extra attention to my new growth. I wanted some length before I did my big chop and initially wanted to do a year, but after taking out my kinky twists and seeing how struggle my permed ends were, I was just like, “Cut it all off!”
How
would you describe your hair?
Kinky. Stubborn. Wild. Free. She marches to the beat of
her own drum.
What
do you love most about your hair?
The individuality it represents. The air it gives me,
the confidence. I like that even if it is a subject of dislike or beauty – it
demands the attention of anyone who sees me rocking it. I love feeling how soft
it is.
What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy or difficult or both?
The most memorable part was both of my haircuts. I remember being so nervous because I was allowing others’ perception of beauty to influence whether or not I would cut it, so it was a freeing experience when I big chopped. I let go of what people’s standards of beauty were and invented my own.
When I cut my fro into a tapered cut a couple of years back, that was another freeing experience. I let go of the weight of some baggage I was carrying around. I made a move for me by cutting my hair and coloring it – donning a new look. It might sound silly to place such an emphasis on short hair but hair means a lot to women, it influences how we feel about ourselves unfortunately and fortunately. So cutting it off and offering an alternative to the “long, straight hair is beautiful” stigma is pretty empowering as a woman.
What
are (or were) some of your favorite transitioning hairstyles or current dos?
I love braid styles lol. Box braids, Marley twists, and
my latest love has been crochet braids. I am a diva when it comes to head wraps,
I love rocking a turban at least a few times a week. I love twist outs when I
am wearing my real hair.
What
have your experiences been as a ‘natural?’ Any memorable reactions from family
or others?
Generally really positive experiences, but my mother
didn’t care for it initially. For a while, she couldn’t understand why I wanted
to trade my signature wrap style for a teeny weeny afro that black people
largely put to bed decades prior. But I think after a few months, it became
obvious that this natural was in fact a part of who I am and how I am meant to
be, it showed, and she loved it so much, it encouraged her to start her own
natural hair journey. Dope!
What
is your hair regimen (including fav products)?
My current hair regimen is a weekly cowash with HerbalEssences Hello Hydration Conditioner, proceeded by a prepoo with coconut oiland a deep conditioning treatment with Shea Moisture Yucca & BaobabAnti-Breakage Masque.
What I typically do when I deep condition is place my
hair in loose flat twists and then don a head wrap for the day, at the end of
the night, I give my hair a cowash with my conditioner of choice (it’s cheap,
smells good, and leaves my hair feeling moisturized). When I wash my hair with
shampoo (Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo), it’s once a
month accompanied by a protein treatment that is one part mayonnaise, one part
essential oil of my choice, and one part conditioner.
My day to day practices is basically maintaining the moisture I’ve placed in my hair through the use of the LOC method. After washing, I twist my hair into little twists with that method to ensure a quick dry. Water is my liquid, olive oil is my oil, and raw Shea butter is my cream-based moisturizer. The next day, I untwist with oil on my fingers and wear my hair like that.
I retwist at night with Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and twist my hair into much chunkier twists, wake up and repeat. The style will either evolve into an afro puff by the end of the week or I’ll just wrap my hair up in my turban again depending on the weather and how I’m feeling.
Who
is your hair crush?
Yagazie Emezi. Kilo Kish. Hannah Faith. Solange
What
are some of your favorite natural hair websites, Youtubers, or blogs?
I don’t really look at a lot of natural hair sites but
I love CurlyNikki, HeyFranHey, Talk Tresses, Global Couture, Black Girl Long
Hair, & Urban Bush Babes.
Anything
you want the readers to know? Inspirational words?
There’s a quote I’m living by lately: “The Sun will
rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it’s here is
up to us. Journey wisely.” It’s by Alex Elle, a fellow queen I love and whose
life and work ethic inspire my own as a creative.
I’m outchea! Lol, connect with me with any (or all) of the links below:
THE INDIE BYLINE
Via Global Couture
PRODUCTS MENTIONED AND/OR USED
