Curly Hair Interview! - Aimee

Meet Aimee! I'm thrilled to have the chance to interview her - she has a gorgeous head of hair, wouldn't you agree?! And some awesome tips to go along with it. :) Don't miss the article she wrote on taking care of curls, too - the link is at the bottom of this interview!

Also be sure to check our her blog!! - Cronenblog

Please introduce yourself and described your hair (and your daughter's)!

My name is Aimee, and I am a first time mama to my little Cecilia, who is four months old. My hair is naturally very curly, and grows in ringlets around 1/2-1" in diameter. My daughter's hair is not yet curly when it's dry (it's wavy though), but it's super curly when it's wet, so I think she will end up with curls too!


What is your daily hair routine for yourself and your daughter?
 
My daily hair care routine is, well, nothing! I don't do anything differently on the days I don't wash. If it's humid out, I might get my hands wet and smooth them over my hair, but for the most part I don't do anything daily.

Do you have any other "routines" that you add to that, but don't do every day? If so, what are they?

I wash my hair around once a week. Maybe twice a week at the most. I don't use any shampoo at all, and I only use -cone (especially silicone) free conditioners. My only styling product is Japanese camellia oil. I order all of my products online. My routine is like this: Wet hair, apply a light conditioner (Deva Curl One Condition), and use that conditioner to GENTLY scrub my scalp and hair. Rinse well. Apply deep conditioner (Giovanni Smooth as Silk X-Treme). Very carefully and gently comb hair with wide toothed comb to untangle knots. Do the rest of my shower routine, and then rinse hair. I generally don't rinse well at that point; I purposely leave a little bit of conditioner in. Then I apply about a quarter sized amount of Japanese camellia oil to my hair from the bottom up to about 3-4" from the roots (my hair doesn't need anything near my scalp). I then "plunk" my hair in a microfiber towel. I leave it like that for up to 3 hours (depending on if I have that time!) and then I take it down and let it finish air drying. Perfect ringlets!

Do you use chemicals in your hair?

Nope! I do henna my hair red, but I use 100% body art grade henna with no added chemicals or metallic salts.

Do you use heat (hair dryer, curling iron, flat iron, etc) on your hair?

Very, very rarely--generally only every now and again in the winter-- I use a hair dryer. I use a diffuser on it and only use it on low heat. I don't use any other heat items.

Have you ever straightened your hair? Why or why not? What were/are your thoughts on straightening curly hair?

I used to straighten my hair when I was a teenager. It never went perfectly straight, but I tried. I wish that more people would give up trying to straighten their curls and learn about taking care of their hair in a way that maximizes what they have instead.

How do you feel about straightening your daughter's hair?

I hope she will never want straight hair!!

What is your favorite way to wear your hair?

Down, flowing, wild and curly!

What do you like best about your curls?

They are so unique and bouncy, they mimic my outgoing and a bit eccentric personality really well!

What is the worst hair advice you've ever received?

Shampoo twice! Hahahaha.

If there was one thing you could say or one tip you could give a young person with curls, what would it be?

LOVE YOUR CURLS. They are uniquely yours, and they are part of what makes you you!

If there was one thing you could say or one tip you could give to the Parents of young children with curls, what would it be?!

Ditch the shampoo ASAP, and just use a very light or diluted conditioner!

Anything else you would like to add that I haven't thought to ask?!

I wrote an article on taking care of curly hair once, and part of it also talks about taking care of straight or wavy hair without shampoo. You can read the article here.

Thank you so much, Aimee!