Dalal is a curly travel blogger and young aspiring global citizen living in Morocco. Her blog www.justdalal.com covers all the aspects of her life as she figures “why choose?” The main topics she covers include: travel, food, fashion, lifestyle, business tips and digital marketing. Below she shares how she keeps her hair looking so great and how others around the world reach to her big fro…
1. Why did you go natural? How long have you been natural?
I felt the need to straighten my hair in my first corporate job. The wake up call to go back to natural, was after a catastrophic experience with the a well known hair relaxer, where my hair was so damaged that I had to chop it off.
2. Can you summarize your current hair regimen?
I finally understood that curly hair, being on the dry side definitely do not need as much shampoo as straight hair. I am Moroccan, so before the shampoo session, I apply a natural argan oil mask that I leave on my hair for hours.
I use shampoo once a week but I apply it twice. Right after I use a conditioner that I leave for at least 15 min. The brands don’t matter, but I try to choose clean products more on the natural side: silicon free, paraben free and with ingredients that I can understand.
After the shampoo I apply natural shea butter and I fix the moisture in my hair with a glycerin cream.
3. What are your staple hair products? Which could you not live without and why?!
It may sound weird, but Glysolid (glycerin petrol based cream) is my favourite styling product. I use it on a daily basis either on a wet hair or a damp hair.It’s the only hair product that I travel with… in case I don’t find it.
Otherwise: Argan oil and shea butter are a must in my vanity. Coconut oil on the split ends, but I find that it dries my hair even more sometimes.
4. As a blogger/YouTuber do you feel pressure to always have your hair perfect?!
Yes, in my weak moments! But I am 30 years old, I believe that it’s the age of acceptance and I learnt to appreciate my hair in all its crazy states. While for a photoshoot I would do the extra effort, I tend to be more spontaneous on my Instagram stories for example. And I feel that I owe it to my audience!
5. Why did you decide to leave your 9-5 job and blog full-time?
Because I’ve always wanted to pursue a creative path and explore the world. We are blessed that we live in an era where you can make your own job, with your own terms, you just need to be bold and disciplined enough to pursue it. It’s definitely not easy, at least not as easy as I expected.
I also have a videographer husband, so we can finally work together and it helps to have a partner in this kind of crazy adventures. But the real reason is, that I can finally be myself and stay true myself, chose the people that i do business and build honest and win-win work relationships.
6. Who is your celeb curl crush?
In the blogging world: Sunkiss Alba, with no hesitation!
7. For many naturals it’s a journey to fully understand their hair. It’s a process of trial and error. What was your “Curls Understood” moment (the moment you felt like, “I’ve got this!” or any essential advice you wish you had known at the beginning of your hair journey)?
Definitely, I spent my younger years wondering why the hair tips in the magazines didn’t work for me. There was something wrong with my hair, I thought. And boy was I mistaken! Those magazines were simply addressing only ONE hair type, and when they did address curly hair they didn’t give the right tips nor have the expertise for it.
My first AHA moment was discovering that I had curly hair, and that it was a hair type and not a flaw. It may sound stupid, but it’s life-changing. Because my curly ladies know that, the more you want to tame your curly hair the more it rebels.
Learning that, the two the most important curly hair rules for me are:
1. Always air dry your curly hair.
2. Never brush it when it’s dry, unless you want a high fashion Zendaya look, but it’s not easy to pull off on a daily basis. How I wish that someone told me that back then.
Coming from Morocco, an African country, you would think that we accept curly hair and have the expertise for it. Well my hair was more appreciated in western countries than in my own! The only expertise that Moroccan women and hairdressers have is how to straighten and stifle curly hair.
Even now, when I go to my hairdresser, I feel the need to show him a picture of a celebrity with big hair, explaining that this is how I wear my hair. Dear hairdresser, I also never blow dry it so deal with that please and stop suggesting relaxing products. Thank you!
See more of Delal…
Site: www.justdalal.com
Instagram: @_justdalal_
Facebook: justdalal
Twitter: @justdalalblog
Pinterest: justdalalblog
