About me...My name is Rachel, also known as Curlyt00 on the web. I am 24 (soon to be 25 in November) and I am a natural hair lover, I love everything about natural hair, the good and the bad. I am a Christian, a wife of 4 years, soon to be 5 in May, a student, an aspiring author, a self proclaim natural hair guru =). I am the founder of "www.natural-beauty-01.com"and the Naturally Beautiful Tips blog at "blog.natural-beauty-01.com". I enjoy life and continue to encourage others to enjoy it as well, one day at a time! I live in the sunshine state of Florida where natural hair is all around here. It seems that before I went natural I did not see many naturals, but now that I am conscience and aware, I see natural beauties everyday here. From big afros, to TWAs and from locks to buns, Florida is definitely on the map.

When and why did you decide to go natural? I went natural and did the BC on December 31 2008, after 3 months of transitioning. After seeing another natural beauty with long curly hair, I wondered what my natural hair would look like. So the next day at work I googled the "whole day" researching natural hair. I had just had a relaxer that burnt my scalp but I thought that was normal and I just had a sensitive scalp ya know. So Labor Day weekend 2008 was my last relaxer and then the journey begun. By the end of the year, I just could not wait any longer and said I would start new for the New Year. Never before had I had short short hair, but for some reason I was not afraid. Working with two textures was not easy for me and I researched more on how to care for natural hair verses caring for transitioning hair. Running my fingers through my roots and feeling what I thought was wavy hair; I was too excited to see. I don’t really remember my hair as a child before relaxers so it was a mystery for me. But I was ready, willing, and able to learn.

Were your friends and family supportive of your decision? If not, how were you able to move forward? My family and friends was very supportive. I have even inspired four of my friends to start their journey. My husband is my biggest fan, and a natural hair lover himself. When I did the big chop he knew it was coming but he was just as shock as I was, for a day or two he would say, "it looks good, just need to take some getting use to" after a few days he was hooked. I was hooked from day one so I am not really sure how I would have taken it if others didn’t like it, because I had fell in love from the moment I saw my first kink!

Describe your hair routine. I keep my current hair routine simple. Once I find something that works I am good. Every once in a while I will go out and try something new but my routine is to co wash only with suave naturals conditioner (cheap and durable, very moisturizing), I do not use shampoos at all. I am not against shampoos as long as it does not contain sulfates but I just don’t use them. I will detangle in the shower with my shower comb (usually one to three times a week depending on the style upkeep I have in my hair) I love to feel the water run through my hair, then after my hair is fully detangled I rinse, put in a leave in conditioner (Shea moisture leave in, hemp seed butter, Shea butter, mango butter, curl activator (depending on the style I am going to wear) and style my hair in a protective style, such as twists, twist outs and buns. I don’t not wear my hair out in a wash and go a lot anymore because of the tangles, but I will wear my hair out stretched in a twist out or braid out. Once a month I will do a rhassoul clay mask treatment and deep condition. I always wear satin to sleep in, whether it is a scarf or a bonnet.

What are your hair goals and what steps are you taking to achieve them? I have a few goals left for my natural hair, although one goal reached for me was to obtain a full pony. Once I got there I was satisfied with length. While I am not so length obsessed now, I would like to reach waist length one day. My main goal is to have healthy, reserved hair. That’s it!! I am trimming when needed, keeping my hair moisturized and hydrated and protecting it from over styling and the environment.

What's your favorite go to natural hair style? My favorite go to style at the moment is the small twist, only because it is protective and I can wear them up off of the material on my clothes and they do not take long to do (small ones not the mini and micros). I can get two styles out of them also. For a few days I can wear twist then a stretched twist out and then detangling is easy and I can co wash and do them over. I usually do my whole wash routine and section my hair in four sections and put my leave in on and use my Denman brush and give it one last detangling brush on wet hair and I sit in front of TV and twist, no comb no parts. I seal the ends with pure virgin coconut oil and I go, a few days later I just UN ravel and fluff and go =) I use to love love love wavy buns when I could first get a decent bun, but that lasted a few months and I do mini twist when I need a break from my hair for a month on blow dried stretched hair.

Curly girls have more fun because...we are versatile and you cannot put us in a box. With our hair the possibilities are endless an inspiring to others! Oh yeah and we don’t run from water =)