I've Got A Story To Tell: Meet the Beautiful KELLI

 

 Greetings, Chicas/Chicos...I pray all is well with everyone..

Well, we have a wonderful feature from a Beautiful Naturalista, Kelli, who says life as a natural brings interest to her science classroom daily. 

Kelli is a middle school science teacher who has been natural for pretty much her whole life.  She used to get her hair pressed, but finally stopped once graduating from college.  Kelli says, 'I think one of the neatest things about my hair is how much my students pay attention to it.  They look forward to seeing what style I will come up with next.'  Kelli has also recently started blogging about natural hair and you can check out what she has to say at www.hiscrowningglory.blogspot.com ...So, let's here what story Kelli has to tell...enjoy!!

 

Meet Kelli

 

1. What inspired you to go natural?

Several reasons, I guess.  A childhood friend left for Howard University and came back natural.  I really admired how healthy her hair seemed and the versatility of it.  After some stressful undergraduate years, my hair had broken off a lot and I was looking for a way to get it back to its original fullness.  Also, I wanted to save some money.  I was tired of shelling out dollars to my hairdresser every two weeks, only to sweat my hair out within a few days.  Finally, when I finished college, I wanted a way to show that I had grown and become a different person, so I thought that being natural would demonstrate that best.

 2. How long have you been a beautiful natural?

Technically, I’ve always been a natural.  I have never had a relaxer; my hair was always pressed/flat ironed.  I stopped getting it pressed in 2006 and have mostly been wearing it in some form of its curly state ever since.  There was a period in 2008 when I got a new job and was worried about job security, so I was wearing it pressed for the first few months.  However, once I realized that my job was safe and that I was hired because I am a good employee (not because of my hairstyle), I went back to wearing it curly/kinky.

 3. In regards to natural hair, do you feel as though the same stigmas of hair type exist, for example, do you hear people use the term 'good hair' or 'good grade of hair' in regards to certain hair textures?

I think the tables have turned, so to speak.  I’m not really into hair-typing, so the only way I can describe my hair is thick, coarse, and curly/kinky.  I think my natural friends that don’t have this hair type often regard my kind of hair as “good hair” because the texture lets me style it in a variety of ways.   After conversing with large groups of naturals, it seems as though the curliest hair is regarded as the best, and those with wavy or thinner hair is not as good.

I think though, when we start to define types of hair, it defeats the purpose of going natural.  To me, going natural is supposed to be an act of self-love and affirmation.  It means that you love yourself just the way you were created.  So to compare one type of hair to another kind of puts the whole thing in vain.

 4. Do you feel as though most black men are supportive to natural hair? How about other nationalities?

I don’t know...from what I understand, most black men really just want a confident woman.  I do get compliments from black men about my natural hair styles, but they are usually guys who rock locs or have a close female family member that has natural hair.

I would DEFINITELY say that men of other nationalities, especially caucasian, like natural hair.  Those seem to be the biggest admirers of my hair...I think they like it because our hair is an enigma to them that they just can’t figure out.

 5. How do you maintain such beautiful coils?

Cowashing saved my life!  At first I thought it was the dirtiest thing I had ever heard of, but once I tried it for myself, I was hooked.  It has really helped my hair to become stronger.  Also, I am a fan of SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus products.  They moisturize my hair perfectly.  I love the products because they are organic and don’t have all those man-made ingredients.

6. Do you have any words of wisdom to pass on to others striving for a natural lifestyle?

DO YOU!  Being natural can be so overwhelming at times with all the blogs, vlogs, etc.  Everyone has the right advice or the right answer...but when it comes down to it, you have to find what’s best for you, embrace it, and stick with it.  Again, being natural is about loving yourself, at all times, at all costs.

Well...I hope you enjoyed Kelli's story as much as I did...Thank you Kelli

Meet The Beautiful Kelli

If you have a story to tell and would like to be featured on All Things O'Natural, please send an email to allthingsonatural@yahoo.com and use the header I've Got A Story.

Have A Happy Natty Day!