I have no doubt that from the above picture each and every one of you recognizes today’s feature. Those signature curls belong to none other than Alexis, the Atlanta natural who founded the Curls, Coils and Kinks Blog and is one of the foremost inspirations in the virtual natural hair community. Through her Blog and Youtube Channel Lexi, as she is known in the Napposphere, has delivered advice, product reviews and styling tutorials to those wishing to achieve curly success with their own locks, as well as impressed the importance of loving your hair for its own unique beauty by featuring other curly girls all across the texture span. Even when her coveted coils were straightened for an appearance on BET’s “My Black is Beautiful” Lexi seems to make going and being natural an effortless effort, but just like the rest of us her journey has not been flawless as she worked to learn her hair and create her look.
Here is her hair-story.
AM: How long have you been natural?
Lexi: I have been natural for almost seven years
AM: What inspired you to "go natural"?
Lexi: I decided to go natural because I was desperate to be different… I first wanted to go natural in middle school. I wanted curly hair and realized that when I didn’t get a perm for awhile, my roots were wavy.
AM: How did you transition?
Lexi: I attempted to transition in middle school [but] after being teased I promptly went back to a relaxer. In college, it was the easiest time to transition. I was broke/cheap and didn’t want to pay stylists to relax my hair. After about eight months, I did a BC.
AM: What were some of the products you entrusted your hair to while transitioning?
Lexi: Honestly I’m not sure about what products I used. I was still using commercial products. Probably Motions.
AM: Have they changed any between then and now?
Lexi: They have changed TREMENDOUSLY. I no longer use Motions… I tend to go towards the brands that target women with natural hair such as Miss Jessie’s and Jane Carter.
AM: What’s your normal maintenance regimen?
Lexi: My normal routine is to wash with WEN
AM: What are some of the products and styling implements you absolutely can’t live with out?
Lexi: I cant live without a paddle brush. This is the easiest styling tool to get the tangles swiftly and safely out of my hair.
AM: What styles have you experimented with and which would you say are your favourite?
Lexi: Flat twists. I have been doing flat twists since 2000 when I was in high school on the dance team. We all used to do this every week before the football games to get big curly hair. I was relaxed then. We used to do flat twists then put perm rods on the end. I have been changing my style so much with Twists sets — how many, how fat or thin, what types of rollers, etc. Now I don’t do them straight back,I do them from the middle out if that makes sense.
AM: Tell me a little about your Blog and its mission.
Lexi: I started my blog CurlsCoilsandKinks.com around this time last year. My whole goal was to inspire women of ALL races who had curly, coily, and kinky hair. I wanted to showcase women with different hair types, styles, etc. It is much easier for me to type then to make videos so now I also use it as a way to update people about my hair, like doing HOTD (Hair Of The Days) posts. It is much harder than I thought having a Blog [and] now I understand why some other blogs have several people helping them.
AM: What inspired you start making Youtube videos?
Lexi: I started watching YT vids to learn about different products and styles. I had a hard time finding someone with my hair type so I said, “Well someone else might have the same problem so why don’t I make videos?”
AM: What part of your natural hair journey have you enjoyed the most?
Lexi: I have enjoyed learning about new methods and styles. Also the fact that the more you practice, the better you get. Now I can actually say I don’t have to go to a salon to style my hair. No more salons!!
AM: Is there anything you would change about it?
Lexi: The one thing I would change is the detangling. Whew!! My detangling times… I sometimes spend 45 minutes in the shower JUST detangling.
AM: What are some of the resources you have found most helpful?
Lexi: NaturallyCurly.com was my first resource that was super helpful and even looking at people’s Fotki [albums]. Now I spend most of my time on Long Hair Care Forum.
AM: In addition to Blogging and creating your videos, are you engaged in any other natural hair endeavours?
Lexi: I put together Natural Hair Meetups in Atlanta. The first one I did had over 40 people and the last one I co-hosted with Mahogany Knots and we have over 100 ladies and even had Jane Carter and the owners of Uncle Funky’s Daughter’s come to speak.
AM: What advice do you have for other women looking to take up the journey to cultivating natural hair?
Lexi: Patience is the main thing. You have to have patience and it may sound weird but don’t have expectations of what you want your hair to look like. You don’t want to be disappointed because you were hoping for something else. I hear more women complain about their hair type because they had expectations of another hair type. If you don’t have expectations of a certain type, thickness, etc. then you can appreciate your own hair.
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Lexi’s Progress in Pictures
(click each image to enlarge)
Would you like to hear more from Alexis? You can contact via her Website at www.curlscoilsandkinks.com, follow her on Twitter via @CurlyGirlLexi, check out her YouTube Channel or “like” her Facebook Fan Page.
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Lexi thank you for honouring my humble Blog with your natural story. I wish you and your curls much success in encouraging others.
Healthy Hair Wishes,
NOTE: All pictures used are property of the individual persons featured, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
