Naturally Fierce Feature: Mariah

I am Mariah (yes I was named after Mariah Carey) Bosilikwa, I am 22 years old, and I live in the Big T (Texas). I am a senior in college, a Radio and Television Broadcasting major, and I am looking forward to graduating in the Spring of 2015.

Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper? What was your journey like?
This is my second time around, going natural. This time it started off as a transition, but ended up being a big chop. Long story short, it was the first time I let my step mom braid my hair and she put JAM in my hair. My hair never liked JAM for some odd reason I used it back when I was in Jr. High and my hair shed and broke off. So when I took the braids out and washed my hair. My hair was matted, tangled, and broke off badly. My mom wanted me to keep in my relax ends that was left and I did for about 4 months. I wore braids (without JAM) and wigs. On April Fools Day 2014, I BIG CHOPPED. I couldn’t stand seeing how thin and fragile my hair looked. Natural Life Chose Me.

Had you always embraced your texture?
Yes I love all four of my textures! I represent the kink, curly, coils, and the naps. It’s like my hair could not decide what it wanted, so it said HEY REPRESENT ALL THE TEXTURES! It makes me feel unique, I can’t stop touching it. It was confusing, I will admit. Once I chopped off my relaxed ends I didn’t know what to do with it.

How did family and friends react to your decision to go natural? What was your response to them?
My big cousins were already excited since they nagged me for years to go natural. My friends love the look and so do onlookers. My mom is old school with hair. She’s not all for the natural hair. I love my mom, but she’s not with it. Her comments can be a little hurtful. At the same time, all the positive compliments overshadow hers and I never felt so beautiful until now. If my mom is around and someone compliments my hair she’s so quick to say; “SHE HAS MY HAIR!” Like okay lady chill lol.

Describe your hair (fine or coarse, thin or thick, highly porous, low, etc.)
I have thick, coarse and some fine hair. I really don’t like the “typing,” but I will say I have a mixture of 3C (in some spots especially the front of my head) and the rest is 4a/b/c. As I mentioned earlier my hair wanted to represent every texture, and I had to find products that benefited all my textures.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to your hair?
One word, one word only JAM lol. I can’t think of crazy things I’ve done to my hair. I know there’s something….idk.

What’s your biggest hair related regret?
JAM. No, lol, to be honest, it would be not going natural sooner or sticking to it the first time around. I wasn’t ready the first time I tried to go natural. That time, I went to hair salon and let them color my hair. I usually color my hair myself, and I wanted a salon to do it. So I went, got it colored by them, and slowly my hair was shedding. I didn’t know until one day I was blow drying my hair out and it fell out in clumps. I have thick hair so my hair was already falling out but I didn’t notice it until it fell out in clumps. I was freaking out because this was a chemical fall out so I didn’t know if my hair would grow back. So I cut off majority of the color ends, and went natural for a few months until I felt like my hair was ready for a relaxer. That happened two years ago. If I would have kept that, my fro would be HUGE now lol. It’s okay I wasn’t ready back then as I am now. I am not returning back to a relaxer.

What’s your current hair routine? How often do you wash, condition, and style? Favorite products! Deets!
I love bantu knot outs, makes all my hair textures blend together lol. Sometimes I don’t do anything to my hair, depending on how tired I am ’cause I do all my styling at night. My favorite hair products are raw shea butter, coconut oil, and Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioner. I wasted so much money on products to figure out what my hair likes. My hair really like the simple stuff lol. I also like AS I AM clarifying shampoo and smoothing gel. I love Beautiful Textures Curl Control and Deep Rapid Conditioner. It’s a very short list. My wash routine is different from a lot of naturals. I have Seborrhoeic Demartitis. It’s similar to dandruff but worse in a way. I do not have the luxury of Co-Washing or go weeks without washing my hair like I’ve seen some natural gurus do. I have to wash my hair with Clobetasol Propionate Shampoo at least three times a week and also grease my scalp with triamcinolone acetonide. If I do not do this, my face will break out with rashes. I go more in detail about that in another blog. It starts in my scalp and spreads to my face. I had it for three years now and I will have it for the rest of my life. So if you are having an itchy scalp no shampoos or oils have been working for you, I encourage you to go see a dermatologist.

What’s your favorite hairstyle? Where do you get hairstyle inspiration?
Bantu Knots and my TWA. My TWA is getting bigger so it’s bittersweet. I want the bigger fro, but at the same time I love my TWA. I’ve always been known to grow out and cut off my hair. I do not know where the inspiration came from lol. I was also happy when I pulled my hair into its first curly fro and then picked it out and it became a puffy afro. Proud Moment.

Who is your curl crush?
Would it be vain to myself? No jk. I try not to do hair crushes, cause it might warp into man I wish I had her hair texture. I do follow some other natural hair pages and I love the different styles I see.

How do you maintain your hair at night?
Satin bonnet. That’s if I do not get so tired and forget to put it on.

How do you maintain healthy length?
Moisture and giving your hair TLC. That’s the real answer.

What’s the best thing about being natural?
People touching my hair and asking if it’s mine! I never had problems people touching my hair. I never understood the uproar of DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR. I guess that’s coming from being a theater kid and always having people touching you to get you prepped for shows. I love the confidence I gained with my natural hair. I feel absolutely beautiful.

You can also follow me on Instagram: @MariahChristele