The hair life of...

So let us know who are you?
My name is Lauren Odom. I'm a sophomore biology major and Spanish minor at Howard University. I'm from Statesboro, Georgia. I absolutely love natural hair and I am honored to be a part of this.

How long have you been natural and did you BC (big chop) or transition?
I went natural September 2009 (wow, how time flies!) so it's been a year and seven months. I

transitioned because I wasn't bold enough for the BC, but i cut my hair short and wore it curly in the beginning. My hair grew pretty fast so I was constantly cutting away the permed hair.

Why did you decide to go natural or stay natural?
I decided to go natural because when I was younger I had long hair and though my hair has always been thick, the perm had done some MAJOR damage over the years. I couldn't get my hair to grow past shoulder length because it would break and I was always shedding like a dog which at that point isn't shedding, it's hair loss. Also my mom who's in her early 40s was experiencing thinning in the crown of her head and I was already thinning in one particular spot on my edges where I always wrapped my hair so I decided that sooner or later i was going to be having the same problems as my mom and I didn't want that.

What are your staple products and hairstyles? My staple products would be pure aloe vera juice and pure castor oil from the health food store and conditioner. These are the products I used initially and my hair took off! I also use a line of products from Taliah Wajiid. You can find them in your local hair store and they smell GREAT! AND my number one would have to be WATER. I let my hair get wet all the time and my hair loves it. I guess my staple style would just be wearing my hair out; wild and free.

What is your regimen? I now have locs so when I had an afro my regimen consisted of braiding my hair at night, wetting it when i took a shower and saturating with aloe vera and castor oil or olive oil. I'd take out the braids in the morning and have a beautiful wavy fro that I just wore. Now i usually braid my hair before bed. I don't wet my hair as much because it takes longer to dry and I don’t want to leave room for mildew. I wash my hair at least once a week. I condition first and put on a shower cap so that it can sit for a while until I wash my hair since I usually wash my hair while I'm taking a shower.

What are your natural hair goals?
My natural hair goal is mainly just to have beautiful, long, thick and healthy hair even as I age. Also I want to be able to proudly showcase the beauty that God gave us all by accepting who I am and not rejecting my hair, my skin or my features.

How do you keep your hair intact overnight?
Overnight i usually just braid my hair and take them down in the morning. I did this with the afro as well as the locs.

How do you maintain length?
As far as length goes I haven't gotten to the length that I desire yet, but just being careful and not bothering your hair too much will do the trick. By that I mean it takes patience and sometimes you just have to let your hair do what it's going to do. For example, some of my locs look a little rough right now b/c they need to be tightened but since I'm the type of person who likes my locs to be tight all the time , it's good to just let them go sometimes and then reinforce them so that I don't damage the follicle with constant pulling.

Have you received any negative comments about your hair?
yes, I have received negative comments about my hair. I don't allow it to bother me or make me second guess my decision because it's ignorance-the same ignorance that I had before I went natural. Since I used to think like many people, I actually enjoy informing them of the truth because I wish someone would've told me, i would've gone natural sooner. A lot of it came from family but I had support because my mother (who's my best friend and biggest cheerleader) and I went natural at the same time and we installed our locs at the same time. On top of that, my grandmother has always been natural and my aunt and younger cousin were natural so I had people to aspire to in spite of the negativity. I knew what I wanted and that was stronger, healthier and longer hair and even though "other people" believed that I "needed" a perm I knew that they didn't realize that that's exactly what I would NOT get from a perm.

Name 1 reason you went natural and why you love being natural.

The number one reason why the I went natural was because of health. The overall health of my hair. i love being natural because I feel strong and confident. Being natural I don't have to worry about a whole lot in regards to my hair like ooo I need a perm, I need to go to the hair dresser, I need money to the hair dresser, I need all these products, etc. I can walk in the rain which I usually do with no umbrella just because I love the freedom. I can swim and workout and turn and wash my hair whenever I want. Plus, it's not just about hair, it's a complete path to self discovery that I didn't even know had to with hair. I feel beautiful and I feel like I look the way that I was created to look. I'm taking the hand I was dealt and I'm not altering it to look like someone else's. I'm embracing it as my own and I absolutely love it.