Hey Curly ladies & gentlemen! We made it all the way to BLOG #2!!! This year, I am practicing consistency and following through with major and minor goals. How are you all feeling so far this year? Are you meeting some of your 2019 goals?
Afro, braids, wigs, twist... Oh my!!! Do you think about your hair journey often or not at all? Is it important to you? We style, cut, color and manipulate our hair so much throughout our lifetime. Sometimes I like to pause and look back on the misses and triumphs. I also noticed that I repeated some of the same hairstyles : p Today's blog is centered around my European hair journey: why I finally ditched the full-time wigs and decided to create Charlotte Noire!!! Let Go!
2011=Big CHOP. 2012=moved to France. So, I had a full years’ worth of hair growth that I wasn’t really paying attention to. As soon as it could be snatched, I weaved and braided it. At the time, my mother fussed about how my hair didn’t look neat enough in its natural state. I didn’t have the same courage that I possess now to tell moms, “Yo, chill!” “Please.” I followed her orders and covered my hair often.
My luggage flying over to France had the essentials: a mannequin head for making wigs, needles, glue, curly extensions, good thread, combs, foam wrap, hard bristle brushes (the kind that rips off your face. I have yet to find them here). I decided not to bring too many hair care products because of the weight. I also thought, there must be curly haired people like me over there, I can find the products that I need, no problem… NOT! And let’s not forget about the $$$!!!
Wigs were my best friend for my first year abroad. My routine consisted of washing my hair once a week, two strand twist with water, my homemade whipped butter, slapping on a wig for the day, then tying it up at night. I never strayed from this routine and my hair grew SUPER FAST! I was so afraid to take off my wig. I would go to the pool, meet guys that thought the wig was my REAL hair (come on), eat breakfast with the damn THANG! It was my ride or die. I was yearning for more versatility; FREEDOM.
Fast forward to 2013, I moved back to the states with my wigs in tow and a fiancé who appreciated my natural hair. Have you ever met someone who would rock with you no matter the hairstyle? That’s Jo! So, I began to wear my hair out more and more. Paying less attention to shrinkage less and less (SHRINKAGE is real). The more I embraced my hair in its natural state, the less time I saw my mistresses Wig Ruby and Co.
There was one problem, I didn’t have proper hair products to help with moisture retention, hydration and intense cleansing of the scalp. I began to play more and more with my own products without thoughts of sharing them with the world.
FAST FORWARD. With a growing family, working on a food truck and working as a traveling stylist, I didn’t have the energy to commit to bottling up my concoctions. A few of my clients in the last 3 years would ask periodically, “Why don’t you start your own line?” Hmmm.
Charlotte Noire is a perfect combination of my skill sets: cooking and hair styling. Charlotte Noire was born for several reasons: To share a natural sustainable curly hair product with Europe, to show my son and daughter that you can achieve great things with effort, passion and faith and to make a product that my family and I could use all year round. As a mother of multi-cultural children, I now have the experience of up-keeping a different curl pattern than my own. I know exactly what’s in our products and can certify that all ingredients are of 100% natural origin. My favorite is the Zen All Purpose conditioner because of its versatility. It’s thick, creamy and oily and can act as a normal conditioner or as a leave in for your wash n’ go or twist.
Is it easy finding the RIGHT products? Please share this post with friends. New products will be out by the end of April to complete our line. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading!
-Jess