CurlyNuGrowth | it begins hair.: Under the NuGrowth

Meosha is the Style Icon Coordinator at Black Girl, Long Hair and I discovered her on Instagram when she posted a dope picture of her 'fro. I am really glad that I reached out to her because not only is she beautiful, inside &out, she is also a creative spirit with lots of [hair]inspiration!

Tell us a little about yourself?
I used to be a Human Resources Recruiter by day and a dreamer by night. Now I live to try to make all my dreams a reality. I have a best friend and support system in my husband who has given me a positive outlook on life, and with that I’ve been able to turn my hobbies into my day job. The sky truly is the limit and I’m excited about the possibilities.

How long have you been natural? Did you transition or do the Big Chop?
I’ve been natural for 3 ½ years now and I’m one mini chop and one big chop into my journey. When I chopped the first time it was about 6 months after getting an extreme haircut. My hair had been long for years and I wanted to try something new. I got my version of the “Rihanna cut” and realized I would have to get my hair relaxed every 3 months just to maintain the new growth. That didn’t last long so I just let my hair grow out. I didn’t realize at the time I was transitioning. My hair was already short, so after a few months of just letting it do whatever I chopped it all off. My next chop came 2 ½ years into my journey. I had the bright idea of bleaching, dyeing, coloring and peroxiding a large portion of my hair. And not necessarily in that order. I hadn’t clipped my ends in a very long time either so being the impulsive person that I am I chopped it off. Can’t say it won’t be the last time.

Have you experienced any criticism since being natural? If so, how did you handle it?
I haven’t experienced any criticism, but definitely a lot of excitement and stares! It always cracks me up when a family member says, “Hey I saw somebody with their hair just like yours on TV!” That always strikes me as odd like I created this whole thing and it’s the first time they are seeing it. Especially when it comes from someone in their sixties. People have been natural for ages and I just don’t feel like I’m doing anything special. Believe it or not this is how my hair grows out of my scalp. This is what our hair can do.

What is your hair type/curl pattern and your current regimen?
I’m a multi-textured natural. I’ve got some 3c, 4a and some 4c in there around the nape of my neck. It took me a minute to realize that. My hair is fine in a lot of areas and has a pretty decent curl pattern. I used to refer to myself as having thick hair, but I’ve seen thick hair. I just have a ridiculous amount of strands that love to clump together.

My regimen consists of mainly co-washing and wearing a wash and go on the weekends. During the week I try to keep my hair twisted so I don’t have to concern myself with a tangled mess. My dry wash and go is usually twisted up that same night in chunky twists for a beautiful twist out the next day. This style shrinks back into a fro that I wear for a few days when I’m being lazy. Wet twist outs and my texture are not cute, but dry ones stretch my hair and maintain texture and body. Any light styling I do is always on dry, textured hair. I wash my hair and deep condition as needed, and clip my ends about every 2 months.

What is your biggest challenge with your hair?
I have an extreme amount of strands that like to comingle with one another so detangling is always a challenge. I love my hair and wouldn’t trade it for another head of hair on the planet, but with that said it’s still a mutha to manage.

What are your staple or "go-to" products? Why?
My staple products are always going to be a good conditioner, an oil and a moisturizer for twists. I don’t wash as often anymore with shampoo, but when I do I use Giovanni Smooth as Silk and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo. My oil of choice right now is Now Solutions grapeseed oil and my go-to conditioner is Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner. It needs a little help in terms of slip, but my old faithful deep conditioner is Organics by Africa’s Best Olive Oil Deep Conditioner. For my dry twist outs I use Jane Carter Nourish and Shine. All of these products give my hair the assistance it needs to be detangled more easily, moisturized properly since my hair and scalp have a tendency to be dry, and smooth my strands so they are more manageable when wet.

What has been the best part of your natural hair journey?
There’s this spirit of freedom and creativity that comes with being natural and it embodies everything you do. The way you dress, the way you carry yourself, even the way you experience life. It also opens your mind to what you eat, drink and even think. It’s a beautiful thing.

Tell us about BlackGirlLongHair. How did you get started working with BGLH?
Black Girl with Long Hair is a website dedicated to the ever-growing community of black, latina and multi-racial women who choose to wear their hair naturally — with minimal or no use of chemicals, heat, weave or extensions. The Creator and Editor of the site, Leila Noelliste, started it out of the experience she was having in her own personal natural hair journey. You can learn a bit more about her and her journey to creating Black Girl with Long Hair here: http://blackgirllonghair.com/about.

My journey to becoming the Style Icon Coordinator for BGLH on the other hand was born out of an e-mail. I met Leila at a natural hair meetup and was asked to be featured as a Style Icon myself. I was more than excited considering I was a regular reader and dreamed of one day being on the site. After I was featured the experience was over, but I had more to offer. So in short I sent an e-mail offering my unrelated corporate experience, passion for the work, and solid networking ability. The rest is history.

What sets BGLH apart from other natural hair resources on the web?
I would definitely say the diversity of resources and women you will see featured on the site. And it specifically sets out to dispel the idea that women of color can’t grow long, healthy hair.

Who are some of your favorite Bloggers, YouTubers, or websites to follow?
I have a lot of favorite YouTubers and watch them all for different reasons. To name a few, FusionofCultures, Nellybly18, Yaasoulrebel, UrbanBushBabes and HeyFranHey. When I’m not contributing to the site I’m still tuned into what’s going on over on Black Girl with Long Hair and I’m definitely a huge fan of UrbanBushBabes.com.

I see you have your own etsy shop, tell us about your creations. What is the inspiration behind your pieces?
My original inspiration came out of me seeing a pair of earrings in a shop, not purchasing them for some reason, then dreaming about them for days and days on end. I had been tinkering around with making jewelry my entire life so I already had the tools. I decided to make my own. Now that my line has grown to include more beaded items inspiration comes from all sorts of places…Tumblr, color palettes, clothing, even old episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Don’t laugh I’m serious. Okay you can laugh a little bit.

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