Ashley Northover’s Hair Journey
My natural hair journey is very different from others as I have been natural in my 23 years of living. My name is Ashley Northover, a natural enthusiast born & bred in Kingston, Jamaica. When I was younger my mother used to comb my hair every day for school. She would use the good old grease (Blue Magic), a comb to part my hair, a brush to get it smooth and some colourful bubbles to match my school colours. While my mother was taking care of my mane, it was truly flourishing. It was long, thick, shiny, strong and overall in a healthy condition. Fast forward to high school I was handed over the baton to take care of my hair. Let’s just say that baton felt right to the ground during that relay race because I didn’t have the skill needed to …. Well run.
Since I didn’t know how to do my hair, I always opted to go to the hairdresser so that she could blow out my hair and put it in rope twists. All the girls at my school were wearing that hairstyles hence it’s all I knew. After consistently visiting the hairdresser – getting my hair blown out, edges snatched, twists done extremely tightly... Let’s just say the quality of my hair fell. I was used to having long enviable hair and all of sudden it was short. I wasn't used to this and decided to make a change in March 2015. Like most naturalistas my hair journey with researching through Youtube and even Pinterest. Those 2 sites had the tons of knowledge I needed that provides the tips, tricks and even techniques on how to grow my natural hair. And like most procrastinators, I didn’t start utilizing the knowledge until the summer of 2015. It was university time where you could do whatever you want with your hair. Also, I had a part-time job so I had the "schmoney" needed to splurge on the products I wanted.
My first hairstyle was a braid-out using a V05 conditioner and the olive eco styler gel. I think I choose the product combination because that’s all I hand on hand at the time. And my results were amazing in the morning however it got frizzy by the end of the day. However, the morning results got me so hyped that I decided I have to know how to make this work. That’s when I found out about flaxseed gel from the O.G. Naturalista, Naptural 85. She showed me how to care for my natural hair using natural products that will allow me to achieve the results I wanted while maintaining the health of my hair. And, I was all for that. Since then I have never looked back.
She taught me that using natural products will allow your hair to thrive and my hair. And my hair was been longer, stronger, and shinier since using flaxseed gel, aloe vera juice, rose water, shea butter and so much. Also, I learned the importance of having a solid wash day routine so ensure to shampoo only your scalp, condition your hair shaft only, and deep condition your hair using indirect heat weekly. This sets the tone for having healthy hair every week. As well as, how to do the LOC or LCO method in order to efficiently hydrate my hair with the moisture that it needs. Lastly, she taught me different styles to wear whether it is her classic twist-out, braid-outs, wash and gos, and buns and mini twists ad a protective style. I love the versatility of my natural hair. This natural hair journey wasn’t an easy one as I have suffered from failed hairstyles, failed products, breakage, split ends and so much more. However, I have come along to achieve the ultimate goal of having healthy hair.
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