Canadian Vlogger Series: Samantha Gomez

Samantha Gomez

The beautiful Ms. Samantha Gomez is a Canadian natural hair blogger, with an accumulation of knowledge and experience acquired over the years. Samantha has been natural for the past six years. Her journey began in January of 2009 when she first "big chopped" (cut off all her permed ends). After wearing her hair in its natural state for many years, she decided yet again, to do a second "big chop" in May of 2014.

"This journey has been so amazing and I wish I would have embraced my natural hair texture sooner" are thoughts written in her mini biography. "Though I love trying twists and braid outs, my go to style is definitely a 'wash and go' (an easy style that allows one to wash their hair, style, and wear their natural curls in a defined state as it dries throughout the day. This style consumes less time as it does not require added manipulation of hair tools, but instead allows the individual to "go" once washed)".

Her Youtube Channel also features health, fashion, and lifestyle vlogs. The following will discuss our favourite photos and videos featuring Samantha Gomez.


Videos:

"Natural Hair| Why I Went Natural"

We love this video explanation by Samantha about why she returned to natural. She reveals a powerful message that needs to be heard in this video. She mentions an honest account of her feelings about a "straight-haired society" and moves on to voicing an appreciation of her natural roots instead. She, like many other naturals, has decided to go against the mainstream society, and dare to be different. Natural hair is beautiful and this video about why Samantha returned, is necessary for all to see.


"Big first day hair- Wash- N- Go"

This video is definitely one of our favourites by Samantha. This is her proclaimed signature style and we can see why!! The definition of curls that she manages to achieve in this style is unmatched. The combination of products and tools is also something great to behold. She showcases the diffusing method, which we find to be a great choice for naturals wishing to achieve this style. Samantha definitely is a "wash and go" champion! We are delighted to be showcasing this video on our blog page.

Photos

We love this photo! It showcases Samantha wearing beautiful Havana twists. These twists are known to be chunkier in size, which makes them easier to install. We love the way Samantha placed the twists into a beautiful high bun, demonstrating Samantha's versatility and creativity in styling.


Photo from the London Ivy Products Shoot
Photographer: Andre M @andre_m_photography

Here is another amazing shot of Samantha rocking her natural curls. She is certainly getting "her model on". She is a great representation of us naturals in Canada. She is not afraid to be herself and wear  kinks and coils in all its glory. This photo is fierce!

Samantha Gomez Information:
Instagram: @ImSamanthaGomez
Facebook: @ImSamanthaGomez
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ImSamanthaGomez
Twitter: @ImSamanthaGomez
Email: info@samanthagomez.com


It was our pleasure to feature Ms. Samantha Gomez on this series. Please stay tuned for our next Vlogger feature.

Thank you for continuing to read our blogs.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

Canadian Vloggers Series: Natural Neiicey

Natural Neiicey

The beautiful Ms. Shaneice Parkin, widely known as Natural Neiicey, is a world renown hair Naturalist and beauty Vlogger. She is a highly popular social media presence and an inspirational fashion icon. Natural Neiicey is a successful, young, black woman who has made the decision to embrace her beauty and curls, despite oppressive definitions of beauty portrayed through media outlets.

Natural Neiicey is a profound Canadian social media presence. She is an amazing representative of the Natural Hair community in Canada, and we are excited to be featuring her on our Canadian Vloggers series.
The following, will discuss our favourite photos and videos featuring Natural Neiicey...

Videos

"Perfect Chunky Side Flat Twist Out"

We absolutely love this video! Why? This video provides a unique styling option for a flat twist out. We love the idea of flat twisting the hair to the side which makes it easier for the hair to be styled to the side with ease. We also love the definition of her curls, and the styling product combination for the final results. Two thumbs up for this video. Ps. Aaliyah is super cute.



"Springy Spiral Curls with Flexi-Rods"

This is another amazing tutorial video by Natural Neiicey. We love this video for many reasons. Firstly, this video showcases her amazing ombre colour. We love the way the curls allow the colour to pop and provide visual interest to the style. Secondly, we love this video because it showcases another achievable style with the aid of flexi-rods. These rods have become extremely popular in the natural hair world, and we love the way she utilizes them to achieve this style. Finally, we love this video because she uses another amazing hair product provider, and showcases how to use their products successfully in this video. Two thumbs up for another amazing video.

Photos

Photo from the "The Beauty of Kinky Hair Realized" shoot in Canada

Photographer: Kelvin Bullock +Kelvin Bulluck 

What can we say about this photo? Natural Neiicey looks absolutely stunning. This is certainly one of our favourite photos.

We love this photo because it showcases another popular style. This protective bun is worn beautifully by Natural Neiicey.

Natural Neiicey Information:
Instagram: @naturalneiicey
Facebook: Natural'Neiicey Parkin
Youtube: NaturalNeiicey
Email: shaneiceparkin@gmail.com



It was our pleasure to feature Ms. Natural Neiicey on this series. Please stay tuned for our next Vlogger feature.

Thank you for continuing to read our blogs.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

Natural Hair Salons and Stylists in Canada (part 2)

Here is part two of our series on salons and stylists in Canada...

