Interview with the author of: “Grow It!: How to Grow Afro-Textured Hair to Maximum Lengths in the Shortest Time”

Chicoro is a long time favorite among the hair online community. Her amazing hair growth and methods have been an inspiration to many naturals, myself included. With a fotki full of amazing pictures and priceless tips, it’s no wonder that this beautiful lady has decided to share her expertise in a  book. She was gracious enough to do an interview for NewlyNatural about her upcoming book and to share a little of herself with us. (As well as some fab pics of her hair!)

Thanks, Chicoro, for the interview. I know this natural will be the first in line to grab this book up! Updated 12/18/08: The book is now available on Amazon. Click here to order.

How long have you been natural?

I left relaxed hair behind for good in April 2001. Since we are now coming up on 2009, I would say that it has been almost (8) eight years that I have been natural.

How long did you transition and what were your main styles?

Once I decided to become natural and gain length on my natural hair, I transitioned for a little over one year. I didn’t know the words “big chop” and “transition”during that time. I made a decision that I wanted my natural hair to be long enough to pull back into a pony tail at the back of my head, before I would cut off my relaxed ends. Therefore, I allowed my hair to grow to my shoulders before I snipped off the ends. The styles I wore during my transition were braids and ponytails. I have always worn my hair in these styles. I have never really liked to wear my hair loose.

Have you ever been frustrated with your hair?

Yes! My hair was gaining length, but my ends started to split. My natural hair stayed moisturized and shiny. When I straightened my hair with pressing or blow drying, my ends were always ugly and rough. My hair never had a beautiful shine and it was very unattractive to me. I was using natural products and eating well.

Have you ever at any point considered going back to relaxing?

At the initial stages, before I started getting some silkiness on my straightened hair, yes, I did consider going back to relaxing. I always thought that the best way to obtain shine on my hair was to have it bone straight, whether that be from using heat or from chemical relaxers. I later learned that the healthier your hair, the more of a sheen or shine you will have.

What made you decide to write a hair care book ?

A stylist cut my hair to my shoulders, and layered it, when I was fourteen. My hair was not in the best of health at the time, but I felt as if I had given my power away and that something had been taken away from me, without my full consent. From that day forward, I sought to gain the length back that I had lost. The stylist was the catalyst, but my hair was unhealthy because of my lack of knowledge about how to care for my hair. My hair was damaged and see-through long before the stylist cut off my length.

I disliked reading hair books that repeated the same, superficial information that told me nothing. Often times it was product centered and the whole goal was to get you to buy the products. Most often I would encounter books or articles that purported to have information about hair and then they would add the hated, “Oh, yeah…there is also a section on Ethnic hair care.” As an African American woman or a person with Afro-textured hair, my needs and the interest of my hair were always relegated to an to the obligatory mention in a book. It were as if the author felt he or she was doing me a favor by mentioning my type of hair. What is ‘ethnic hair care’ anyway? Aren’t we all a representation of some type of ethnicity, and if that is the case, why is it only mentioned when referencing a person of color? I always felt like I was the hungry person peeking into the restaurant of hair knowledge that really was not meant for me to enter and enjoy. I have always felt that most hair books were not written for me or with me in mind. Who wants to be secondary or an after thought? Not me.

Also, books geared toward afro-textured hair were often by a stylist to the stars, addressed mostly style as opposed to health, and focused on techniques that resulted in great looking hair but seemed to compromise the health of the hair.

Most importantly, no one seemed to talk about how to grow hair to longer lengths. Sure, some books talked about using certain products to grow hair. But we all know hair products come and go. What I wanted was a process, a reliable, repeatable process or method. I would always look for books that not only addressed how to gain length on our hair, but also were written by people who had used their own techniques and had long hair that I admired.

How long has “Grow it!” been in the works?

This iteration of the hair book has been in the works since December 2007. I started writing it in February 2008. I have been trying to write a hair book off and on for many years. I got a Fotki and then people started asking me for advice and for my opinion. It was at that time that I began to think that maybe I had something to add of value. It was at that time that I began to try to write in earnest.

Can you give us a breakdown of what the book is about?

Yes, the title of the book is Grow It! The subtitle is, “How to Grow Afro-Textured Hair to Maximum Lengths in the Shortest Time.” The book focuses solely on how to gain and maintain healthy, length. My goal is to get you to understand the big picture. Having long, lush beautiful afro-textured hair is a process. It is not based on finding and then applying an elusive, magical product. Great products are important and are an integral part of your process, but they are also relative. When I say the greatness of a product is relative I mean that a great product might be a $50.00 protein treatment for me. For someone else, a great product might be an .89 cent bottle of conditioner.

I provide various suggestions on what to do and what not to do to preserve the structure of your hair strands. If you understand the process of how to obtainlength on your hair, the products you need will fall into place. It is your job to find and try what products work best for your hair and for your personal style and lifestyle. Each of must be accountable and responsible for our own hair success. I have an accompanying website and of course my trusty fokti account!

We all know that hair has a life cycle. But there are certain things that we do to our hair that can expedite the damage and there are certain things we can do to minimize damaging our hair. Thus, the premise of my book is that your goal as the owner of your hair is preserve the natural structure of your hair strands, for as long as possible. If you keep this in mind every time you touch your hair, the more of a chance you have to gain longer, healthier lengths, with fewer set backs that result in having to trim away your gains in length, due to damaged ends.

What can someone who is newly natural expect to gain from reading your book?

Newly natural hair is the healthiest hair in town! It is less likely to be damaged than hair that is not newly natural. Newly natural hair is young, strong, with healthy ends. The hair strands of newly naturals has an intact structure: tight cuticles with no missing layers that capture and reflect light beautifully, no exposed cortex which splits and breaks when the cuticles are missing from it and a protected inner medulla or marrow.

If you begin to protect your hair and preserve the strands early in your journey, which describes the newly natural perfectly, you of all people will have the best opportunity to gain healthy, maximum lengths in the shortest time. Imagine, all that beautiful natural hair today, cascading down your back tomorrow! Isn’t that a gorgeous, breathtaking vision?

Any words of wisdom for my readers who are just beginning their natural journey?

Years ago during a theatrical makeup class at the University, this girl in my class made the remark that black people looked like they had pubic hair on top of their heads. I will never forget that. She was ignorant for saying it and I was ignorant for being offended by her comment. As the aforementioned comment demonstrates, our beauty may be derided by some. Who cares what she thought and others like her? It’s a waste of your precious, very limited, life energy to justify who you are to someone else.

Never forget that your natural beauty is a sought after and copied beauty, in this world. Black women, I beseech you to seek your truth. Can’t ‘nobody’ but you have a natural walk that is the standard on Parisian Haute Couture catwalks of today. Can’t ‘nobody’ but you exude a natural inner strength that immediately permeates a room the instant you step your foot into the room. Can’t ‘nobody’ but you have a natural soft, cottony patch of hair one day and corn silk like hair the next day, on the very same head.

Know that your hair journey is not a superficial endeavor. Know that changing your hair to newly natural first requires a change in your thinking. It is a paradigm shift. Know that when you set and implement your hair goals that you are goal setting. When you reach your goals, that is success!

Success is a process. Success is repeatable and can make over any and every other area of your life, including your relationships, your health and your finances. Success in one area begets success in another area. Set the groundwork and the stage to enable yourself to be empowered, by yourself, to bring out your inner greatness.

On the surface it’s about hair, but when you get down to it, it’s a journey into beautifying yourselves bit by bit, at the deepest levels. Why not start with your hair? Learn the process to achieve your hair goals and transfer that process over to other areas of your life to generate and duplicate success for yourself and others. Start with the Grow It process!

What’s your favorite thing about being natural?

My natural hair brings people together like music. Really! Beautiful healthy hair sends a universal message to onlookers. I have traveled and lived throughout Japan,Thailand, other parts of Asia, Mexico, parts of Europe the Caribbean, parts of theSouth Pacific and even on a Native American reservation in Arizona. No matter where I go, my natural hair always draws people. Whether they just stop and stare at the brilliant shine reflected by the sun onto my hair, or they are mesmerized by the way it holds a braided or twisted style, it is a great conversation piece. I can’t tell you the number of people who could barely speak English who have approached me and patted their own hair and said, “Pretty hair” as they gestured to me to get my attention. Most times those words or something similarly were also accompanied by a genuine, big wide smile. It is as if my hair actually gives people looking at it a ‘moment of pleasure’.

When can we expect “Grow it!” to be available and where can we get it?

It will be available February 2nd, 2009 on Amazon.com! If you buy a book for yourself and one for someone else, mail me the copy of the two receipts and I will send you a beauty bag for free. Shipping and handling are on me! For details, go to www.BeautifyBitByBitGi.com and look for Bag offer. Click there and follow the instructions. I appreciate you.