My First 'Fro: A Journey to Love

The author, just after cutting the dead (hair) weight.

The "Big Chop"

I went natural in 2015. I had just turned 30, was just about to get married and decided that I would move to Switzerland from New York City, to be with my then husband.

Big chopping seemed like exactly what I needed: I was starting a whole new life and I felt like my hair should match. I'd taken decisions to improve my life and I wanted my hair to follow suit. On top of all of that, my hair was severely damaged after going bleach blonde by a stylist who did not give any supportive information about how I could maintain the health of my hair, despite my best attempts at communicating. My hair was thin, broken and sad-looking at best; and so was my spirit.

The author, blonde; before it stopped being fun.

Little did I know that this act of big chopping would be the catalyst to an actual journey towards self-love and acceptance. I hadn't seen or touched my natural hair since I was 13 years old, so I had no clue of how to treat it. No idea of how to retain length. No idea of how to keep my hair healthy. And thus, I fell into lazy habits because I just didn't have the support I needed available to me, particularly not in a country that was new to me and where I could not yet speak the language. Besides, we come to things when we come to them, right?

The author's wash 'n go-to style.

Trying to figure it out

As a matter of ease, for more than 3 years, I did a daily wash 'n go and simply pulled my hair into a hair band. I was known for wearing this style. But it was just a style to help me as my TWA was growing out. While my hair was healthy (read: not breaking), I wasn't retaining length, I wasn't detangling properly (more like ripping knots and accidental locs out), I wasn't getting trims at all and I couldn't figure out how to style my hair either. My twistouts always sucked and I didn't know how to braid.

I spent 8 years coveting the hairstyles of all the women who seemed to have it figured out. I've always been in awe of their big, luscious curls and I knew what I wanted: a big-ass fro growing towards the heavens. But how?

The author rocking her full curly fro. Style achieved with CN Curl Hydrator, Curl Serum and a diffuser attachment.

Demystifying greatness

Enter Charlotte Noire. Going to The Curl Sanctuary has always been quite an experience for me. Seeing all the hairstyles gave me new inspiration to love on my hair, which is really loving on myself. Jess and the team have been supportive in helping me learn techniques to achieve and refresh my favorite hairstyles, namely, a fantastic and fabulous 'fro.

Combining Charlotte Noire products with some basic techniques have changed my life and now, I'm styling out the afro of my dreams, all by myself from the comfort of my own home!

If you're finding it hard to achieve the styles you love, I highly recommend that you #JustAskJess. Make an appointment and ask your questions! The entire team is ready and willing to help you with product information, showing you techniques and talking about tools that are the most useful for you to have and all of their support has really helped me to not feel defeated by my lack of knowledge and skill and I'm saving tons of time and money as a result!