Simbi and I first met when we were much younger. However, after she moved, we hadn't contacted each other till this summer. I am glad we're in touch now.
Simbi is an inspiring young lady (I say that like we're not the same age!) and I'm glad that I got the chance to interview her for this blog.
Check out her out online! All her links are at the end of this interview!
I hope you enjoy this reading this interview!
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Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm Simbi Akanni, an 18 year-old student and Christian blogger! I was born in New York, raised in Nigeria and now I'm back here in NY for as long as God desires. In addition to that, I'm a sister to 3 handsome brothers and 1 loving sister. I've been blessed with an amazing family!
In my spare time, I blog, edit films and videos (yes, I'm a Nikon and Final Cut Pro X girl), I love dancing, singing and frolicking around in pretty dresses with sunflowers in my hair. That's a bit about myself for now! Thanks for having me on your blog today.
How long have you been natural?
Oh man, I've been natural since 2009. That's 6 years now! Wooh!
When did you get your first relaxer and why did you get it?
Here's my little relaxer story (according to my mom!) I had just moved to Nigeria and I was about 5 or 6 years old. The hairdressers and my mom constantly complained that my hair was too "hard", it cut their fingers and all the other regular unkept natural hair problems. Therefore, momma put a relaxer in my hair. She regretted it though, because my natural hair was really long and cute. It was what I had been known for.
What made you decide to go natural?
When I moved back to america, I just decided to stop relaxing my hair. If I remember clearly, my hair had been breaking off and I decided I wanted it to grow. So I transitioned from 2009.
How did your family and friends react to the idea of you going natural?
No one really knew because I always had a protective style in. I would wear braids and weaves back to back (drake reference, did you catch it? no? ok) but leave my hair out for a week or just the weekend.
What's your hair journey been like so far (and how has it changed your perception on some things)?
My hair journey has been awesome. Most girls want long hair and that was my goal for a while. Now, I focus more on healthy and bouncy curls as opposed to length. I'm also getting more comfortable with wearing my hair out. I never knew how to style it so I would always hide it, but thank God for YouTube! I've grown to love my kinks/curls/fro, whatever you call it.
What is your daily hair regimen (including your night-time routine)?
When my hair isn't in a protective style, my go-to hairstyle is a braid out/high-puff. I spritz some water on my hair, apply some of my shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie and put about 9 single braids in. Then in the morning, I unravel the braids and voila! However, if I have more time, I love doing flat twist outs with perm rods at the end. Those usually come out looking pretty dope!
Do you think you might be changing or incorporating new things to your regimen soon? If so, what do you have in mind?
Not really, my regimen works for me. It also matches my lifestyle. I'm always on-the-go so I need a quick and easy regimen that doesn't take up too much time. Although, if I were to change my regimen, I'd probably be a bit more consistent with my protein treatments and just treating my hair in general. Laziness is an underlying theme lol!
What are your go-to hairstyles, which is your fav. and how do you achieve it?
I think I may have answered this in a previous question but to recap; my go-to is a quick braidout. My fave is my flat twist out with perm rods at the end. I tried a bantu knot out a while back and I was pretty disappointed but i'm actually giving it another shot tonight, so we'll see how that goes. (update: it came out looking great)
What are your must-have hair accessories and tools?
For about a week now, I've been rocking a high puff. So in this case, it's a wide tooth comb, my hands and the stockings I use to tie my hair up.
How do you deal with hair issues such as: breakage, shrinkage, length retention and moisture?
Shrinkage is beautiful! Let's accept it and not see it as an issue. But to answer the question, I put a few braids, twists, bantu knots (or something) in my hair every night before I sleep. I try to keep my hair stretched as much as possible because that hang time is beautiful too!
As far as breakage, oh gosh, I deal with this so much. Most of my breakage results from super tight braid patterns under my weaves. I literally have patches of broken off hair because of this and it sucks. However, I'm now enforcing less tension in my hair routines and hair styles, keeping my hair soft and making sure I deep condition (or do a protein treatment every now and then). Let's see how it'll work out.
Length retention- I'm not afraid to trim my dead ends, cut off a few inches and allow my hair to grow back healthier. Protective styles are also really good for length retention and growth (braids, weaves etc)
Moisture- This is tough to keep up with when my hair is in a protective style, but when it isn't, I'm usually really good with moisturizing my hair. I love to use the l.o.c. (liquid, oil, then cream) method. For that, I use water, coconut oil and my shea moisture curl enhancing smothie.
What products do you currently use, and how are they working for you?
Currently, I'm loving my shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie, extra virgin coconut oil, creme of nature moisture & shine argan oil shampoo, shea moisture restorative conditioner and my home-made deep conditioner.
Hand-In-Hair syndrome. 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?
I love hair, so my hands are always in other people's hair (sorry guys). I also really like when people play with my hair, as long as they aren't messing up my hairstyle, we're good! No one has ever just reached out to touch my hair without my consent though.
What do you love the most about being naturally curly?
Being naturally curly gives me so much variation. Because of the way my hair is, I can do so many different styles. One day it's straight, the next it's an afro, the next it's just huge. Curls are so beautiful and I would never trade them for anything. It's not all beautiful because sometime's it's just outright tough, but believe it or not, it's like a relationship. You don't love bae every day. lol.
Any advice for the natural teens, parents, kids and grandparents?
Teens - Don't get pressured into thinking your kinks and curls aren't beautiful. You are set apart. God created you in His image, which is ultimate perfection! Whatever hair texture you have, what makes it beautiful is that it's yours. No one can ever take that away from you.
Parents- Tell you daughters how beautiful they are. Give them the affirmation they need. Your words mean the world to them. I walk around with a mantra that goes "Momma said I'm beautiful, so that means, I'm beautiful and I don't have to wait for anyone else to say it."
Where can we find you online?
You can find me at www.SimSpirituallyInspired.com. I upload blog posts every Sunday! It get's really personal on my blog, so please join the ride.
YouTube- SimInspired. I have a couple of videos on there
Instagram - @Sim_Inspired
And, that's all I have! <3
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