1. Tell us your name and where you are from
My name is Liz and I'm from Liberia, although I've spent most of my years in the U.S.
2. What is your profession, and is your hair considered a positive or negative in your field?
I'm a lawyer. Funny enough, during law school we were always told that natural hairstyles COULD be considered negatively because the legal profession is very conservative. Most career planning/advising places suggest you wear your hair pulled back in an interview. However, working in the legal field, I think if your hair is neat (even if you're wearing a twistout), it probably won't be considered negative. Although in Liberia, I've noticed that many people are not fans of certain natural hairstyles like twist outs and wash and gos.
3. How long have you been natural?
Since my sophomore year of high shcool. So about 13 years! but I didn't learn how to care for it properly until much later in my journey.
4. How do you style your hair?
As of late, I think my signature hairstyle is going to be twists, kinky twists and two-stranded twists). I like cornrow combos as well, but I think that twists really suit my face and personality while giving me tons of versatility.
5. What is your hair regimen?
I try to wash once a week, but that doesn't always happen. I wash my hair in loose plaits so as to limit breakage and to make the process easier. i'll wash (with shampoo), deep condition (protein treatment) then detangle after the conditioner has been soaked up. I rinse out the conditioner after I've detangled. During the detangling process, I convert the plaits into smaller two strand twists. I air dry my hair using a bread towel (it's gentle on the curls and doesn't pull them; a t-shirt or micro-fiber towel would be just as gentle). While it's still damp, I moisturize with my favorit moisturizer (Hairveda's whipped cream ends hydration) and seal the entire length with castor oil (my hair becomes uber soft with castor oil; that's my hair's boo). Let it dry and then style it or call the braider to come!
6. How would you describe your personal style?
My style reflects my personality! I'm Liberian, but have lived in the U.S. and Spain. I'm a city girl who's eclectic and loves all kinds of music. I love western style clothes made in African prints! I love the lines, sleekness, and finishing of western style clothing, but I love the color and patterns of African print! I grew up seeing African print only with African gowns and lappa suits, so as an adult, I like to showcase my culture through African print business suits, sheath dresses, and pencil skirts!
7. What advice do you have for others that are considering going natural?
1. Do some research, the information out there now is so much more accessible than when I started my journey.
2. Moisturizing is the most important thing you can do. Moisturizing should really start with water. and you should add something(an oil or butter) on it so that it doesn't dry your hair out further.
3. Understand that you CANNOT treat natural hair the same as chemically straightened hair. They require different approaches. Please don't comb your hair dry. Please don't comb your hair from root to tip.
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