Hey people!
Guess who's finally done with her exams - Me! and guess who finally got to interview a curly guy - Me! :)
Okay! So this is Aaron. I stumbled onto one of his YouTube videos a few weeks ago and had to interview him for this blog. I was glad that he agreed to do the interview. So, without further ado, here i is:
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Tell us a little about yourself.
Hey everyone so, my name is Aaron Harris and I'm 20 years old I am originally from Detroit but I've been in Atlanta since I was about 10. I grew up wanting to be a professional tennis player, but over the last two years I've found a newfound passion for acting and music. I am a senior in college majoring in software development and I want to move to L.A. probably in 2017 or so. My free time consists of acting classes, writing music, staying in shape, hanging out with people with good energy (very important) among many various other things.
When did you start your hair journey?
I started my junior year of high school in 2011, but I recently got 90% of my hair cut off last year for a acting gig. I regret doing it to be honest. I've been growing my hair out 4 years total but my hair length now is about 15 months of growth
What motivated you to want to take better care of your hair and to grow it out?
Not sure what totally sparked me growing out my hair, but I remember I was in high school and I had two brothers so it was expensive for us to get haircuts every week like most guys do, so we would often get ours cut once every 1-2 months and i remember this girl I liked said she liked my mini fro and I really liked it too so I just kept it. It's weird cause now I can't even see myself getting another haircut again
How did your family and friends react to the idea of you wanting to do this with your hair?
My mom and dad didn't like me growing out my hair at all for the fear of me looking unkempt and thuggish. I remember at one point my mom threatened to ground me if i didn't cut my hair. I don't think my Dad liked it either because he would always ask me if I wanted to go to the barbershop with him LOL. My friends loved my hair and thought it fit my personality well and so did I. Of course I got teased by a couple of people in high school but I think deep down they were jealous they didn't have the courage to grow their hair out
What has your hair journey been like so far?
Really good, I feel like a different person since I started growing out my hair. I don't think the hair is the reason I changed, but I believe it was the start of me doing what I want to do regardless of what my parents, and friends thought. So it's kind of empowering in a way
What is your daily hair regimen (including your night-time routine)?
My daily hair regimen is a wash and go. I was doing the max hydration method for a while, but I've modified it to fit my needs. I wash my hair every 2-3 days with bentonite clay/ACV then finger detangle with conditioner and then put gel on my hair in sections. I don't really have a night time routine, I just sleep on a satin pillowcase. In between the days I wash my hair I use a spray bottle with water to spray my hair every morning.
What are your go-to hairstyles, which is your fav. and how do you achieve it?
Like I said earlier, wash and goes all day. I tried twist outs 2-3 years ago and hated how they looked and they took forever. Sometimes I'll put my hair in a ponytail if I'm playing sports but I try not to do that often because wearing ponytails all the time I heard can cause breakage.
What are your must-have hair tools?
Hair bands for sectioning hair. I dont use a lot of tools
How do you deal with hair issues such as: breakage, length retention and moisture?
I think properly moisturizing your hair will give you length retention and stop breakage. So I make sure to wet my hair 3-4x a week in the shower and the days I don't wet my hair in the shower I spray it with water from my spray bottle. I know a lot of naturals can be obsessed over length retention and stuff, but I think its also important to have a simple regimen that you doesn't feel like a lot of "work".
What products do you currently use, and how are they working for you?
I use bentonite clay and ACV for cleansing, Tresemmé Perfectly UnDone Conditioner for detangling/conditioning and I'm currently experimenting with a bunch of gels (sweet soul magic curl stimulator, AS I am curling jelly, my own homemade gel, etc) I don't like to use a lot of products.
Hand-In-Hair syndrome - an issue I have had for some years now, only that....it's not my hand. Do you have this issue? Do people ask before touching your hair or do they just randomly reach out and touch (or grab) it? How does this make you feel? What is your reaction to this?
Yeah I've had some people do this to me. Mostly some of my friends. I've never had a stranger touch my hair without asking. My friends will touch my hair without asking and then realize I have product in my hair and try to rub it off on my clothes. I get really irritated by this because for one you didn't ask to touch my hair and two you are staining my clothes. Once I have a conversation with them they understand and normally don't do it again.
What do you love the most about being naturally curly?
I love how curly hair is so unique and everyone's curls are different.
Any advice for the natural teens, parents, kids and grandparents?
My advice for naturals would be to keep it simple and let your hair do its thing. Find people with similar hair characteristics (porosity, length, texture) and do what they do
What resources (tailored to men) did you use when you started your hair journey? I know there aren't that many out there so, let's support the few that are.
Oh this is a really good question, to be honest there weren't many male Youtubers doing natural hair videos when I first started in 2011 so most of the stuff I learned was from female Youtubers. I remember searching for male natural hair videos and all I could find was like texturizer videos and how to get 360 waves and stuff which wasn't really what I was looking for. At the end of the day natural hair is natural hair regardless if its on a female or male so I think men can learn from both sexes regarding natural hair. Some good Youtubers I like are MahoganyCurls, ThaKidPuma, Quest for the Perfect Curl, DanabNatural, theres a long list of Youtubers that I've watched over the past 4 years and they all have good hair practices. I take certain things from each Youtuber that works for my hair type and toss the things that I don't. Theres a lot of experimentation I do and still am doing.
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You can find Aaron on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Just click on the following links:
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