Name: Jennifer Juliana, Owner of MyNaturalCurls.com
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Roots: Curaçao
Age: 35
After finishing my bachelors 7 years ago, I decided that the workforce wasn’t for me and I wanted to do something on my own. At the time, I was following a lot of girls on youtube that were testing all sorts of natural hair products. All these products were not available for purchase here in the Netherlands yet. I really wanted to test those products out on my own natural hair and figured there would be more women like me. I wrote a business plan and that was the start of MyNaturalCurls. It is an e-commerce business, selling solely hair care products for curly and kinky hair.
Natural Hair Care Routine
As you can imagine I own a lot of hair products. I test everything as I am always curious to see how new products react to my natural hair. I have been natural for over 10 years. I have type 4 kinky hair. I would say somewhere between 4a-4b. My natural hair is a bit looser at the top compared to the back of my head.
I wash my hair every 5-7 days with shampoo. I am not very particular about the brands I use to wash my hair. I like to switch up my shampoos quite often, just out of curiosity really. One week I use a shampoo from Aunt Jackie’s, the next week it could be a Shea Moisture shampoo.
After washing, I use a conditioner to detangle my natural hair. Oddly enough, the conditioner that I really, really love is a conditioner called HisMix. It is from the male line of MixedChicks. It has a lot of slip and makes it easy to get through my hair, as my natural hair is naturally very dense and thick. I use a tangle teezer or shower comb to detangle. After that, I use a leave in conditioner. I love very thick leave in conditioners, like the Sheamoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Conditioner. I slap a generous amount on my head and use my hands to rake the product through my hair. I don’t really use gels. I just let the leave-in conditioner dry naturally and then I am ready to go.
Once every two weeks I use the Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment in my hair for extra moisture. If I have time, I’ll leave it in overnight and rinse it out the next day. I recently started using rice water too. I just make it myself from organic brown rice. I shower my hair with rice water and put the deep conditioner on top of it.
I like to give my natural hair a break every once in a while, especially in winter as it tends to get really cold here in the Netherlands during that time. My favourite protective hairstyles are clip-ins for natural hair, a natural hair wig or box braids. I don’t really do twist-outs or braids-outs, because they take too much time.
Hmmm, if I could only bring one product with me on holiday, it would be coconut oil.
Skin Care Routine
I have a very difficult skin, so I don’t like to test many products on my skin. My skin breaks out easily, so I try to stick to the knowns as much as I can. I had to search very long and hard for products that play well with my skin and now that I found them, I tend to stick with them. I wash my face daily with Aleppo soap, a gentle soap with 40% laurel berry oil. After that, I use Avene Hydrance Optimale to moisturize my face. It has an SPF of 20. Their products are specifically made for sensitive skin and I have been using this particular moisturizer for years. For my night time routine, I use the Avene Compensating Cream, another staple that I have been using for years. I like to stick to simple skin care routines. I noticed that my skin doesn’t break out as much and stays smooth.
I recently started using some products by GlowRecipe. I have always had an interest in Korean skin care products and I really love their Vitamin A and Vitamin C serums. I use them to combat my hyperpigmentation, something I have been struggling with for years. I use a few drops of Vitamin A serum in my night time moisturizer and mix the Vitamin C serum with my daytime moisturizer.
Make-Up
My day-to-day make-up routine is pretty straightforward. I use the M.A.C compact powder NC55, black mascara and a lightly pigmented lip gloss by Yves Rocher. If I have a party or an event to attend, I’ll do a bit more. I’ll put on a bronzer, for extra glow. I’ll finish off with a blue or green eyeliner and a bold red matte lipstick. The Harlow Red Art Stick by Bobby Brown is one of my faves.