My name is Jocelyn Norman and I am a Jersey girl. I grew up in Orange, NJ and received my BA degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I currently work and live in Florham Park, NJ with my amazing six year old daughter, Brielle. I am 37 years old (but I don’t look it) and I’ve been in a relationship with my honey, Stephen for about a year.
How long have you been natural?
My last chemical treatment, a texturizer, was in January, 2011.
What motivated you go natural?
I became natural after deciding to cut all of the texturizer out of my already, very short hair one random day in June, 2011. My hair was in a short pixie cut and most of the texturizer was already growing out. I was tired of having to worry about finding the time and money to get another texturizer or perm every couple of weeks. It just didn’t fit my lifestyle anymore and I was eager / open for a change!! I simply decided to try “something new” and one day I just did. I “Big Chopped” all of the remaining texturizer out of my hair at the end of June, 2011 and wasn’t really prepared for the change I was about to embark on!
How would you describe your hair?
It’s so hard to describe my hair. I know I have fine hair with a mixture of textures. Most of my hair could probably be categorized at 4B but I have some 4A/3C curls in the back and in the crown of my head. Keeping my hair moisturized is a daily struggle and when dealing with my edges I have to have a gentle hand because they tend to break with too much manipulation.
What do you love most about your hair?
I am so in love with my hair these days and I believe it has a lot to do with how well I’ve learned to take care of it. I no longer have to rely on a salon or professional stylist to make my hair “look good.” I call myself a “kitchen beautician” thanks to everything I’ve read, Goggled and YouTube’d regarding natural hair. This is the longest my hair has ever been and being natural just seems to suit my personality. Before I went natural, I would occasionally get compliments on my hair but only after a salon visit. Now, there isn’t a day that goes by where someone hasn’t complimented me on my hair.
What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy or difficult or both?!
The most memorable part of my journey was when I big chopped. I had a very, very low cut. I mean no longer than half an inch all around! I felt like I looked like a boy – manly and exposed!! I had to step up my makeup & accessory game in order to feel confident…which wasn’t a problem since I’ve always been obsessed with both! I also had no idea how to work with my true texture and engrossed myself into anything and everything I could find about caring for natural hair. The first year of my journey was difficult because my hair was always dry and shedding. I understood that daily hair shedding was normal but mine was excessive. I learned the hard way that my hair needs a significant amount of protein as well as moisture and can easily become imbalanced.
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What are some of your favorite hairstyles?
I like simple styles that I can either leave in a couple of days or that I can recreate if I decide to re-twist my hair at night. I love faux buns! It’s a great protective style that allows me to play with some added hair.
I have to say that overall, my experience being natural has been enjoyable, challenging and fun. I haven’t received a lot of off the wall or side eye comments as I had originally anticipated. If I ever received an unpleasant comment, it was in the very beginning when I first big chopped. Unfortunately, that makes sense to me because I had no idea what I was doing with my hair and anyone with eyes could tell! LOL! When I first went natural my mother was the only true skeptic of my decision. She was always asking me “when I was going to do something with my hair”. She just didn’t get it. But as my hair grew longer and healthier that question was no longer asked. You can tell that the more skilled I became at styling my hair, the more she was comfortable with it. Either way, I was going to do me and continue with my journey. Now, during my second year, I’m truly enjoying my hair! I like trying new styles. I’m so much more creative with my hair now – more so than I’ve ever been. I honestly feel like my entire sense of style has changed because of my hair. It just makes me feel funky and fearless and that sensibility has crossed over into every other aspect of my life/personality.
It has taken me two years to create a decent regimen that works for my hair but I think I’ve finally found one that works!! And all of the products that I use are my HOLY GRAIL aka STAPLES!
First of all, I wash my hair weekly, in sections, at the sink. I’ve tried washing my hair loose and in the shower but it just takes too long! It also wastes a ton of water!
I alternate my washings each week between a moisturizing treatment and a protein treatment. On the weeks where I’m just doing a “moisturizing” treatment I will begin with detangling my dry hair. I’ll section my hair in fours and will detangle each section with a generous amount of my detangling mix. My detangling mixture consists of a silicone free conditioner (usually Tresemme NaturalsNourishing Moisturizing Conditioner), warm water and EVOO. As I’m detangling the four sections I break them up into smaller sections to make sure I remove all shed hair. I’ll start off detangling with my fingers but will use a wide tooth comb for my ends. It takes me about 45 minutes to detangle my hair and once that’s done I’ll have about 12 twists total. I keep these twists in my hair as I begin to then Co-Wash. I co-wash my hair with Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisturizing Conditioner, Herbal Essence’s Hello Hydration Conditioner or As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Conditioner. Then I’ll rinse my hair with an apple cider vinegar mix. This mixture consists of 1 oz. of Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, 6 oz. of lukewarm water, 1oz honey and 6 drops of Rosemary oil. Once I’ve rinsed my entire head with that I’ll let that sit for about 10 minutes and will rinse out with warm water. I will then deep condition my hair with Camille Rose Naturals Algae Deep Conditioner. Once my hair is completely coated with the deep conditioner I will sit under my Huetiful Hair Steamer for 40 mins. After that, I would wrap all of my twists in a t-shirt for about 10 minutes to soak up any extra water and then do the L.O.C. moisturization method. L.O.C. stands for Liquid, Oil then Cream. My “Liquid” is the water that’s still in my hair from rinsing out the deep conditioner, the “Oil” is my mix of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) & Tropical Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil and my “Cream” is Kinky Kurly’s Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner. Once I’ve placed that on each twist my final step would be to add Belle Butters’ Warm Vanilla Whipped Shea butter to my ends then style with either that same butter or with Qhemet Biologics Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter. Most times I will do a twist out after a washing. I never use heat so I always let my twist dry overnight.
On the alternating week, I’ll give myself a protein treatment. I’d modify my pre-wash detangling session with a different product. I’ll detangle with SheaMoisture’s African Black Soap Purification Masque on slightly dampened hair. Once my hair is sectioned, detangled and in my 12 twists I would let this mask sit for about 15 minutes under a plastic cap. I’ll then rinse that out with warm water and will wash my scalp only with any sulfate-free shampoo, in an applicator bottle, diluted with warm water. After that, I’ll apply Curl Junkie’s Repair Me Reconstructive Hair Treatment or Aphogee’s Keratin 2 minute Reconstructor to my hair and will steam for about 30 mins, I’ll then rinse and will apply Jessicurl’s Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner and will steam with that for about 20 minutes. Once all of that is done I’ll continue on with my regular routine of the ACV rinse, LOC method and style.
My regimen may seem (and is kinda) lengthy but my hair has greatly improved in the last 4 months! My hair shedding has drastically declined and my hair is no longer dry – like never! During the week I’ll re-twist every night if I have time but I can get away with only re-twisting every other night if I wanted. I also mist my hair daily with SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Hold & Shine Moisture Mist and when I undo my twists in the mornings, I use Trader Joe’s Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on my hands to separate my twists and reduce frizz.
What are some of your favorite natural hair websites,YouTuber’s, or blogs?
My favorite YouTuber’s are: Naptural85, NikkiMae2003, AfricanExport, BlackIzBeautyful, IKnowLee, XGoldN, EtcBlogMag, Ashiek1118, Mahoganycurls & MyNaturalSistas
My favorite blog are: Afrobella.com, KinkyKurlySistas.com, GlobalCouture.blogspot.com, PartyOverHair.com and NaturalChica.com
Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words?
Where can people find you for more information?
