Naturally Fierce Feature: Dana

My name is Dana Nicole Walton, I am 24 and I live in this boring little town called Plainfield, IL.

How long have you been natural? I’ve been natural since 2007.

What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper& why?

As a kid, I was forced to get perms because they didn’t want or know what to do with my curly hair. In 07 when we moved to Plainfield there were no black salons that my dad knew of. So I choose to start doing my hair on my own and all I could do was flat iron it or throw it in a ponytail. So I guess you can say I transitioned while putting heat on my hair and I know it’s not the normal way to transition but that’s all that I knew being young girl that was raised by her father. In 2011 I got tired of putting so much heat on my hair because I could flat iron it bone straight then go outside and have a fro in 2.5 seconds so I started getting sew-ins. Then I got tired of paying people to do my hair so I started making my own u part wigs for versatility. I could take them off at any given time and wear my real hair. In 2013 I gave up the wigs to become completely natural. I really got tired of looking like everybody else especially in a predominantly white town they think women of color with weaves are all the same.

How would you describe your hair? My hair is mostly 4a and in the front where my bangs are I lost some of my curl pattern so it’s more like 3b/3c. I’m BSL but freshly washed it shrinks up near my jawline. My hair is fine it breaks so easily. I think the density of my hair is right in between medium and low.

What do you love most about your hair? I love the “wow” factor that I get sometimes. Where I live not many people are natural so when people see my hair they either look at me like I’m crazy or in awe. I laugh when people really come up to me asking me if my hair is real. Is it really hard to believe that a black girl can have long healthy curly hair? It amazes me how uneducated people are about hair. I’ve had a random man walk up to me and tell me that he was going to give me a brush. Some people can be so ignorant.

What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy or difficult or both?! Not straightening my hair for 7 months and then seeing my growth when I finally straightened it. Being natural was hard at first because I never paid attention to what were in the products that I was putting in my hair. Then finding the correct regimen took forever but watching a lot of naturals on youtube helped.

What were some of your favorite transitioning hairstyles? I didn’t really do a real transition I guess sew-ins and my wigs helped me from putting so much heat on my hair after I stopped getting perms.

What have your experiences been as a ‘natural?’ Any memorable reactions from family or others? Most of it has been positive. A lot of people come up to me while I’m at work and ask me what products I use. The random guy that told me wait while he go get a brush smh of course he’s the most memorable.

What is your hair regimen (including fav products)? I love having my hair down so I’m pretty basic. I just mastered my wash n go’s I use Tresseme Naturals Conditioner that I added evoo to as my leave in, plop with a cotton tee then apply Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Olive Oil Eco Styler Gel as my styler. Then I stretch my hair a little using a blow dryer. When I don’t do wash n go’s I do hanging bantu knot outs, twist outs and twist and curls all with Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. I hate my hair in a shrunken state so I like these styles to elongate my curls. I always have my pick on hand to fluff the heck out of all my styles I hate flat hair. I don’t pick too much because my styles wouldn’t last as long but go big or go home. What are some of your favorite natural hair websites,YouTuber’s, or blogs? I love naturallycurly.com, blackgirllonghair.com and curlynikki.com. My favorite youtuber’s are Taren Guy, MahoganyCurls, NaturalNeiicey, NaturalMetra, NaturallyGG, Naptural85.

Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words? A lot of women that come up to me that want to be natural think that you have to have a certain grade of hair. If your hair is kinkier or looser than mine you can still be natural no matter what. It’s about embracing your natural hair texture. Be you and never give up on your hair journey. If you lose your way, use all of the resources around you google, youtube, pinterest, tumbler and even instagram you’ll be surprised what you can find.