Spotlight Monday: Chantell

It's Monday again, and you know what that means-- Spotlight Monday!  Today, we will meet Chantell.  Not only is she my friend, BUT she is one of my favorite naturalistas.

Let's begin..

How long have you been natural?
> I have been natural for 3.5 years.  It has been a looooong journey.

Did you transition, or big chop?  Why did you take that route?
> I got my last perm in May 2009 (for prom) and then I big chopped in Feb 2010.  In between, I mostly straightened my hair, but I played with braid outs and twist outs to blend the textures.  I thought I wanted to wait to gain some length before I big chopped, but I got sick of sweating out my blowouts/flat irons, and working with thick roots and limp permed ends.

On big chopping-- How did you feel?
> I asked one of my friends to cut it on a huge whim and I tried to make it a really meaningful experience.. side note* we burned the hair and everything.  But when I got home and looked in the mirror I was miserable.  I even skipped a school party because I was so uncomfortable with my hair.  It took a lot of time for me to get used to my new hair. I kept saying I was baldheaded (lmao) and my family didn't help with their jokes either.  My great uncle told me it looked awful.  It's funny now, but it definitely wasn't then.


What was it like when you experienced your natural hair for the first time?
> To be honest, I didn't really embrace my hair until about a year and a half into being natural.  Once I discovered my hair was easily straightened, all I did was wear it straight.  The few times I did wear it natural, it attracted too much attention that I didn't care for. Once the natural hair movement exploded on blogs and YouTube, I began to educate myself on how to take care of my hair.  It became a huge, and expensive, hobby.  I bought damn near every product, but I've finally developed a couple of regimens that work for my hair type, which I consider to be a 3c/4a.

How do you feel about your hair today?
> I LOVE my hair, it's so versatile.  I'm so proud of it, and its one of my favorite things about myself.  When people ask questions about it, I'm happy to respond.  Although I haven't reached my length goal yet, it's as healthy as its ever been, which is the most important part.  Healthy hair is good hair.

For more hair photos, visit Chantell on Instagram @ceeemjay! :)

Until next time,
Ashley, xo.

Do you have any natural hair questions for Chantell?  If so, comment below!