MEET NAOMI
The Interview
My name is Naomi, I’m 30 years old, a researcher and UX designer living in Montreal. I am super into hair care and all things natural, natural skin products, natural hair products.
MEET NAOMI
The Interview
My name is Naomi, I’m 30 years old,Â
a researcher and UX designer livingÂ
in Montreal. I am super into hair careÂ
and all things natural, natural skinÂ
products, natural hair products.
CAN YOU LET US KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR HAIR? YOUR CURL PATTERN AND THE TYPE OF HAIR YOU HAVE ?
I typically say I have like 4B hair. I’d say like a mix between 4A and 4B in some spots but mostly 4B all around. I would also say that I have high density but very fine hair. So my strands are not super thick, but I have a lot of them. And my hair is pretty long in general but the strands are all different lengths. Think LOTS of layers. And I’ve been natural for like 10 years now, I think. So yeah, I’ve been on my growth journey, I’d say for about 10 years.
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ON THE TOPIC, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE MORE WITH US HOW YOU’VE EMBRACED YOUR TEXTURED HAIR OVER THE YEARS?WHAT GOT YOU EMBRACING YOUR NATURAL TEXTURE MORE?Â
Growing up, I never knew how to take care of my hair myself. I’m biracial and my mom is white and she put a lot of effort in terms of taking care of my hair when I was younger. She learned how to cornrow and use different products (the products back in the day were like Pink and stuff. So that’s what we had)! So, you know, it was okay growing up, but then as I grew older, I became a swimmer. And I used to train twice a day sometimes. And every single time after training, I would flatten my hair! I had no idea I was meant to be using products. With no key protectant after spending hours in chlorine, of course, my hair started breaking off left, right, and center. After that, I tried to learn about how to grow my hair and use protective hairstyles like braids, weaves and wigs and things like that but I slipped and I texturized my hair thinking that was going to be the solution, a quicker fix to make my hair manageable and it didn’t. It broke off my hair again. And that was kind of the final straw for me: I needed to learn how to properly take careof my hair and understand my hair texture. And I went to a specialized hair salon here in Montreal and they gave me a routine and recommended the products that I was supposed to use and they taught me about moisturizing and just kind of like opened a whole world that I never knew about before. That kickstarted my journey of understanding how to care for my hair naturally.
AND I’M GUESSING A LOT MORE LOVE AS WELL?
Definitely. I mean, I won’t lie. It’s still a love/hate relationship, like maybe not “hate”. The love is there for sure but hate’s a strong word. For sure frustration. Like I have my days where I’m sick of it. I think of how much easier my life would be if I just had straight hair. But on the other hand, I would not change it for the world. Like if somebody came up to me and offered me money to change my hair, I wouldn’t do it. So I’ve learned to love it and I’ve gotten a lot of other lessons because of that. So Iam grateful. But yes, I won’t lie. It is frustrating sometimes.
HOW DID IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO FINALLY BE UNDERSTOOD?
TO FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO?
It was in one way, kind of like unlocking a whole new door because I was like, “Oh my God, I’m interacting with my hair in a way that I never did before”. Now, I can feel when it’s moisturized and when it’s not, I had no idea before. I can feel what my hair needs. And so it gave me a connection to my hair in a way that I never had before. And it somehow also gave me a bit of hope. I think like my whole life growing up until then, I just wanted my hair to be something different… And so in that way, I was able to be like, “Oh, OK, if I just understand my hair, it can be really, really great!” I don’t have to try to force it to be something that it’s not. So, yeah, I think it kind of unlocked a whole new journey for me and gave me a lot more hope with my hair than I ever had before.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS OR FAVORITE PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SPECIFIC CURL PATTERN (4B) AND YOUR TYPE OF HAIR?
I discovered Earth Tones Naturals at the very beginning of my journey and I’ve never gone back! I fell in love with their butter and their gel so I’m loyal to that but they’re a bit more on the expensive side. So I use Native products, which I can get at the drugstore, their conditioner is really good. And I’ve also started using some Mielle products, their mousse is very good! So yeah, I use those as like my filler products, but for my main staples, I always go to Earth Tones Naturals.
WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE AFRO-HAIRDRESSING COMMUNITY IN CANADA? IT TOOK YOU SE LONG TO FIND WHAT YOU NEEDED, YOU KNOW? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE BE DIFFERENT INTERMS OF FINDING THE RIGHT RESOURCES?
Yeah I think that’s a really good question. I feel like specifically in Canada, it’s hard to find natural products in your regular hair supply stores. It’s getting better and better now for sure, but I still feel like it’s hard to find quality products. And especially in Canada, you can’t just go to Target, for example, and find affordable quality products. Personally, I find it easier to order online, from a Canadian brand, but there’s only a few places that you can really shop at. So just making good quality products more accessible, I think would be the first thing. And then also making the haircare services more accessible as well. Like the few natural hair salons that I know of, at least in Montreal, are not the most affordable. I don’t go anymore, I’ve only been twice because it’s not something that I always want to pay for. And also I have to journey out to get there. I live around so many other hair salons, but I’m pretty sure they don’t know how to do my type of hair. So I think like making it just a bit more like a requirement if you’re going to be a hairstylist that you need to understand how to do like natural or afro textured hair so that we could go to the salon right down the street and they’ll know how to give us a wash and go. Like that shouldn’t be something that we have to travel for.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECOS! LAST BUT NOT LEAST, HOW DO YOU THINK SWAYED WOULD IMPROVE THE AFRO HAIRDRESSING EXPERIENCE IN CANADA?
I think it would definitely make it more accessible. There are so many people that have that knowledge that are not licensed hairstylists. For example, when I get my hair braided, I’m either doing it myself or my best friend’s doing it. And that’s when I’m not going to a salon. And so having access to people like that who know how to braid, who know how to do wash and go’s and who might not have a salon set up, that would be so much more convenient. And you’re also supporting somebody else’s business. So I think it would just be able to make that connection better because right now, maybe you’d go to TikTok or you’d go to Facebook marketplace, but there’s not really a designated spot to connect with someone like that.
CAN YOU LET US KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR HAIR? YOUR CURL PATTERN AND THE TYPE OF HAIR YOU HAVE ?
I typically say I have like 4B hair. I’d say like a mix between 4A and 4B in some spots but mostly 4B all around. I would also say that I have high density but very fine hair. So my strands are not super thick, but I have a lot of them. And my hair is pretty long in general but the strands are all different lengths. Think LOTS of layers. And I’ve been natural for like 10 years now, I think. So yeah, I’ve been on my growth journey, I’d say for about 10 years.
ON THE TOPIC, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE MORE WITH US HOW YOU’VE EMBRACED YOUR TEXTURED HAIR OVER THE YEARS?WHAT GOT YOU EMBRACING YOUR NATURAL TEXTURE MORE?Â
Growing up, I never knew how to take care of my hair myself. I’m biracial and my mom is white and she put a lot of effort in terms of taking care of my hair when I was younger. She learned how to cornrow and use different products (the products back in the day were like Pink and stuff. So that’s what we had)! So, you know, it was okay growing up, but then as I grew older, I became a swimmer. And I used to train twice a day sometimes. And every single time after training, I would flatten my hair! I had no idea I was meant to be using products. With no key protectant after spending hours in chlorine, of course, my hair started breaking off left, right, and center. After that, I tried to learn about how to grow my hair and use protective hairstyles like braids, weaves and wigs and things like that but I slipped and I texturized my hair thinking that was going to be the solution, a quicker fix to make my hair manageable and it didn’t. It broke off my hair again. And that was kind of the final straw for me: I needed to learn how to properly take careof my hair and understand my hair texture. And I went to a specialized hair salon here in Montreal and they gave me a routine and recommended the products that I was supposed to use and they taught me about moisturizing and just kind of like opened a whole world that I never knew about before. That kickstarted my journey of understanding how to care for my hair naturally.
