I am so excited to share with you my VERY FIRST blog feature! If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with all things related to natural hair, whether it be my natural hair or someone else's. I am so blessed to be able to introduce to my readers something that I've been inspired to begin on my blog: Features! I will begin incorporating monthly features here in a variety of topics, ranging from fashion and beauty to natural hair and motivation.
I have entitled my natural hair features, "Her HAIRstory." For my very first natural hair feature, I would like to introduce one of my newest curlfriends, Ebony. While on the hunt for natural hair features, I ran across this beauty on a natural hair page I follow on IG. I instantly fell in love with her hair! I reached out to her and to my surprise she agreed to participate in my feature. She was such a sweet person to work with! Check out Ebony's HAIRstory below.
Please introduce yourself. My
name is Ebony Davenport I am 21 years old (22 in April) and I was born, raised
and continue to reside in Dayton, OH which is a little north of Cincinnati.
Tell us a little about
yourself. I am a
senior Women’s Studies major at Wright State University and I will be
graduating later this year in December. After I graduate I will be going to law
school and my hope is to get into human rights law focusing on international
women’s issues and rights. I have a part time job at the local children’s
hospital and intern with the local YWCA. In my free time I love to catch up on
sleep (lol), hang out with my family and friends, shop, and read.
How long have you been natural? I
would consider myself having been natural all of my life but my senior year of
high school I got a relaxer because I was tired of my hair getting frizzy in
the summer (Ohio has crazy humidity in the summer and fall!). In total I got
three relaxers from November 2009 until August 2010 and they were all a few
months apart.
What made you decide to go
natural? Is there a specific reason you went natural? Having
the relaxer did minimize frizz and helped me maintain straight hair when I
exercised. However I started to notice a difference in my hair texture and
thickness. My curl pattern had been completely disturbed and I hated the way my
hair looked after shampooing. I decided to stop getting relaxers at that point
and haven’t had one since August of 2010. My hair was near bar strap length but
it was so thin and processed so I cut my hair in an angled bob and decided to
grow the remaining relaxer out. I got really impatient and frustrated with
having two textures in my hair so June of 2011 I did my version of a big chop
(I left a bang so I could still have some hair to do) and have grown it out
since. I decided to return natural to improve the health of my hair and restore
my curl pattern. My hair has always grown pretty long and fast so being natural
just allows me to retain that length.
How would you describe your
hair? I
would describe my hair as very curly and coily. I am about a 3C/4A so I have
some pieces that have a looser wave and others that are much more tightly coiled.
I get a lot of shrinkage with my hair which makes tracking growth deceiving. My
hair has a tendency to frizz regardless of style, I also have major
hand-in-hair syndrome (lol) which just makes more frizz.
What is your favorite natural
hair style? On yourself or others? My
favorite natural hairstyle on me is tie between using my curl formers and flexi
rods. These two styles give my hair a lot of body, manageability and I can get
several days out of it versus twist outs, which I can usually only get about
two days out of. I LOVE bantu knot outs on other people especially on thicker,
coarser hair. I can only get a bantu knot out that I like on myself if my hair
is blow dried.
Do you have a hair crush? My
hair crush is Mahogany Curls (I have no idea what her real name is lol). But I
found her YouTube page early in her natural hair journey when she had done her
big chop. I had recently just cut all of my hair off to a length I wasn’t all
that comfortable with. She gave me a lot of confidence to rock my TWA and
reminded me that even when your hair is that short you still have to practice
consistent hair care regimens to grow healthy hair. Now her hair is so long and
gorgeous and she’s built a really strong following.
What is/are your favorite
natural hair product(s)? My
favorite products for natural hair are: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie,
100% coconut oil, 100% castor oil (I get scented castor oil because the
original smells awful), mixed chicks leave in conditioner, EcoStyler Olive Oil
Gel, Aussie Moist Conditioner, Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque, CURLS
Goddess Curls Gel, and Organix Coconut Milk, Argan Oil, Macadamia Oil, and
Biotin lines.
How do you keep your hair
healthy? When I
wear my hair natural I limit the amount of times I shampoo my hair, since
traditional shampoos have harsh sulfates that strip and dry the hair out. I
condition my hair like crazy. On wash day I do a serious deep condition
treatment and in between styles I cowash. I detangle my hair often using a wide
tooth comb or Denman style brush. I also try to drink lots of water, which is
good for your overall health. I also moisturize my hair a lot with natural
oils, coconut oil is amazing! When I wear my hair straight I limit the amount
of direct heat that I use. I will only use the flat iron on my hair the day
that I initially straighten it. I also use a heat protectant when I use my flat
iron and curling wand.
Are there any social networks
we can follow you on (Instagram/Twitter/FB/blog/website)? I have
a two Instagram pages, @x_eb is my personal page and @beautifulroots is my
natural hair page both I keep updated pretty regularly. My twitter is
@x_ebonyyy and my Facebook is Ebony Davenport.
Any advice you would like to
leave us with? I
have two major pieces of advice to anyone beginning or well into their natural
journey. The first is to be patient! I have tried transitioning and have done a
big chop so I know how confusing and frustrating those phases can be. However
having a bad attitude toward your hair is really unhealthy. You shouldn’t
invest that much of your self-worth into your hair anyway. Your hair is like a
plant, you have to nurture it and let it do its own thing. It’s hard to see
major growth when you look at your hair every single day. My second piece of
advice is to love YOUR hair first. It’s cool to have hair crushes and role
models but to fawn over someone else’s hair and wish it was yours is also
unhealthy. No two heads of hair are made alike so you have to learn to love
yours flaws and all. For me that’s my return to natural hair has taught me. I
have learned to love my hair as it grows out of my head.
