1. Introduce yourself.
My name is Melissa Dian Chapman. I’m 27 years old and I live in Dallas, Texas.
2. What made you want to go natural?
I decided to go natural upon graduating college. I felt as if I had completed the demands placed on me by my parents and I wanted to live a life that was truly my own. Part of this transformation included chopping off my very long relaxed hair so I could return to my hair’s natural curl pattern. To me, it symbolized shedding the need for conformity and appearances, which my “free-spirit” always found very restrictive.
3. Describe your hair.
My journey has been 6 years and I have had quite a few styles. My individual hairs are pretty fine, but lock into thick, springy, coils that relax into larger coils.
4. Give us your routine and the products you use.
I have a product line called idl.chapman. I wash about once a week using my Complete Wash, a glycerin soap, then spray a Leave-In-Conditioner spray made of rosewater and coconut oil. I always scrunch dry with a cut-up t-shirt, then wrap my hair in this “gentle towel” for 1- 3 hours to allow the oils to sink in and moisturize my entire hair shaft. At times, I will add other oils to the LIC Spray for greater conditioning effects (a practice I adopted from you, Marenna, about 3 years ago!) I use the Curl Refreshing Spray, also made of rosewater and a lesser concentration of oils, daily to refresh my curls and continually condition until my next wash. Once every couple of months, I deep condition with olive oil, combing the oil through my wet, unwashed, hair, then partitioning my hair into pin-curls to let the oil sit for at least 4 hours. I then wash with my Complete Wash and follow with my LIC Spray.
5. How has the journey been? What have been people’s (workplace/friends/significant other) reactions?
In cutting my hair, I don’t think it was called the “big chop” back then. If it was, I unaware. It was an extremely personal choice and upon moving to Washington, DC, I later stumbled upon the “Natural Hair Movement” and learned of others sharing their journeys. Sharing in others’ journeys had profound impact on my life — encouraging me to continue down a path of self-love and lead others in the same. Many coworkers, friends, and family members began to consult with me about their potential decisions to go natural. Some were very nervous because they also came from very conservative cities and families — and others because they thought it wouldn’t look good with their head shape!. I am from Dallas, and my father is from the midwest. All of the women in his family have long, strong, hair, so he didn’t want to see my haircut and told me a woman’s beauty is in her hair. That helped me resolve even stronger to move to DC and not back to Texas. I felt I needed space to find myself away from that type of mindset. It was great to be in DC as I grew out my hair. I’m glad a few close friends and family members shared with me that they gained the confidence to wear their hair naturally, partially because of my example, their conversations with me, and my natural hair consultations.
6. What do you love most about being natural? What do you like least?
I played around with some edgy haircuts, such as mohawks and even some color, for 2 years before I started to grow it out long for good. It grows pretty fast, so I was still able to experiment with some fun cuts, as well as see my hair in afros and in straight styles. I love the versatility of my hair in its natural state — it wasn’t so versatile when relaxed! I hate those days, once a week, when I have to comb out the tangles that result from a week of just refreshing and scrunching. But I love when it’s untangled and pretty!
7. What advice would you give someone who wants to go natural?
I have two pieces of advice: (1) Be sure its for you, and not for others. Some women tried to convince me years before I was ready to even consider not wearing my hair relaxed that I should cut it, but I knew I would be confused by that decision, since I thought it was their opinion of how I would look, rather than an intrinsically motivated decision; and (2) Have fun with it! you may never grow it out. You may grow it out immediately. You might like the bedhead look, you might like going to the salon every week to have it washed. I think going natural is about self expression, so express yourself, girlfriend! There is no “right way” to be natural.
8. Where can we find you?
I am building my cosmetics line, engaging in activist work, and I release podcasts, reports, fiction and essays here:
andulkaphoto
areudirty
pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
vaporwave
yousharknotpass
kianamaiart
2087
annaxmalina
