Hollywood And The Lack Of Care For Black Hair - With Shalita Grant | Talkinpink

Exactly it's keita and Rachel is welcome exactly well. Oh okay. This week is a been a interesting week. Okay, it's the last week of the month Black History Month is officially almost over yeah. That'S true: did you do your black history? Did you make black history? I did my taxes. Oh you didn't get that black history enough uh, I don't even know I don't know either on email yeah. I need to read more. You need to what read more read more okay about us and our history, our culture, um yeah. You need a book. Let me know I'll check that out. I need to get this back into Peter's Library, okay or I'm gon na. What do I have to give you? Do I keep something yeah you're, not gon na get your driver's license and you turn in that book. Right. I don't want your phone, he discarded library card. You can have my phone, I'm good that don't work anyway. You need to practice so yeah. So you made a resolution for Black History Month: okay, that's cool um! I consider myself as black history and I try to tell my children hey. Do a report on your mama. They, like you, no for real, for, like your mom, is the only black person in her Department for real all right, and I have been I'm serious, I'm so serious and I've been there for years as the only black person. No, not the whole time. I didn't say the whole time I said for years now. That'S true! Okay, that's true! You know they ain't gon na. Let you go uh, we got one color, I mean. What do you want us to do? All you need is one. We met the status quo. Exactly is it status quo? No, it's the uh quota. I don't know no, no! It'S not saying that okay, but yeah, so um what happened this week? A lot has happened this week that I can't communicate about. But it's it's. It'S been interesting: okay, A lot has happened this week that you can't communicate about mm-hmm, okay and that's and I'm gon na leave that right there, okay, okay, but I'm gon na pick that up or not I'm strong, I'm powerful. I'M amazing, I'm beautiful, I'm confident! Yes, I'm wealthy, I'm healthy. Yes, I'm powerful. All of that, we affirm all of that daily right. We do we, we don't we don't. We don't need just a a tough situation or week to affirm these things. We affirm these things daily, we're all of these things. Wow, that's crazy, so um really crazy yeah! So do you um, so you coming! You want me to talk about my weeks since I can't see you okay, uh my week, um my week has been very inlightful to me um because you know last week we were talking about. You know me going to have this um consultation. Yes, I want to get a conversation. I don't care what people say, but I, but I know what what Kita and Jay were saying last week to be true because they're going to say well, there are some things that you're going to have to do. First, before we consider doing anything and obviously that's lose weight so um I took my children to the doctor and um. You know we all basically have work to do right. So I was like well great. This is gon na now catapult me and you want to be a great example. You don't want to. We don't want to continue to educate them. Ignorantly, like you, do what I say not as I do. Yes, I got I'm over here with high blood pressure and diabetes, and but you need to be eating right, exercising right, so um. We want to be better leaders and better examples and for our kids to want to write a book report about us right. You know my mom inspires me because her fat ass lost weight and she told me to do it too, and we did as a family so the end exactly um yeah. So I have been actively taking vitamins and supplements um. I have been drinking water. I'Ve been preparing my meals and I've also had my teenager prepare her own meals because in in educating our children, since they are their future, you know we all want to lead by example. So I have her select her foods and prepare her own meals, okay, um and so she's been doing a great job about that, and so I have not bought food this week, no out eating out no eating out um. We did go out to eat. I want to say yesterday and we went to Luby's um, you know Louise's, you know home cook, ish food, healthy, um, it's healthy, ish, so um opposed to going to a fast food, restaurant and saying hey, give me a burger. You know take that off at that. We went um to Luby's, so even going out to eat. I want her to be mindful of the choices that she makes and um. I want to create um, you know a healthy, wealthy, successful lifestyle. I don't want it to be a diet, it's a lifestyle. So if you look at it like Diet, you're gon na go in and saying I'm depriving myself of something I'm um, I'm first word in diet is die right and right, we're not doing that. So it's basically a lifestyle change, and so we have been actively. You know preparing our meals um, that's lunch and dinners and um drinking a lot of water. I know for me it's very important for me to drink a lot of water and I notice how my skin gets when I do these things very. It'S very supple um. It'S clear, um and I've even been sleeping, better um. It doesn't I'm not up actively looking at my phone because you know I have insomnia, I can't sleep and, and so I've also made efforts to walk more now. Walking is not exercise, but it is me being mindful of okay. I got ta move right, so it's the first step for me. So on my two breaks, you know at work. I'Ve been actively walking. So that's my proud of you, my rundown. For the weekend. I got some household going on, but you know it's all good. I just might go to that consultation with you now yeah, but I know that I know that I have work to do so. I don't want to go in there and say: hey I'll, write a check or take it off a credit card. I know I have work to do and honestly. I feel like the the direction that I'm going. I'M I'm probably not gon na need what I want right now. You know I I just think I need to do. Do more work, she lists, and so that's what I'm working pinkies she listens. Can you tell I'm so proud of her? Let'S give her a gold star. I feel something right here already look good too here. So we have a guess so excited um and I'm gon na y'all know I could butcher a name. So I'm not even gon na. Do it I'm not gon na disrespect. Um. You know we gon na, do it right, so we we have a guest. We want to bring our guests in and let her say her name and introduce herself step in step out. Thank you, hi. I'M shalita Grant. It said that I was a model, that's sweet, but I've never really modeled ever um, but I'm an actress uh Tony nominee and I'm also the CEO and founder of four Naturals hell yeah. That'S amazing, because I know we were talking off camera about your business, which we are all natural. Obviously, as you can tell, and I'm always looking for something right, the you know not the next best thing, but something something great right and for Naturals is it's. It'S hair and skin right. It'S just hair, it's just hair yeah. Can you can you explain to us exactly what the hair product does? What is what does it do for us? Yes, so uh, the four Naturals treatment is truly a hair treatment. So it's called four Naturals because it's geared toward all of us with Type 4 hair, and so what does it do? What is the treatment? It literally treats every chronic and complex Type 4 hair problem that we have naturally wow it's four steps. The first step is the patent-pending detangling method, because detangling is an area of basic hair care where we see a lot of hair loss. Where there's a lot of generational pain with kids, you know like because your hair hurt getting detangled. Do you believe that detangling, your kids hair should hurt right, and so we have a very simple streamlined, detangling system? That'S super cheap and easy to do, and then the magic is this Hanuman mask. This is where the magic happens, and so what you're seeing now. I know this is a podcast, but no way you're saying you have four type 4C hair yeah. I do so we're gon na go into uh we're gon na go into photos um and show you what four Naturals has done for me and like the, why I created it right and then what I'm doing for other black women. So I'm just gon na jump in because photos are amazing, yes um, so let's jump in so this is the four Naturals treatment. This is a first treatment result uh the before and the after, and so when you ask like what does the treatment do it takes here before, and it turns it into an after permanently and treatment over treatment? It'S Progressive meaning that treatment over treatment, the hair gets better. The curls get stronger your moisture, your retention gets better, the the weight and the hair is better. What you're seeing now is. I I thermally straighten my hair on Wednesday and so uh. I have five what Wednesday Wednesday yeah. Is there? No humidity where you are I've showered everything yeah, you work out, yeah all of it. What I'm sorry it just! I know it looks amazing. I don't know I know I like. I know I know. Truly, it's truly an amazing, incredible treatment, and so I'm going to take you through how we got started. So this is how it all began. So I was on a show for three years called NCIS New Orleans and it was, and it was show on CBS and for the people that watched it. They knew that Percy. My the last name of my character, her hair, was different, like her ponytail would change like in the middle of the episode, but what they didn't know. What they didn't know was that I was chasing damage, so this is on the left in Old Metairie in January. This was the middle of season three and so um we had went from like a wig and some leave out at the end of season, one when I first came on to extensions in the beginning of season two to like a ponytail with, like the you know, Around the corner, like piece added to it and then season three, it was this uh wig, with a lot of leave out on the perimeter right. When I took it down, I saw the difference between my hair under the wig and my hair. That was being left out and being flat ironed right, exactly right, and so, when in June, in Brooklyn, this is actually the most moment. I realized that I had to quit my job because in just six months I went from hair that went relatively like to my nose right all the way up to the top of my scalp, like basically like I was holding the baby hair right yeah, and so What you didn't know was that in season two, the reason I went from the extensions into the ponytail with like the piece added was because for months I was in those extensions, and I did one episode where I went underwater and so there was a lot of Like rehearsal in uh chlorine and in like like water in New Orleans and then when I took that down, I had a bald spot in the center of my head, which is barely a blip now. But that's because I healed it. So but that's like jumping ahead years ahead. So when I was in Brooklyn, I was at this Aveda like getting my hair colored, and it was just like abundantly clear to me that my hair was falling out and I was going to have to quit my job because I had been going through this with Them for years, and the only thing I was getting was damage and so enter the infamous season, four wig, and so what people didn't know like on Twitter, they would like send these tweets, like, oh, my God. What is wrong with her hair, like? Can somebody help her like what is going on like it looks like shoe polish like all of that, but what they didn't know was that I remember these yeah yep yep, and how did you feel when you saw me like that? What you know I I felt like, I honestly, don't feel like it's the person's fault I feel like the stylists aren't educated enough to protect, because you have an image that they want. You to. You know what I'm saying this: they want you to portray, but I'm like you, I my job is to act. It'S not to do my hair. Also, you pay somebody to do that, so I feel, like Industries need to know about healthy hair care, even when you have it when you have leave out, because I I honestly don't feel like laces and wigs are the solution. No they're not, and I agree they also damage your hair underneath as well, yeah and Rachel like what, like the emotion that I hear behind what you're saying like yeah, like so imagine, being the person going through it right and our show like we would get like A low rating was like nine million people right like right. We would celebrate 20 million 22 million people right and so for me it wasn't a celebration. It was really just like humiliation, because, right you know, I had nine to 20 exactly and for me there was no joy in like watching the show that I was spending like hours working on, because I was being traumatized like that was. It was what it was. So there was no joy for right, so that's the wig, but what people didn't know was that, like my hair, I have typical African-American hair in that it's not damaged, but I have high porosity. I could not see a curl pattern. My story is like my hair. Would get wet, but then it would get immediately dry. When my hair was dry, it would dry and it would look so ashy like right. It would be so hard to find like weave that like match my hair, because when my hair was dry, it was like this weird like four energy, but then but then it wasn't a full four full number four, you know so that was like. That was my life and so and Sam this picture in San Francisco. This was me like trying to like accept my natural hair and so um. I went to this Salon in La that was like known for like natural hair and she, like I spent all day in the salon like I went because I was like I'm going to San Francisco and I know there's going to be some humidity there. I was like clearly by the water, and I was like I want to be like natural. I want to like wear my natural hair, so I go to the salon. I spend all day there. She blow dries. My she like two strand twists, my and because I come from the hair salon, so I was raised in Virginia. I was born in Baltimore raised in Virginia, I'm back to Baltimore, but my grandma's owned a hair salon since before I was born hair dreams too in Petersburg Virginia um. So I knew what we knew about our hair, like my first job was shampoo girl, um, and so when she was doing this, I was like. I know that I know my hair and I know it's not gon na stay like this, and literally this was like a day and a half after that, hair appointment, 200 and a whole day like gone, and my hair just like stands up right and shrinks and Gets really stiff right, so for me with that job, it was literally hair problem after hair problem, typical African-American, hair, atypical job. In that, my job includes my hair, like in order for me to transform my hair is part of that and as a black woman, your hair tells a story, and so each of my characters have a different hair story, but this character's hair story was just damaged. So because of the heat damage from season one, I wore extensions for nine months in season two, but because of the traction alopecia I wore a partial wig and because of the breakage I wore a full lace wig and because I looked and felt horrible, I ended Up leaving my jaw and millions of people watched - and I was humiliated like these - are comments that I like pulled from Twitter - that at the time right, they hurt me deeply it's funny, because I want to ask you why you left, but you already said it. It is humiliating and - and I just feel like the industry in whole needs to know about natural hair they want to. But what I'm saying what I'm saying is: if, if I am a director yeah right, my job is to direct if you're, the actress or actor your job is to act. You have a hair care team there, their job is about hair masking it shouldn't be. The answer and getting someone with type c or or type 2 here, isn't the the answer: either you you're speaking realistically you're speaking like a human being, but in a world that we live in, especially these United States of America, which is not United um. There are certain people that are catered to, rather than the other I mean you, you provide opportunities for the other, but you only provide limited resources for those people and because we are black and Rachel Hayes. When I talk like this, but because we're black, we don't get the same benefits as our counterpart, so we are neglected in almost everything right. So let me ask you a question and I think that's why we work well together totally different and I'm not saying that you're wrong. All right were there: were there African-American stylists there yeah so like my experience is as frustrating as it is, but it is common. It is like what I went through is not special. You know to me or to that team right, it's common right, so I will answer your question. Yes, I had a black man doing my hair the entire time. I was on the show, however, the way that people get hired. In Hollywood, the line producer hires the the hair department head, the hair department head hires, everyone under them. Now what you have to understand about TV and movies is our hours are long right, like the the the glitz and the glamor right, because we're all behind that of it. Yeah yeah is that we we're we're sleep, deprived right, but you're working all day with other human beings, and if you have the power to hire people that make you feel comfortable, that are friends that are going to be cool to hang out with that are going To have your back, if goes wrong, that's what you're hiring for you're, not necessarily hiring to do hair right. The other thing you have to understand about the hair department for black actresses right is that they they contact you before they contact you ahead of time, and you know maybe this is like benefit now, but when they contact you, they want to know like what. What did you do with your hair for the audition and how are you wearing your hair and, if you're, a black woman that wears wigs and extensions and things what they do, is they will pay for you to get your hair done off site? However, they don't hire the people that put those extensions in or did that Wii for you or glued your wig down. They don't hire them to do the maintenance. Now I told you we're working 12 to 14 hour days right, so no hair holds up that long. There'S only some refresh that needs to happen, but they never hire people that are knowledgeable in how to do it. They didn't do it themselves. So what happens is when the actress's hair, black actress's hair, looks bad. It'S the black actress's fault, because, from the standpoint of the hair Department, we've done everything that we could now they hired a black man who was a barber okay, but he was black, and so the question that you asked me did you have a black person? Do your hair, it doesn't matter black Asian white or whatever, if you don't have black hair knowledge right and specific to the black head of hair, that you're working on not just general knowledge, exactly it's gon na go wrong and that's exactly what happened. He had never done extensions. Do you know what he was using to Like Glue, my down Spirit goal? That'S what we use in in the theaters spirit gum right, so he wasn't even up to date on what we were using. So for me, having this hair background. Being the black actress, knowing that, if I have a problem, I am the problem and if I don't have a solution literally no one else is going to have one for me. I kept throwing out like oh, maybe extensions. Oh, maybe I can go back to the wig, because the other thing too is this was my first job so like I wanted this to work out. So I did everything that I could to try to make that work out and sometimes when you're, a team player and you're a black woman, it means that you have to play other people's position and that's the reality. That'S life. That'S life yeah, that's not! Even sometimes we all we, we always play in other positions, but that's exhausting it is, and it was it is, and it was, which was why, when I was in that Aveda I was just like, I literally don't even know what else to do but quit, and I found some wig and I like was like this - is the wig I talked to my reps. Let'S get me off the show in the meantime in between time, they can't touch my hair yeah like and so that entire season for uh right before I left. I would have guest directors that I had worked with in two and three and they would like ask me about my hair and it was just like I was like yeah it's great. I love it. It'S so easy. I don't have to worry about anything, but for me it was coming from a place of I've, been traumatized for the last three years with trying to have this like ponytail and I give up and for them it was like. Why would she choose to look like that? Because, because it was on me, it's a choice right, there's no like taking in everything that I went through to get there right, so so how free or how light did you feel when you decided? Okay - this I I have to quit - I have to do that quitting is my only option. How free did you feel when you actually did it well I'll tell you this. This is usually a like a a villain origin story, right like and then it's like, and then I like, burned it down, yeah or then like. I like, never worked again, yeah yeah, whatever that's where my heart. For me, when I like, when I, when I left, I remember like I got to my new house in Toluca Lake in California, and I like it felt like I had been hit by like 13 buses like not having a clock in knowing that they were still Like doing the show and I'm like in a different state - and I don't have that job anymore - it was like I got run over and I knew that. Okay, I went to trauma therapy for the next three months. Like I got off that show, I knew what had happened to me. I was in therapy the entire time. My therapist was like it's time to do different therapy. Let'S get you into some somatic therapy, because if you want to work again, you're gon na be traumatized and triggered whenever a non-knowledgeable person touches your hair. It'S like this is this all over again and it's true like I would meet a producer that reminded me of this producer and it would be, like you know, know like heat under my armpits like just like ready to, like you know, protect myself, you know, and It'S like girl. That is not him right right, like you got ta back off right and so because I had like. I had like done this like work on myself. It was like okay, I know what's going on right, right, okay, but what I ended up doing after the three months of trauma therapy. After all of that I was like, but I still got ta heal my hair right, so I created what is now before natural's treatment right, so this was in 2019., oh, my God phenomena right right, and that was third treatment. Okay, like treatment number three, because that was the next question. How long does it take to see you know, notably different effects? One treatment for most people, one treatment, but progressively treatment over treatment Right Care gets better. The curls are dropping heavier. You know you need less product to go through the curl, like you know, drink because your hair, don't look thirsty, Adam s. It'S got my mouth dry over here, I'm like! Oh, my God. Now you that's me. That'S right! Wait till you see other people's results. So how did I get here? Well, after the trauma therapy? I was like okay, I feel like I'm strong enough to do this, but I I kept working like I got like two recur jobs after leaving that show, but I was still in a wig, and so I was like if I want to like evolve and do Other I got ta figure out how to take this thing off, so I had been natural in college, but then I had like two years or so after graduating. I did one thermal straightening right and it ruined all that hair and so from 2011 or 12 to 2019, when I created the four Naturals treatment I had been on this Odyssey of, like I up seven years of like amazing hair and now I'm like just stringy. I was like in denial, I was putting all kind of conditioner in there trying to get the shrink back and come back so then it was like all right go back to the creamy crack. If it's straight go straight and then it was like. Oh no, I got ta cut all of this off on the sides into the back and now I'm nominated for a Tony right, but I got this like pompadour situation going on in the like the highest part of my career, I'm having hair trauma right then I Moved to LA and they're like oh baby, you need some hair, and so it was like okay, so that started my wig and weave journey, and then that concluded at the end of that show, and so for me, I'd done it all I've seen it all. I had had people that are like. Oh, I worked on Beyonce's hair. I'Ve been to the top of the mountain and I can tell you yeah there ain't up there exactly so on my way down yeah I was like all right nobody's coming, that's exactly how it happened! Nobody'S coming, yep yep! I have the time and the money, and so I figured it out so 2019, I'm doing all this research and because I I come from that cosmetology background right, like I've been working in that space, I knew that the cosmetology board says hair is hair, which is The definition of Erasure, which is why we are in the predicament that we're in this is right, so I moved over to cosmetic chemistry. So I started doing all this research, all the on all these studies and things, and then I got interested in non-white. Successful hair cultures: how did I define success? Length, retention, yeah, strength, moisture retention? You know I I wanted that, and so I lit on India, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Greece yeah, and so I took what are they using? What are the plants because America tells us our hair? Is so bad, it's so other that you need chemical to like help your situation. There is nothing exactly because, and the experience of that is damn there. My hair must really be that bad, because it's falling the out and they're telling me that this is supposed to be the only thing for me, and so you there's this cycle of like self-blame and shame, and this feeling of betrayal right, like the Betrayal of spending. Eight hours on your twist out - and that includes the drying time - yeah betrayed yeah right. Yes, so I lit on those emotions. As of being a black woman with this black ass hair yeah - and I was like - I want to heal that too right, because I know I can right so these cultures they're using plants - that's all they're, using what are the plants they're using they're using henna they're Using Cassio babata they're using a slippery elm they're, even using olive oil, and they have different practices, the eritreans and the Ethiopians for how they detangle their hair. They were pre-pooing before that was on YouTube right, like so like before. Youtube was even invented right, so so I I went to these cultures and I was like how can I use what they're using to solve these problems that I'm having right and so my first treatment, my first kind of mud Mass treatment well before I even started Experimenting right, I was like girl, you ain't the smartest on the Block, so like just go to people that have also used henna and why didn't it work, and so what I learned was that they did one of a couple of things: one they used henna. That was not that was subpar. Maybe it had chemical salts. Maybe it's used for hair dying, so they're like additives in it, okay and they didn't use any other like humectant in their like henna mud mask, because what I learned is that in India, every family has their own henna mud mask recipe based on the issues that That particular family has so they might add, amla and shikaki to their henna mud, mask treatment to fix maladies that that that particular family is having with their hair, and they do it over the weekend. So Indians do their can a mud Mass treatment. The way that we do a wash day, which is why it takes all day right because you're trying to treat and style because you know you can't go straight to styling, because your hair is not healthy enough to do that right, so you're putting in the avocado And the hot oil treatment and somebody's rice water from 30 years ago and you're thinking like okay. If I leave this on my hair for like super long, it's gon na remain in my hair right like magic and then you rinse it out and you're back to square one. But you don't stop. Can'T stop, won't stop because you ain't got no other option. You just keep doing it right until you lock it up until you put it away and you try to like step out of that cycle for a moment right regroup, and then you come back to the same. So for me I was like I want to interrupt that cycle right, so I did that first henna mud mask treatment, doing it all the ways that the people that didn't have a good experience, uh didn't do so I made sure I conditioned after I made sure I added other humectants and that first treatment y'all it was like it was like so different Cherry pops. Yes, but at the time I was also like pole dancing right. So I came into pole, dance yeah like trying to like work on sensuality right yeah. I knew I had the sticking point with my hair. I started experimenting like going to class in La you know with all these, and I would be like trying to like love myself and do these mirror meditations, while I'm moving, but I have this giant wig on and then, when I wouldn't wear the wig like you Know didn't move right, but it was like it's okay. There is no such thing as right. This is right. Everything that you're saying is true, though, because we we do look at it like. Oh, it's not moving like theirs, it's too heavy and that's. This is one of the main reasons why we chose to lock. Our hair is because we were doing so much damage, color speaking of um, but we were doing so much damage constantly. Did I say I'm just gon na step back and not do nothing just just lock it up. You know knock it out with the twist start it with the the coil and just just re-tighten it every so often and just leave it the alone, because yeah, I'm I'm ruining what I already have and then I went. I went from a fade to this like I, I grew my hair out from a fade and isn't it so frustrating that a lot like the difference between locking your hair and like braiding it and putting it under the wig. Only the Locking you got to see that, like goddess, like show up yeah and you're like what the is the disconnect yeah right, yeah. That'S what we because we're like! Oh well. Maybe we can calm it down now, it's longer it's heavy. It'S got some weight. It'S moving and then it's like well, no because then we're gon na go it up right back to where you were. Oh, my God. I totally understand so this photo. These photos were my third treatment. So after that, first one the I was married at the time and we quickly got divorced after uh, but I was like: do you see like the difference in my hair and she was like yeah? I do right and I was like. I still don't trust it, because I've done the bentonite clay and all that and it didn't change anything yeah well by my third treatment. I did this photo shoot against the wall. In the house, I was like it's cute. I'Ve been waking up cute, going to sleep with you working out cute, going to grocery store cutest book out the shower yeah, when I did that first. That first day, because I would pull like all day like I would pull at this place - called Beast bun and they had classes all day, and I remember uh the non-white teacher. Like the first class of that day, she was just like. Oh um did you cut your hair and I'm like walking in my like eight inch platforms like doing the sexy, walk and like yeah, you know like feeling everything and because she knew that I was in a wig before she wanted me to own the wig, and I was like no, I didn't cut my hair, you know, and these curls are like curly yeah, so she's like, oh well, did you like uh, you know like, and this is in front of everyone. You know, like you know this exactly and I'm like. No. This is just my hair yeah and it was so liberating and amazing to like have that and then, when I look at that, first, like dance that we did. Oh, I was like up and down with the straight hair. Girls, like you know like because they knew when I would flip over. You could see the background exactly. It was like it's called me, a girl, it's soft yeah. It'S awesome, you know, like I, had a complete, really different experience, and so I went home and I was like it. I'M like this is everything yeah and then it was like all right. Yo, like you literally solved your problem right now, you got to solve The World's problem yep and that's my heart. I'M like yo, I'm free. So going back to this photo on the far left. I told you. I have high porosity hair pre-treatment. I have high porosity hair post treatment. I can straighten my hair. I have true hair versatility. Why is that? Because henna coats, The Strand yes and so in the first treatment you get to feel the weight of your hair. What'S the reality of our type 4C hair? Well, it stands up and the ends always want to go back to the root, which is why detangling is such a monster right, because that hair, it's like angel hair and it just goes everywhere, but it's snap pop crackle and you can't get it to hang down. You know when the water hits, you know like it's, that's the reality pre-treatment, but post treatment. Henna is a plant plants, love water. So my my clients and me I get in the water at the beach I mean girl. You can't tell me I'm not in Baywatch. Okay and my dog, I'm like we are one - I am nature right right in this ocean. You know like I'm running around catching the side like, like you know what I mean exactly it's like no baby girl. Listen this to me. So I started the four Naturals treatment and this is like my hair Journey for the last like uh three years so 2019, and then I do you and you know for me going from having people. You know write me on Twitter for NCIS, like what the is wrong with your hair to people going on you and being like. I bet that ain't even that bitch's hair. You know like it's, given a win right and I'm like no baby, it's giving not um. It'S given all me, I started that show with 13 inches of hair, and you know like I had did uh two Brazilian Blowouts and one in June of 2020 and one in September of 2020. to show my audience that literally your hair is gon na, be bulletproof. It'S bulletproof and so that second treatment horrible, like I like, had all this hair come out. I was like, oh my God, I up, but I air every week with that henna mud, Mass treatment and it fortified my strands, and so I started that show with 13 inches. Six months later, I ended with 16.. There were whole episodes where it was literally just my hair. Just me all me nothing, but me never sewed. In anything we did a couple clip-ins. We added a little ponytail pieces too one time, but that was my hair man and then in front of my entire audience. I cut off 16 inches. I don't. Where is that here we go 16 inches of hair, just cut it off 20. 21.. What Jessica just cut it and start out and then I just grew all my hair back. We were doing the grow with me challenge yeah, and can you keep that half an inch a month and it's not ironing it and going back to my curls and like I didn't, have the issues that I had in 2011 2012 when I ended up having to Like do my big chop right, like look at me saying I forgot, I was missing this thing, but yeah, and that was December of last year and now this is February - and this is all my see exactly scalp. Okay, like this is all me and so I'll go back like that's the tale of two characters like like completely different, and so please really writing you that this is not your hair yeah yo yeah. They were like it's giving. I love it when they do that. Give it, oh, my God, a wig you can't afford exactly like. I did because I was playing such a like people were just like coming. Okay, oh no, but that's why I'm such a because I can do what you can't, except you can sis I got you. I got you just come just come see me, you know okay yeah, so this was my right. So this was my pre-treatment healthy, hair, like that was the best. I could get it and then this was my post treatment, the healthiest hair ever like that's. That was me, so let me solve that. So this is the future of textured hair. So I this is the salon deck, but salons do have a problem like the salon. Problems are attracting and retaining clients. The retail doesn't do as well as it used to nobody's buying your dusty Aveda products off the shelf, they're going to get it from Amazon. Okay, you know: there's a lack of textured, hair training, uh, there's a lack of specialized services for textured, curly, hair and thanks to YouTube, the salon has lost its value like black women are coming in and they want to know their hair type. They want to know their porosity and most salon owners and practitioners. Look at you, like you have 15 heads, you know like nobody knows what you're talking about and that's a litmus test for. Do you know me like? Can you do this right and difficult care equals difficult customers like because our hair is difficult, we're branded as difficult. That'S the same thing of if you have a problem. You are the problem right, but that's the trauma behind it. That'S that's another part of it that we have to heal ourselves. It'S not our fault, we're just ignorant, we're uneducated and there aren't enough people who have made themselves knowledgeable enough to educate others. We live in the following industry, yeah and the get rich quick, because now it's the wigs we're gon na follow the wigs. It was the wheeze we're gon na follow the weaves it's like, but don't you want to take care of the that you got ta put underneath there? Don'T you and you do you do but there's nothing like they almost look at it like uh. Well. This is me protecting my hair. It'S not and that's not if you're not taking care of that underneath it is not a protective style you're, defeating the person you're, doing exact damage than good yeah, and so sorry that happened to you, but I'm so glad that that happened to you yeah. Like me, too, is such a huge trauma, but it's a trauma all of us have been facing for Generations, yeah yo, I know, and we and we just it's just like oh well. We got up here, it's good hair and it's bad hair, and I tell you exactly you can't say that in my house: that's that's not a thing. So, even if somebody said, oh, you don't have good hair what the is good hair yeah. No, we just are here sophisticated enough to to take care of our own hair and that's part of a huge, your problem, and you know what and it's not just our hair. That'S true, um! It'S everything about us. It'S like we're we're aliens, you know exactly and that, and that is exactly that feeling of being alienated from your Humanity. Yes, why I was like I'm gon na figure this out, like I'm, going to figure it out, because I don't buy that anymore right. I am not an alien, I'm, a human being yeah and there's something on this Earth that God made to heal these maladies, but because the cosmetology board teaches that henna is a bad thing. No one deals with henna, I'm going to show you uh right, so so relaxers right. That'S the only thing that we have on offer. We know that it breaks the bonds. We know why we get it, but you I don't know if you know, but there are five class action lawsuits right now against every uh chemical relaxer manufacturer for uterine cancer, So eventually the the relaxer is not even going to be on offer anymore. So what are salons going to offer their clients for their chronic, complex natural hair problems, they're going to offer them the four naturalist treatment the floor, Naturals treatment? It'S plant-based, it's smoothing! It'S defining! It'S de-frizzing! It balances your moisture. It improves your curl definition. It Blends out the Grays and heat damage it and we have a detangling method and so much more so these are all first treatment results. So when I started the four natural streaming in 2019 for myself right, I then opened up like this like treatment like okay, I'm gon na do these treatments for black women for free over the course of seven treatments to see if they're, having the same experience that I'M having and they did so, I opened up the four Naturals Hair Spa, and so these are Hair, Spa, clients, uh. These are first treatment, uh the person on the top. She has color in her hair and do you see like there is a complete like difference in the texture? The way it falls like everything exactly we called her Miss muscles because she stayed in the gym and so for her. The sweat aspect of life was real and had not been solved yet, and then you have this person at the bottom Kelly. I met her at an audition in LA and her hair looked like the before and she put a headband on it and she was like this is what it is and I was like you know what it could be better yeah. So I told her come on through, and that was her first treatment. These are first treatment results. So how does it work - and this is also a first treatment, but we did this at my house and she changed her shirt, but for her she was also a model actress and you know she lived in wigs and things and she didn't believe that she had A curl pattern: she was only finger detangling um, you know her hair stood up and was stiff and after one treatment it completely changed her hair for the better and so the henna, the Cassie of the slippery elm. It'S permanent and that's why the cosmetology board says: don't use it, but they also say it's because most hennas contain chemical or metallic salts, most not all, and so what's in the henna mud mask henna lawsonia, just pure the Pena plant, that's been dried polarized into a Powder, that's what's in the henna mud mask, so people with color on their hair can use it before and after their color. So it really all the issues that the that they say, you're gon na have you literally don't have - and this is literally for all black women - of all black hair care walks of life, save for dreads save for dreads, because why the henna and the coffee and All of that, it's a monster to try to rinse out also it's the dreads are already heavy. So it's going to pull on your scalp, it's no, it's a no-go, but everybody else, chemicals, no chemicals, it's for you and so it's great for all hair types. But it's also, like I said, color safe. This is Amore and if you go to her Instagram now she just posted. She just had a birthday she's in Houston, okay, okay, she's, a Houston stylist and she just had her birthday and she did her press. So for her, she yeah she's a hair stylist, but she still has black hair problems and she has a Type 3 curl pattern right and so even for her. She in that, before photo, she had used some like pH balance shampoo and it wrecked her hair and she's used to just chopping. Her hair, like her Instagram pre-2021, was all about how she just cuts it off like. Oh, I put some color in it and it's falling out. I just cut it off, let it grow back, and so she kept it really short, and so she was like on this growth Journey. Like 20 20 21. She wanted to grow her hair. Finally, and so she knew of my product from my current partner, they had like worked together, and so she was like, oh like can she help my situation like I'm about to cut it off again, I'm like go, go cut, it don't cut it. That'S one treatment per after right days after her first treatment and then she goes back back to color and if you go to her Instagram right now, a-m-o-r-e amore. She just celebrated her birthday. She got a blowout, the hair is so long and then her last post, she's, like I just I'm like on this, like don't cut my stuff like shrinkage, is just real. So now I'm like don't cut me, don't cut me, but I she pressed me out and dusted my ends and she was like, even after all, the color and all the straight, all the curly. All of that your hair is so healthy. All I have to do is dust the ends and that's the experience of the henna. It'S like a coat of arms and every treatment the hair gets better, it gets thicker and so those Frayed Ends. They can't the cuticle can't come up because it's been paved with henna, so yeah, you don't have to cut off three to four inches because you've been flat. Ironing your hair because you're treating it with henna. So it's a completely different experience. What'S in your hair, amore a-m-o-r-e amore, is it okay, you see the red hair. Oh that's her life. Now, like literally that's her life. Now, yes, that's her! So good yeah yeah. She like she's, always like yeah, yeah, yes, but but this in the story. She says she didn't have to yeah. She all she had to do was dust the ends. That was it you know so amazing and it's yeah. It'S ironic that we're speaking about hair today and in such depth and importance. We both have daughters, yep. We do and um just now my daughter was texting me he's like Mom. I want to get these uh whatever they call what the locks, the the thingamajigs, where they twist the little hair on there to make it look like locks, but it's not the sisterlocks, no locks, so she wants. So she wants to do something temporary yeah. She wants to do something temporary and my daughter. She she has beautiful hair, we did a uh, um oppressed twice and her hair has been thin and short ever since, and I'm trying to figure out like what the hell happened. You know we were on a we're going on a roll, getting your hair stronger and now we did this and I'm like uh, and now you want to add to your hair, the weave with the braids and all yes like. Oh we're gon na protect ourselves, I'm like you're beautiful the way you are. You don't need anything. Why do you keep wanting these things, one that costs money, but this is what they also think yeah to them to us, it's what their friends do and it made it easier. It'S just like you know what I know my hair is damaged. It I'ma just cover it up and then deal with it later and that's what they've been doing. So I have a one daughter who does have um. Well, both my daughters have natural hair. Neither one of them have ever had any um chemicals relaxers in there right. Um but one I had to lock her hair. You know what I'm saying, because it was. It was just that that drying the detangling um and then the other one is more of a a CB in between a wave and a half um. But but just like you, she couldn't find the curl pattern when it's wet and when it's saturated, it's beautiful, it's really pretty. But then, when it's dry, it's like wait. What happened yep yep an hour ago? It'S not the same, and because here in Houston, the the humidity the humidity is so ridiculous, the weather all over the place. You want to do something that protects and penetrates as well, but the products that we've been I've used every product there there's products in every bathroom that I have, and it's like you just got to mix all that together because at this point I'm tired of buying Yeah you buy it for okay, this picture Works mom. I saw this on Instagram mom. I saw this on Tick, Tock mom. I saw this on YouTube. Okay, let's try it and - and you know yeah I do know - I do know so it sucks it sucks and - and I'm here to tell you it - it can be better with the four natural treatment not only better. It can be completely different, like for Amore like when I have like tough moments, like you know, with four Naturals, where I'm, like God like. I wish more black women knew about this, and this is why I'm doing so many podcasts now right, because it's like it's time to get the word out like now. I have to aggressively just go out and get the word out right, um, but I'm like wow like what keeps me going. It'S people like Amore people like uh, Mona people like even delva, with her daughter, her daughter, has low porosity, hair and she's extremely tender headed, and I remember when we first started working together. You know her daughter would be getting her hair braided and she would be crying bloody murder and I would be like delva, please let me send you some treatment and let's like get that right and now several treatments later, there's not as much drama in our house. Like she's like her daughter's so young, so you know it's like okay, so now I'm trying to teach her how to do it, but it's not like oh and she screams bloody murder like she loves her hair. She loved her hair pre-treatment too, but it was hard right and then post treatment, she's getting in the pool - and you know like they have a very simpler routine now and the smile with her curls is just like it's just different everything. It'S just different. It'S everything! I'M so glad that you chose to come talk to us about this today, because Trump hair trauma starts so young. You don't realize that you know when you say: okay, you're gon na get your hair shampooed you're gon na get your hair comb you're gon na get your hair straightened. The trauma is instant because it's like I'm gon na have to be in this chair all day. I'Ma be in pain, it hurts. I don't want the braids, maybe I want a ponytail, maybe I want some. Maybe I want to look like my bar. Can I get a bun and just do me whatever you did and whatever you did, There's No Going Back like it's like. We spent all this time, so I have to be in this one ponytail or these braids for the next couple of weeks and it's like as a little girl you're like I want. First, I want variety and I want but yeah totally. I I I want um. Are you gon na ever get to the point to where you are doing seminars where you are educating natural, hair, stylist yeah? Because I actually it needs to get to that point, because the reason why we aren't going to the salons is because nobody is taking care of our natural hair. We'Ll get this style for the moment for the events, but over time, you're not coming back you're not like going there so you're not like making that a regular right yeah. I feel, like you know it. It was it's it's time for stylists to be educated, but not just for them, because it's easier to sell a product that you know will work the reason why we're not buying that in the salon, because I only need this for tonight like exactly yeah. So how can we, where can we see you from we're direct to Consumer and we're also on the Salon, Centric Marketplace for the time being um? But yes, I am I'm meeting with another podcast uh that has our own hair school in Michigan, so we're working on. I'M gon na go there and teach and there's another woman that I just did the podcast with earlier. That has connections with different cosmetology boards and so yeah like. I definitely am doing the work now to get it out, but it's fournaturalshair.com f-o-u-r Naturals, plural, as in all of ushair.com, and you go to the store we have all these tutorials. I mean I, my business is all about like accountability. I want to be there with you for you and help you work through whatever, like hair Melody. You have, because what you're going through is so normal right, but post treatment. It can be better right right, and so this is the the treatment overview like this is literally three treatments all within the same month, the same head of hair and month at the beginning of the month.