AND I’M GUESSING A LOT MORE LOVE AS WELL?
Definitely. I mean, I won’t lie. It’s still a love/hate relationship, like maybe not “hate”. The love is there for sure but hate’s a strong word. For sure frustration. Like I have my days where I’m sick of it. I think of how much easier my life would be if I just had straight hair. But on the other hand, I would not change it for the world. Like if somebody came up to me and offered me money to change my hair, I wouldn’t do it. So I’ve learned to love it and I’ve gotten a lot of other lessons because of that. So Iam grateful. But yes, I won’t lie. It is frustrating sometimes.
Â
HOW DID IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO FINALLY BE UNDERSTOOD?Â
TO FINALLY UNDERSTANDÂ WHAT TO DO?
It was in one way, kind of like unlocking a whole new door because I was like, “Oh my God, I’m interacting with my hair in a way that I never did before”. Now, I can feel when it’s moisturized and when it’s not, I had no idea before. I can feel what my hair needs. And so it gave me a connection to my hair in a way that I never had before. And it somehow also gave me a bit of hope. I think like my whole life growing up until then, I just wanted my hair to be something different… And so in that way, I was able to be like, “Oh, OK, if I just understand my hair, it can be really, really great!” I don’t have to try to force it to be something that it’s not. So, yeah, I think it kind of unlocked a whole new journey for me and gave me a lot more hope with my hair than I ever had before.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS OR FAVORITE PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SPECIFIC CURL PATTERN (4B) AND YOUR TYPE OF HAIR?Â
I discovered Earth Tones Naturals at the very beginning of my journey and I’ve never gone back! I fell in love with their butter and their gel so I’m loyal to that but they’re a bit more on the expensive side. So I use Native products, which I can get at the drugstore, their conditioner is really good. And I’ve also started using some Mielle products, their mousse is very good! So yeah, I use those as like my filler products, but for my main staples, I always go to Earth Tones Naturals.
WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKEÂ TO SEE IN THE AFRO-HAIRDRESSING COMMUNITY IN CANADA?
IT TOOKÂ YOU SO LONG TO FIND WHAT YOUÂ NEEDED, YOU KNOW? WHAT WOULDÂ YOU LIKE TO SEE BE DIFFERENT INTERMS OF FINDING THE RIGHTÂ RESOURCES?
Yeah, I think that’s a really good question. I feel like specifically in Canada, it’s hard to find natural products in your regular hair supply stores. It’s getting better and better now for sure, but I still feel like it’s hard to find quality products. And especially in Canada, you can’t just go to Target, for example, and find affordable quality products. Personally, I find it easier to order online, from a Canadian brand, but there’s only a few places that you can really shop at. So just making good quality products more accessible, I think would be the first thing. And then also making the haircare services more accessible as well. Like the few natural hair salons that I know of, at least in Montreal, are not the most affordable. I don’t go anymore, I’ve only been twice because it’s not something that I always want to pay for. And also I have to journey out to get there. I live around so many other hair salons, but I’m pretty sure they don’t know how to do my type of hair. So I think like making it just a bit more like a requirement if you’re going to be a hairstylist that you need to understand how to do like natural or afro textured hair so that we could go to the salon right down the street and they’ll know how to give us a wash and go. Like that shouldn’t be something that we have to travel for.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECOS! LAST BUT NOT LEAST, HOW DO YOU THINK SWAYED WOULD IMPROVE THE AFRO HAIRDRESSING EXPERIENCE IN CANADA?
I think it would definitely make it more accessible. There are so many people that have that knowledge that are not licensed hairstylists. For example, when I get my hair braided, I’m either doing it myself or my best friend’s doing it. And that’s when I’m not going to a salon. And so having access to people like that who know how to braid, who know how to do wash and go’s and who might not have a salon set up, that would be so much more convenient. And you’re also supporting somebody else’s business. So I think it would just be able to make that connection better because right now, maybe you’d go to TikTok or you’d go to Facebook marketplace, but there’s not really a designated spot to connect with someone like that.
