Naturally Fierce Feature: Tiara

My name is Tiara Simons. I’m a multicultural black American, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Majority of my family is from North Carolina. My family has Native American, Caucasian, and some Latin decent.

I have been natural for a year. I never used to embrace my curls because in middle school kids picked at me about my hair if it wasn’t straight. It was also due to an incident in high school when a girl told me the roots of my hair were African and my length was Spanish.

I became a transitioner because I come from a family that really cherishes long hair. My hair had always touched my stomach, until I decided to bleach it for an ombre effect. I would straighten my hair every single day and I got a perm because I wanted to try it out; neither of these helped my hair. My hair gradually got shorter and shorter. I didn’t realize it starting to touch my shoulders until people asked me, “why did I cut my hair?”. I was definitely a transitioner I was not ready to be practically bald, I knew I wouldn’t have confidence in myself.

My hair has a lot of volume and is very thick. I would say I have a 3b curl pattern. It doesn’t take too much to get have moisture in my hair.

 I love how versatile it is. It takes really well to when it’s straightened, but honestly I don’t care to have to straightened anymore.

The most memorable part was when I washed my hair and didn’t have to put perm rods at the ends of my hair because it naturally curled on it’s own. It has definitely been difficult because I was the only natural in my family. Everyone around me kept telling me to straighten my hair and I just wouldn’t give in.

Some of my favorite transitioning styles were braid outs, I think they definitely saved my life. Perm rod and flexi rod sets gave me wand curls without the wand. I definitely still do perm rod sets on my hair.

When I straightened my hair for the first time for a length check everyone in my family was shocked, as well as friends. My hair has never been so thick and healthy before.

After I wash my hair, I take a spray bottle filled with 1 part conditioner and 2 part water and spray my whole head damp after detangling it. Then I section my hair in four parts. In each part I use the Shea Moisture Hair Mask and Curl Cream to the mid shaft and ends of my hair for ultimate moisture. After, I apply olive oil to all my hair and some Vasline Cocoa butter to my ends. I complete the whole process with bedhead’s curl cream to define my curls. And then I’m done.

I watch a lot of naturals on Youtube such as, naturalneiicey, SunKissAlba, Andreaschoice, BerryBeautiful, SayriaJade, Leahallyannah, glamtwinz334, Muchmorethanbeauty, and lanasummer. I created my own Youtube channel to help others with natural hair and makeup tutorials.

-DO NOT GIVE UP! Honestly, it’s difficult at first going natural because everyone is so accustom to straight hair, but trust me it is going to pay off in the long run. Don’t think about the process think about the outcome and how beautiful and radiant your hair is going to be. Love your natural self.

You can find me on instagram @Royal.t.e.e and on Youtube @Royal.t.e.e

 I’ve definitely have gotten a lot more attention being a natural because my hair is so big in general. I would say it’s a positive experience because the guys I’ve dating loved that my hair was real and not a weave. Plus it’s a conversation starter.