Tell us about yourself.
> My name is Sasha; many know me as Asha, I’m 21. I’m an Anthropology and Forensic Science major with a minor in Medical Anthropology at Syracuse University. I was born in Jamaica, moved to the United States when I was 13, and became an American citizen probably a year ago. I teach dance and theatre works every summer when I can, and I have been dancing and doing musicals since I was 5yo.
How long have you been natural? What is your hair type? Describe your curls!
> I’ve been steadily natural for about 2 years. I think my hair is a 4c, maybe 4b. My hair literally does what it wants, when it wants, and I’ll gladly let it. My curls are sometimes super tight and coil-ish, then some days they're nonexistent. It probably depends on the shampoo I use. My hair gets really dry and that scares me and obviously with my curl type, when it gets wet, it shrinks to nowhere land. I think I do a pretty good job of maintaining it since I’m a product junkie. I have just about everything at my fingertips.
Did you transition or big chop? Why did you take that route?
> I kind of did both when I was around 17/18yo. I was going natural without much thought to it. My hair was red on the right side and black on the left side, and my bang was relaxed; I had a phase. Freshman year, I randomly decided to shave my head but leave enough for some hair to cover my face; again, another phase. During this time, my hair grew out and I just decided to keep it like this instead of frequenting a barber to cut it and a hair salon to relax it.
If you big chopped-- how did you feel?
> Well, when my hair was growing out from the shaved style, I still had some relaxed ends, and while I was twisting my hair and preparing for the winter, those relaxed ends bothered me! So I got some scissors and snipped them away without a second thought, but then I freaked out! I don’t know why, but I started panicking, like "Oh my God! What did I do?! Oh no, my hair in the front is so short now!" and even though everyone liked it, I was just nervous that it didn’t look good.
What was it like when you experienced your natural hair for the first time?
> I remember all the times I was natural-- from a kid, to my phase, to my chop-- each time, honestly, was traumatic. Being of mixed ethnicity showed in my hair and it bothered me as a child. We all had those horror stories of our mom combing out hair like she was searching for silver pieces and parting like Moses had nothing on her. Well, my hair was long and it was thick so it took hours. I would fall asleep as she did my hair so I hated it. I hated my hair so much which is probably why I went through so many phases of coloring and cutting it. Being older, going back natural was confusing. I didn’t do any research on it and it was clearly spur of the moment.
What are some of your favorite products? (Top 3)
> Only 3. . . . . oh boy.
1. The Yucca & Baobab Thickening Growth Milk- makes my hair really soft after a long day so I can retwist it.
2. Carol's Daughter, Black Vanilla Leave-in Conditioner- super helpful when I detangle on wet hair. It really helps to loosen up those knots I get.
3. Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo- I actually got this from Ash and I thought it would be bad for my hair, but it’s perfect! It doesn’t erase my curls. In my opinion, it defines them way better than what I’ve been using.
What are your go-to hairstyles?
> I always have a twist out, afro or a Mohawk, mainly because one is the precursor to the other for me Lol. When I get home and forget to re-twist, I just comb it out to an afro then the next day maybe the Mohawk. For protective styling, I usually do Senegalese twists, but I’m slowly backing away from that.
How do you feel about your hair today?
> Today? Well I just twist my hair and notice how much longer it is. Man, I love my hair. As deceitful, complicated and time consuming it is, there’s never a day I think “You know what, I’m getting a relaxer”. It’s exciting to see how much it grows and everything I can do with it. I’m still learning about it and realizing that my hair now isn't the same as when I first started, and I need to take better care of it. Lord know it's been better to me than I have to it, but I am truly happy with my hair!
Until next time,
Ashley, xo.
Do you have any questions for Sasha about her natural hair? If so, comment below!
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How long have you been natural? What is your hair type? Describe your curls!
On big chopping-- how did you feel?
What are some of your favorite products? (top 3)
How long have you been natural? What is your hair type? Describe your curls!
What is a haircare lesson that you've learned that you'd be willing to share with someone who wants to go natural?
The term 'hairshadowing' was created by YouTube Vlogger NaturallyTash about 2 years ago on her channel. It is the process of using an eyeshadow and/or hair chalk to color your hair. The process is very easy and doesn't take very long depending on the amount of hair you have and how much of it you wish to shadow. I usually pick a few pieces of hair to shadow just as accent pieces. However, in the picture set to the left, we see that Tash shadows larger sections of hair for a bigger statement.
