YLONDA~BEFORE AND AFTER

Meet Ylonda ,getting rid of the relaxer wasn't the only decision she made.Going natural helped her change her complete lifestyle for the better.




How long were you thinking of going natural? What’s the story ?

I’ve always had thoughts about being natural ,but I always associated natural looks with locks, and afros. I like to be versatile with my hair and didn't think I could by being natural. After suffering hair loss from medicine I was taking, my beautician had to shave a lot of my hair off. I tried to grow it back ,but i was still relaxing my hair ,so that was even more chemicals. Finally I decided not to get another relaxer because I’ve gone without relaxers before to grow my hair ,so I decided to do it again. I wasn't trying to go natural ,but a lot of my friends have recently BC’ed and I found all these amazing websites and videos. I decided that maybe I could do it too. I had a year worth of new growth so finally last year I decided to slowly nip away my relaxed ends. The back and sides of my hair were already natural due to being shaved off, So I figured ,I may as well go ahead and cut it since I already had witnessed the loss of “hair” and wouldn’t be in shock.

Was your transition a long or short one?

My transition was long, Mainly because I didn’t know what I really wanted to do with my hair. I was fed up with chemicals and relaxers. I wanted to grow my hair back but didn’t have too many options.

We all know how important it is to moisturize our hair while in transition, what products did you use to keep your hair moisturized?

I would deep condition with tea tree oil and I mostly used products with olive oil.

What was your staple hairstyle while in transition?

Anything with weave, I wore ponytails for a long time. I would gel my hair back and be off to work. I also did extensions for a short time ,but it was a lot of work to maintain the style. I wish I would have known about all these websites ,so I could research transitioning hairstyles back then.

When you decided to Big Chop, how did you feel about your cut? And how did people react to it?

I didn’t wear my hair out for 5 months, no one knew about it. I was very insecure. Plus I didn’t know too many natural women ,and I knew people would have a lot to say, so I hid my hair until this past November. I got tired of wearing all the extensions. I got a glimpse of how soft and curly my hair could be and one day decided to go at it! The good thing is that my co-workers and friends were very supportive. My family is not as supportive, but it’s really their own personal issues ,which I don’t consider to be my problem.


Did you have any regrets?

I waited too long!

What are your long term goals for your hair journey?

To maintain healthy and happy hair! I’ve just started the henna treatments and I’m noticing results. Being natural is a lifestyle choice for me. I’m taking account of everything I eat, products I use on my skin and hair. It’s a choice that I’ve made and I’m not turning back.