Introduce Yourself
Hi there! My name is Naakie – pronounced Nah-Key – and I’m a natural hair and lifestyle YouTuber. When I’m not talking to a camera, I’m either at work (I work for an amazing marketing agency), traveling or binge watching one of my favorite shows.
Are you relaxed, natural, texturized or texlaxed?
Au natural.
What’s your story, how did you get to where you are?
I initially transitioned for about 8 months back in 2009. During the transition, my relaxed hair was extremely weak compared to my natural new growth, and it started to fall out in clumps. Needless to say I began to panic. Eventually I relapsed and got a perm thinking that would save my hair. But when I relaxed it, there were so many dead ends that had to get cut. So, essentially I should have just big chopped. I decided to try again, this time only transitioning for 4-5 months before doing my big chop.
I recently found that I had a lot of breakage throughout my hair, and my hair wasn’t as healthy as it should have been. So in March of 2017, I did my second big chop. I’m enjoying experimenting with my hair in it’s TWA stage and experiencing the growth process all over again.
What is your typical weekly regimen?
I wash my hair once a week, which consists of a pre-poo the night before, cleansing with a shampoo, deep conditioning* under a steamer* and then styling. Once wash day is over I style my hair in a twist out. Prior to my second big chop I used to leave my twists in for 4-5 days and then wear a twist out for 2-3 days before my next wash day. Unfortunately, my hair is too short to do that now.
In order to keep my hair moisturized during the week I normally apply a leave in conditioner* (my favorite at the moment is Soultanicals Knot Sauce) and then spritz my hair with a water and oil mixture. I do this about 4 times a week.
Are you happy with your progress so far?
I’m not so much happy with the progress, but I am happy with the process. Over the 7 years that I’ve been natural, I’ve endured heat damage, color damage, breakage and just about anything else you can think of. But the longer I’m natural, the more I learn what to and what not to do. So as I’m starting my hair journey over with my second big chop, I look forward to the progress I’ll make with the health and growth of my hair.
What’s your signature style?
Because my hair is so short now, I mainly do twist outs. When my hair was longer, I loved keeping my hair in twists for the majority of the week, and wearing a twist out for the remainder of the week.
How do you ensure that your ends are protected from the elements and your hands?
I wear a satin scarf and sleep with a satin pillow every night. I also do a lot of protective styling – wigs*, crochet braids, cornrows – to ensure that I’m not manipulating my hair too much, and giving it space to grow.
Do you have a goal length or are you more concerned about the health of your hair?
I used to be concerned about length. But that led to me never trimming my hair and focusing on things that in actuality just damaged my hair and cause breakage. I’ve learned that when you focus on the health of your hair, the length will automatically take care of itself. So that’s what I am more concerned about.
Is there anything that you hair hates?
To be honest there are more products that my hair dislikes than it likes. My hair is extremely dry, kinky* 4C hair. So if a product is not super moisturizing for kinky* and thick hair, my hair will reject it.
Do you have any favorite hair products?
I’ve tried so many hair products over the course of my natural hair journey that haven’t worked for my coarse, 4C hair. My favorite products include Joico Moisture Recovery Balm Treatment, Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter, Design Essentials Natural Almond & Avocado Shampoo and Soultanicals Knot Sauce. I also use some homemade products including my whipped shea butter* and hair growth oil.
Where can we find you online?
You can stalk me here… ☺
YouTube: youtube.com/naakienartey
Instagram: @naakienartey
Twitter: @naakienartey
Blog: www.naakie.co