Recently, I had my very first appointment at the Ouidad Flagship Salon in Santa Monica, California. I was so excited to take my mom with me to the home of The Curl Experts. After all, there isn’t anyone who has been more invested in my hair than she has!

I guess I should start at the beginning….

My mom has never had a hair out of place and made sure mine was perfectly braided with the cutest accessories as well…check out the matching floral hair embellishments!!

Mom and I in Hawaii!

But that all changed the day I embraced my lioness mane at just 8 years old after a day of swimming. That day my mom hadn’t yet gotten her hands on it to “tame” the “beast”. It was sooo big and fabulous!! I just stared at myself in the mirror and saw my mom’s favorite superstar – Diana Ross! It was the first time I’d seen my hair that way and I was relishing the moment, pretending I was Diana, posing, singing and feeling it!! That was the day I fell in love with my big natural hair AND the day my mother thought it was time I get a perm!!!

You see, my mom and I had a lot of hot topics but the hottest of them all was my Do’!!! She historically disapproved of how I rocked it…I unapologetically let my hair fly free which was totally counter to how she liked to wear hers.

So it was right on time when I was invited on the Today Show to sit on the couch with the coolest “TV Chick” working today… Meredith Vieira!!  The topic?  “Mothers and Daughters Friends or Frenemies?”

On set with “The Doctors” Wendy Walsh and Meredith!!

 

I thought ha…this is my mom’s worst nightmare!!  I truly believe Mothers and daughters are the most complicated yet rewarding relationship on Gods beautiful earth. Holla!!

And right after that discussion, they asked me “Why are women so obsessed with their HAIR?”  Could it be? My two biggest topics for me to talk about in front of millions of people? Someone was calling for me to come to peace with these issues!

The journey to becoming “Friends” with my mom and her acceptance of our natural hair has taken a long time and we have organically come full circle. Today my mom loves to give me every new curly hair product she comes across and because of her I’ve become quite the connoisseur of natural hair recipes.

So that brings me back to the how & why she HAD to come along to evaluate my first Ouidad experience.

We walked into this sleek and warm studio and met my lovely stylist Kate Scott. The process was so simple & painless! After washing my hair with the Curl Quencher Moisturizing Shampoo , she sat me down and said she was going to do the Ouidad technique called the “Rake and Shake”!!

I thought, “whatever it is, it sounds like a dance my hair wants to do!”  Kate separated my hair into small sections then isolated a hand full of hair which she coated with Curl Quencher Moisturizing Styling Gel, then added a second layer of the Moisture Lock Leave-In Conditioner.  For the Rake and Shake, you hold a section of hair in your left hand and with your right hand, you rake through your hair from root to tip while shaking your hand from right to left stimulating your wave pattern. It eliminated frizz and every curl was sprung!

My mom’s pic of me in the Ouidad chair – check out the back of my head in the mirror’s reflection. It’s beautiful!

Now let it dry…don’t lay one finger on it.

Thennn FLUFF!!!!

I loved it and it’s mother approved:)

 

- Tanika