Featured Excerpt: Jennifer Jackson

Tell us a little about you……!     Hi all, My name is Jennifer. I am 21 years old and live in Canada. I am in university studying biochemistry and just trying to make the best out of my life.

When & why did you decide to go natural?    You see, my story is different; I have always been natural although I did not practice proper hair care. I never did much to my hair but wash and braid it with extensions every month or so. My hair length stayed just  a little past shoulder length so I thought that this was the length I was destined to have. However, about 3 years ago, I started to straighten my hair A LOT. As a result, I ended up with HEAVY heat damage and breakage. At the time, I did not know what is was but just knew something had to change. So my story is a transition from heat damage to healthy hair.

Were your friends and family supportive of your decision? If not, how were you able to move forward?
 My family, especially my mom did not approve of my decision to cut my hair. She said that it would never grow back. We even got into an argument  about it. My brothers also said not to cut it but they were more supportive then my mother was. As a result, my family affected the decision to not big chop but rather transition instead. I transitioned for 5 months and then drastically started to cut the damaged ends of. My boyfriend has always been supportive of any decisions I made so I was able to move forward.

How long have you been natural for?   I have been natural my entire life. My mother put a texturizer in my hair when I was 8. It didn’t last long as the texturixer broke my hair off and my natural hair grew back. I have been on this healthy hair journey for a year and six months and “big chopped” a year ago.

What’s your regimen?   I suffered badly from product junkie-ism! Lol I jumped from bandwagon to bandwagon until I realized I needed rehab! Lol I try to keep it REALLY simple now. I wash and deep condition my hair once a week. I apply a leave in and seal with an oil. Then I will normally style my hair in twists using some type of butter or pomade and leave the twists in for a week. Once a month, I do a Cassia/amla hair treatment and that is all. Keeping it simple has been working marvellously for me

What mistakes have you made with your hair that you’ve learned from?  I have learned that my hair LOVES water and low manipulation. The more I leave my hair alone (to a certain extend of course) the more it flourishes. I have also learned that what might work for someone will not necessarily work for me. As stated before, keep it simple.

What has been your favourite product?   -Shampoo bars: I find that they are less drying   -Conditioners: Especially Herbal Essences Totally Twisted -Butters: Do not like raw shea butter but prefer lighter butters such as cocoa butter   -Oils: love them all (olive, castor, coconut & amla)

Do you have any hair goals? What steps are you taking to achieve them?
 Now that I have cut off the heat damaged ends, my goal is to keep my hair as healthy as possible meaning no heat appliances unless for a special occasion. I have not flat iron my hair in over a year now. I have been focus on length lately as well and protective styles are helping me achieve this goal.

What has the biggest milestone you have faced in your hair journey?  The biggest milestone I have face is to find simple ways to style my hair. Because I always just have braids, I realized I wasn’t familiar with my natural hair and how to style it.

How did you overcome this milestone?   Thank God for YouTube!!! I have learned a lot from it and how to style my hair and tame it lol

You love your hair because?

I love my hair because it is thick, versatile and beautiful

BONUS Questions!
Naturals have more fun because ……  We have no limits! 

Where can we find you? I can be found on YouTube: HERE  And follow me on twitter: HERE