Naturally Fierce Feature: Zaneta

 

My name is Zaneta and I am from Greensboro, NC. I run a blog called Eat Work Thrive which focuses on health and natural health care. I love my natural hair. I started my natural hair journey in 2010. I was inspired by a lot of the natural women on Youtube who had healthy, beautiful hair.

How long have you been natural?
I have now been natural for 2 years. I have enjoyed every stage of my hair growth and learning new things about natural hair while on my hair journey.

 

What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper & why?
I transitioned for a couple of months. I wore my hair in a buns and braids while I was letting my relaxer grow out a little bit. After a couple of months, I decided to go to the salon and have it all chopped off. I decided to big chop because I wanted to go natural sooner. I was tired of having my hair break off from being chemically treated. Even though I had been researching natural hair care for months, I didn’t tell anyone I was going to do the big chop. It was so exciting to see my hair all natural and shorter than it has ever been. Everyone was so surprised and had to get adjusted to my natural hair, but that didn’t matter to me very much. I made the decision to go natural for me and not for anyone else.

 

What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy or difficult or both?!
At times my journey has been both hard and easy. Sometimes it has been frustrating because I felt like I didn’t want to detangle my hair. Sometimes I get tired of knots and tangles. And at the beginning of my journey I got frustrated because I wasn’t quite sure what to do with my hair or if I even looked okay with natural hair. But through education about natural hair care and learning to love my hair as it is, my natural hair journey has become much easier.

What are some of your favorite transitioning hairstyles?
My favorite hairstyles to do right now are twist outs and twists. Twist outs are my favorite because they show some of your hair’s length.

 

What have your experiences been as a ‘natural?’ Any memorable reactions from family or others?
When I first cut my hair, no one had ever seen my hair as short as it was. My mom would tell me that women need to have long hair. And my sister would say that I looked like a chia pet. Now I can laugh at those things. These types of comments never bothered me because I had confidence in my decision and myself. I think every natural has heard negative comments about their hair at one time or another no matter how gorgeous their hair is. Natural hair is still something that people are not quite used to seeing. If you have confidence in yourself, people will have no choice but to accept you.

What is your hair regimen (including fav products)?
 My summer hair regimen is a bit different from my regular regimen because I am protective styling. I wash my hair every weekend with ACV. I do a pre-poo before I wash my hair with olive oil. After I wash my hair, I retwist my hair. I seal my ends with olive oil everyday. Some of my favorite products are Nature’s Gate conditioner and Shea moisture styling products.

 

What are some of your favorite natural hair websites, YouTuber’s, or blogs?
Some of my favorite Youtubers are Naptural85, Haircrush, and African Export.

Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words?
I would like to tell everyone to have confidence in themselves. Natural hair is beautiful hair. For so long, our natural hair was classified as a negative thing. Now black women are embracing their natural beauty. There is nothing more beautiful and admirable.

Where can people find you for more information?
I would definitely like for everyone to check out my blog at www.eatworkthrive.com. I post almost everyday on health and natural hair care. I’m also on Instagram under the same name.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge