Interview With Rachy Of UKnaturals

One of the perks of attending the Brit Beauty event held in the UK is the opportunity to meet some of the bloggers and vloggers we watch, learn from and interact with socially.

Naomi and Rachy are two such vloggers. They are the founders of the YouTube Channel UKnaturals that was created to give us a well rounded look on two extraordinarily different journeys from a UK perspective.

Because we couldn’t fit both of their fun personalities into one interview we decided to have a part one for Rachy and part 2 for Naomi. Here is what Rachy had to say about her journey, her hair and her work as part of the dynamic duo.

Rachy, briefly tell us about your hair story, what made you decide to focus more on your natural hair rather than straightening all the time?

I have always worn my hair natural, never wanted to relax my hair or ever been told by my mum that I had to, many others have done though!

I wore my hair in cornrow styles from little till about 12 years old. Then for my 13th birthday I got my hair straightened for the first time and I think that is when I got the ‘I want straight hair all the time bug’ because people would always say my hair was beautiful and pretty when straight, mainly because of its length.

At that time my hair was about mid back length. I continued to wear my hair straight from about 15-16 years old as that was when my mum allowed me to look after my own hair which I think she still regrets as I got heat happy and was straightening it all the time – About 2/3 times a week!! So crazy!!

I never knew how to wear my hair curly as whenever I washed it,it would shrink and frizz up and I just didn’t know what to do, so I just blew it out and styled. I still wanted to wear my hair curly and visited a hair salon which at the time didn’t know really how to care for natural hair and while I was there I asked them to style it to be worn in its natural state. That was a total total fail!! Funny enough they are now a specialized natural hair salon!!

Due to straightening my hair so frequently it was breaking off badly, because all I did was add oil whenever it looked dull, greased my scalp whenever it itched and washed it whenever I felt like it! So crazy!

I decided to embark on a healthy hair journey so I googled how to grow and look after black hair and one of  Taren916 videos popped up and from then on I was hooked to youtube! The rest is hair history!!

It is amazing that you and Naomi decided to create a YouTube channel to help the UK natural hair community, what are some of the things you would like to see change in the natural hair industry in the UK?

We created our channel because majority of the channels were based in the US and not many for the UK. Our aim is to inspire and educate, we want the industry to start to acknowledge their consumers and educate about hair.

A lot of companies want to give you a quick fix or a ‘solution’ to what they think is a problem but not actually educate women on how to learn different techniques or aids that will help improve the real problem the consumer has with their hair. I know the industry wants to make money, but so much more money could be made if companies told the truth and lived by ethos that make sense!

From everything that you have learned so far what would you say is the most important piece of advice or thing that you have learned that has kept your hair healthy?

Listen to your hair and not someone else’s. We all have hair envy but a lot of people don’t know how to separate themselves from the desire of someone else’s hair. Your hair is your hair and it will only do so much or not. So learning how your hair reacts to ingredients rather than products is the key!

Now about that gorgeous color! Has it been easy to maintain the health of your hair with the color treatment? What advice do you have for someone thinking about taking the color plunge?

A lot of people are scared to color their hair because of the fear of breakage. Before you color your hair you need to understand the process of colour and dye and also learn how to moisturize your hair even more than before. Colored hair is weaker and it is harder to keep the moisture in, so you do have to adapt your routine to this and moisturize often.

I first used henna* for a natural color which only showed in the light, which annoyed me! So I got a tint and then 6 months later I bleached my hair to create an ombre effect and yes bleach can be dangerous and a lot of people are like heck nah!

However because I have learned my hair and how to moisturize it, it hasn’t broken off and continues to grow!

You have been very vocal about your feelings about weaves*, wigs* and extensions*. Do you think that wearing a weave could be considered a crutch for women who prefer not to deal with their natural hair?

I do think that is one of the reasons for some women, there are so many different reasons as to why some women wear weaves* or extensions*.  I just don’t like them, its not my preference.

You have been natural all your life and it might be easy for some to say, ‘Your journey is not as hard as mine because I just big chopped after years of using a relaxer’. What has been the hardest thing for you during your healthy hair journey and what would you say to someone with that assumption?

The hardest thing for me is routine. I am not a fan of routine at all, so adapting a hair routine has been a struggle but it is apart of healthy hair care.

A lot of people say that I can’t identify with those who used to relax their hair, which is true, I can’t! But then there are those who assume I think that I am better than others because I have never relaxed and that is not true at all.

When I was younger I couldn’t relate to anyone because majority of the girls I knew had relaxed hair so it was hard to explain my hair to others! So I guess it works both ways.

Everyone has their right to choose whatever they wish and shouldn’t be knocked for it unless it really is harmful, but I do think being natural all my life has allowed me to have a better understanding of my hair than those who may have just big chopped.

Do you have solution for single strand knots?

Single strand knots do not bother me, I have learned that they are just part of my hair, but as long as my ends are healthy I don’t have a lot of them. Sometimes they are a sign for me that I need a trim.

We loved your Vlog on the Brit Beauty Event, what was the experience like?

Brit Beauty was a great end to a weekend packed with hair events. It was amazing to meet followers and subscribers of ours because sometimes you do feel like you are talking to just the camera. It was also great to socialize with fellow bloggers who we may only know by twitter names!

Ok, we have to ask this! So here goes – If you could take one product to a deserted island what would that be and why?

Tresemme Naturals!! I can wash, condition and style with it!! Its so thick and creamy and leaves my hair so soft and luscious. Its cheap and does what it says!

What should we expect from UKnaturals in the future and where can we find you socially?

UKnaturals will be two years old on June 22nd! Which is so exciting! We have events planned towards the end of the year, which are going to be amazing!! Can’t spill anything! We also want to continue to inspire and educate our followers. We also want to do more social topic related videos. UKnaturals is our baby that is slowly becoming a toddler!! Hehe!!

You can find us on facebook, instagram, twitter and also on Youtube