My Own Blog Feature

So I submitted a little reveiw thing to be featured on OnyxRose's blog. I thought may be I should just post it up on mine too. Here goes:


Name and where are you from?
Hello!! My name is Ariel Jones. I am from a small town in Cecil County, MD. Not the most interesting place but it's home

Random fun fact about yourself?
I Love Marching Band: particularly Color guard. Flag/rifle line is my love even though I won't be returning to it next semester.

What inspired you to go natural?
Originally I was tired of the hassle of getting relaxers. When I went to away to college, I had no idea where to go and I also had no money. So July marked my last perm ever! I met my mentor through color guard and always thought she had a relaxer and she swore she was completely natural: meeting her was my mom's reason to make me stop. Eventually, throughout my transition I researched the chemical damage done by relaxers and the absolute beauty of natural curls and kinks, and fully embraced the oncoming change.
My big sister went natural a while before I did and she has been the biggest form of support by giving me blogs, advice, and encouragement! Love Ya Jazz!!

How long did you transition/Describe your transitioning experience.
I transitioned for 10 months; I count from July, that’s the month of my last relaxer. Since I went into this with NO help or research, it’s a wonder I kept up with it. I treated my hair the same exact way if I had a perm: HEAT. Around December I had enough growth to hold in some braids, I kept getting them until I left school in May. The braids helped keep my hands and heat away from the delicate new growth. I BC’d May 28, 2010!

What do you love about your natural hair?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my curl pattern!! I thank God for my curls. While transitioning the little curlies at the base of my neck gave me a peep at what was to be around my whole head; that kept me encouraged. I hear from many people that after BC’ing their curl pattern hides for a while. My curls popped the moment my stylist put water thru my new TWA. That’s when I knew this was “IT”.

What's one natural hair myth you wish would die?
I honestly haven’t personally had to square up with one of these myths. Of all the ones I have seen, my hair doesn’t match any of them, especially the myth that natural hair isn’t manageable. Of course I can really only speak for myself but I work diligently on keeping up my hair and I have found products and a routine that my hair responds very well to. Ohh and black hair CAN (properly) be washed frequently. It is not dirty, I co-wash my hair just about 6x a week and its healthy and growing.

Has your natural hair changed how you view yourself?
This natural hair journey I would say is helping me discover what Ariel looks like. This may sound strange but for someone who has constantly struggled with her identity and confidence, unveiling my natural curls and being hugely satisfied is an enormous breakthrough. I go to the mirror, see myself smile and say, “Yes, this is what I’ve been waiting to see.”


Name your top three hair products and what you like about them.
1.)Vegetable Glycerin: I do a 1:1 ratio of glycerin and water with some peppermint essential oil. Its summertime and throughout the day my hair would feel like a steel wool. I even use it before bed and I wake up with soft hair! LOVE IT!
2.)Bed Head Moisture Manic Conditioner: I use this to co-wash and DC with honey. It smells really great; it doesn’t contain –cones, PEG, PPG, sulfates etc, and leaves my hair feeling soft.
3.)Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner: I’ve had this product for months, and even used it on my transitioning hair. It smells very nice and my hair instantly gets soft and super manageable. With a little water, curls come out to play.

What advice do you have for those thinking about transitioning?
Do Research and ask around!! I can’t stress that enough. I even got to the point I would stop random people shopping if I really liked their hair. You will need to find new products and methods to help you with this experience you cannot treat natural hair as you do relaxed hair; they’re chemically two different things. Doing research, I found was super easy. Natural sistas are NOT hard to find. They’re proud and love giving information. #naturalhair on twitter was my first group, then youtube, then blogging helped. Once you find something that works, write it down to avoid product junkyism. Then you will be on your way to sharing your own discoveries.

Where can people find you online?
Well you can follow me on twitter:
I also have a budding flirtation with blogging. I don’t really have a solid grip on how to use it yet: