First Name:

Donica’

What state are you from?

I am from the great state of Texas.

What do you do for a living?

I am honored to be living my passion as a Social Entrepreneur, Well-Beauty Scholar and Entertainer.

How did you become interested in natural hair?

I was born with it! Therefore, I should have been interested in natural hair from the start. However, societal standards teaches us that something is wrong with being “nappy”, so as soon as we are old enough, our mothers slap relaxers in our hair {with good intentions} to either help us conform or for ease of care. Instead, if we are taught at an early age to love our natural tresses, I think we would take pride in truly learning to care for our hair as we do our bodies.

How long have you been natural?

I have been natural off and on over the years; but the longest has been 4 years strong.

Discuss how you transitioned from relaxed hair to natural hair.

My transition from relaxed to natural hair was an easy one. Each time I had my stylist perform “the big chop”. It was a funny sight to see the mouths of the women in the salon drop open as locks of my thick tresses fell to the floor. Inside I would think, I now know what freedom feels like, so I nicknamed my afro, “Freedom”.

How did you prepare yourself to grow out your relaxer?

I did not have to prepare myself to grow out my relaxer. I wrapped my hair in decorative scarves, which is a part of my personal style anyway.

Do you remember the first time you started appreciating your natural texture?

I started appreciating my natural texture as soon as I discovered what had been hidden and bound by relaxer.

What hair styles do you wear most often?

Most often, I wear twists and twist-outs. Although it takes me hours to design due to the thickness of my hair, the ease of style is worth the work; and I thank God for every strand of my crown of glory.

Discuss what natural hair means to you?

Natural hair to me means many things, but I can sum it up in one word–freedom. I am free to wear my gorgeous, tight, organic curls without apologizing for it.

From start to finish what’s your natural hair regimen?

I wash my hair once a week using Shea Moisture Organic African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo. I follow up with Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque {love it!}. I style my hair with Goddess Curls botanical curl gel and the Lavish Curls moisturizer revitalizes my curls daily.

If you could only use one hair product for the next 12 months. Which product would you choose?

Being a product junkie, I do not know that I could use only one product for 12 months. However, I can say now, Hair Mask by Shea Moisture is at the top of my favorites list. I try many hair products. Some live up to their claims, others do not; and Shea Moisture is one of those I can trust to lock in the additional moisture my thirsty hair needs. It is a staple in my health and beauty bag. I take it everywhere I go!

Any advice or inspirational words for other naturals in Natural Hair Community?

How could someone not love something that is hand-crafted by God, The Ultimate Creator? Do not forget that every one of our being was fearfully and wonderfully made. So no matter what, be sure to “dress yourself in self love; and feel boot{iful} inside™”.

Do you think you will ever return to a relaxer? Why or why not?

Currently, I do not plan to return to a relaxer. Although it would be easier for my career, I do not enjoy spending hours in the hair salon, and I love the versatility natural hair gives me. I go to the hair salon if I want a special natural style, to get my ends trimmed, and/or for a press when I want to wear it straight.

Have you ever been discriminated against because of your natural hair? If so, please tell us what happened.

I cannot say for certain, that I have been discriminated against due to my natural hair, but I do think that it is a shame for those who have experienced something like this.

What’s the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked about your hair? How did you respond?

The most ridiculous question I have been asked about my natural hair is, “can I touch it?” Although I try not to be rude, my response probably sounds something like, “this {referring to my hair}, is not a petting zoo.” That is after I give them the “are you serious” look.

Keiunna of “Keiunna Prepares for the Big Chop” is back and she has big chopped.

I saw her tweet: “FINALLY did my BC!” I was elated. I immediately reached out to her for a follow up interview for a “Bring Me Into Your Moment” story. I love to hear stories; especially when I feel like I’m in the moment with the person. Keiunna obliged me with a little big chop chit chat.

Now, an in depth look at Keiunna’s experience with big chopping:

Jael: When you decided to go natural, you decided to transition first. Tell me your thought process behind that decision.

Keiunna: Well, I knew that I wanted to be natural, but I knew I couldn’t rock the bald look, so I wanted to have some hair to work with first, so I decided to transition. I got deep into the natural hair community during my transition and I am glad that I did transition because learned tons of things during those 7 long months like: 3 strand twisting, creating a hair care regimen, creating various hair styles, the mental transition as well as the physical transition. I learned that getting frustrated with my hair is ok because it happens to the best of the best. Most importantly I learned to love my hair and myself, and that I am not alone in this, which was very important for me to learn.

Jael: You chose a big chop date; what was it and discuss why you picked that date.

Keiunna: My big chop date was going to be on July 1st, but then I changed it to June because my two textures were definitely not “blending together”. I was beginning to get really frustrated and I was really excited about my new growth. So, I big chopped early. My two textures were definitely not “blending together” so, about last week sometime I began to cut off some of my hair. At first it was just to trim the ends because they were majorly split, like crazy. Then I just decided to cut further. As the days went on I cut more, more and lot more. Then one day I cut a whole lot of it off, this was on the 18th. The next day on the 19th I decided to tell everyone that I’d pretty much gotten done cutting it. So, technically my BC date was May 18th ha-ha. So, after all of those 7 months I chopped my hair off myself.

Jael: Really – why were you so excited about your new growth?

Keiunna: I was really excited because I was seeing my real hair for the first time and I didn’t hate it or want to “straighten/smooth it down”. I was loving the curls that were popping out of my head at the roots. It was beautiful and I couldn’t wait to explore them!!

Jael: How do you feel now that you have big chopped?

Keiunna: How do I feel? I feel, free I guess you could say, but not as free as I thought I would. It’s just like: “Yes, I cut all of my hair off. No, I don’t feel any different” – yet. But I’ll give it a month and see what changes occur. Attention to all transitioners with an ample amount of new growth: Girl, seriously, just go ahead and cut it!! You know you want to, I know because I did!! Natural hair is beautiful and I never ever ever want to go back to perms, I want to experience my natural hair in all of it’s glory!!

Jael: Now that you have done the do, what are some immediate differences in your big chop journey from your transitioning journey?

Keiunna: In my transitioning journey, I would always look at my new growth and try to measure how much hair I have but now that I’ve big chopped, I can see all of it and I just love my curls!! They don’t look like my hair idol Naptural85′s, but they are in fact unique as I’ve been told. They are very tight and pop right back into place all of the time. Also the products I have (i.e. Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding) work way better.

Jael: Do you feel like doing your transition you held your hair to an unrealistic expectation?

Keiunna: Yes, I do feel like I held it to an unrealistic expectation but I do that a lot…with everything ha-ha. I do, however, love the curls that I have. They are awesome!!

Jael: How are you handling the fact that your texture is different from Naptural85’s natural hair texture? Why did you pick Nap85 as your hair idol?

Keiunna: Well, I was just really hoping that my hair looked like hers because hers is just gorgeous!! And it’s so beautiful and healthy and just…pure lusciousness!! Naptural85′s hair is like some of the most beautiful hair that I have ever seen, but she takes really good care of herself. She eats very healthy, exercises, and drinks plenty of water. So, she really motivates me to take care of more than just my hair, but myself. And her utter beauty from her attitude to her hair is just so awe-inspiring. I have mad respect for her!!

Jael: What advice do you have for anyone wanting to big chop in the near future?

Keiunna: Well, I would say if you can rock the short look, then just go ahead and do it. Also, if you want to do the big chop yourself, you can, just be careful and let someone else trim it up for you. Also, if you get tired of your hair mid-transition and want a break, just get a protective style such as braids. I had micro-braids for two months and when I took them down I had so much new growth it was crazy! Good luck on whatever you decide.