Studio 86

186 Davenport Road
Toronto, Ontario
M5R 1J2
(647) 745- 5355

Studio 86 is a progressive Toronto hair salon located at Avenue and Davenport in Yorkville. They style all hair types and textures, but specialize in natural hair. Their salon opened in 2013 and features their talented stylists who have over 10 years of experience. They are an appointment only salon, which ensures that their clients are serviced in a timely manner. Check out their website for expert tips and advice on styling natural hair at studio86salon.com.

Specialties:
1. Natural hair styling: blowouts, braids, conditioning treatments and more
2. Other services: weaves, colour, cuts, bridal do's and more.

Curl Bar

33 Sherbourne Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 4J4
(416) 777- 2875 (CURL)

Curl Bar is a downtown Toronto salon helping women embrace and love their natural hair textures. Their priority is to promote strong, healthy, hair. They teach their clients how to care for their curls, coils, and kinks. Transitioning, newbie or seasoned natural? You will leave the salon equipped with the knowledge and tips to guide you on your journey to healthy natural hair. Check out their website at www.curlbar.ca for more details.

Specialties:
1.Curly cuts: Cuts for different hair lengths and curl diversities (for both men and women).
2. Other services: Weaves/extensions, colour, treatments and more.

Natural Diva Style

2742 St. Joseph Blvd. Suite 102
Ottawa, Ontario
K1C 1G5
(613) 837-6161

Natural DivaStyle is the vision of 4 sisters who understand the importance of embracing your natural hair texture. They have been natural for many years and been on quest to finding the right products designed for kinky, curly and wavy textures. Natural DivaStyle aims to serve the diverse population of Ottawa by providing quality service, a wide variety of specifically selected organic products, and affordable prices to aid clients on their natural hair journeys. Check out their website for more details at www.naturaldivastyle.ca.

Specialties:
1. Protective Styling: Tree braiding/ Invisible braids, cornrows, locs, weave, extensions and more.
2. Natural Hair Styling: Treatments, colouring, blowouts and more













Thank you for continuing to read our blogs.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

Natural Hair Salons and Stylists in Canada

We have recieved many requests about Natural hair salons and stylists in Canada.
This series will be dedicated to sharing brief information about some of them, and what they have to offer.

Kinks the Hair Studio and Spa Inc.
7 Queen Street South
Mississauga, Ontario
L5M 1K2
905-567-5167

This salon and spa is an upscale multicultural hair studio specializing in natural curly hair. They have 25 years in the hair service industry and have gained awards from the city, shows and much more.

Specialties:
1. Hair Cockatil: This is an intense moisture treatment with essential oils and silk complexes to bring vitality to the hair.
2. Kinks Silk Blow out: A system promoting health and strength for blow out styles

This studio also offers coloring services including highlights and colour restoration, extensions, hair cuts, wash and go's, hair treatments for all hair issues and more.

Hair By Glenna (hair stylist)
GTA based stylist
416-799-3210
Email: hairbyglenna@gmail.com

Glenna, of Hair By Glenna is a talented hair stylist. She works with all hair textures, however specializes in styling natural hair. She is also a blogger, Youtuber, work shop facilitator, public speaker, and showcases her talent at the annual Toronto Natural Hair and Beauty Show.

Specialties:
1. Protective styles: kinky twists, marley twists, box braids, crochet braids and loc extensions
2. Other services: Cuts, colour, and natural hair consultation

Curly Hair Designs
198 Greenbank Road
Ottawa, Canada
K2H 5V2

This salon specializes in the education behind curly hair. Their purpose is to help all clients find the best way to maintain their hair, even when the professionals are not around. They are flexible in working with all hair types from straight to kinky textures.

Specialties:
1.  Natural Hair Styles: Braid outs, twist outs, roller sets, updos, cornrows, dreads/locs re-twisting.
2. Other styling: hair cuts (men, women and children) colour, extensions, weave and more.

Thank you for reading this first blog post of the series. Look out for more in the near future.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

Natural Hair Vs. The Weather

Here are a few tips we think might be useful for dealing with the ever-changing climate in Canada. Please be advised that these are suggestions (we are not medical professionals).

Cold Weather:
With cold weather we can expect harsh winds, cold and dry air, as well as snow/sleet/hail and more. These therefore become forces that we must combat annually to be successful along this journey.

1. Protective Styling:
Protective styling involves putting our hair in styles that protect and shield our ends. Some protective styles include updos, braids, twists, faux locs, wigs, weave, wearing hats/ head scarves, and any other styles where our ends are not directly exposed.Our ends are the oldest parts of our hair, which essentially makes them the weakest and most vulnerable. During the winter we face the conditions listed above which make it harder for them to thrive. Protective styling means that we manually place our hair is styles that make it easier for our ends to survive the winter climate. Covering the hair with hats and/or wraps are also a great way to protect your hair. Essentially this will encourage hair health and length retention during this time.

2. Moisturize your Hair:
This section covers all hair care endeavors that increase moisture. This includes deep conditioning, adding and sealing in moisture (ex. LOC Method), and any other daily moisturizing efforts (ex. hair lotion, water) we may utilize. These things are essential to incorporate into the hair regimen, especially during these months. Due to dryness and harsh winds during this season, we need to make sure that we are taking the extra time to moisturize our hair. We also recommend purchasing products containing humectants, substances that promote moisture, such as honey, and/or glycerin.

3. Massaging the Scalp/ Exercise:
Scalp circulation and blood flow to the head can also be affected during the cold months. Scalp massages help to revitalize our hair while encouraging natural oil production. We encourage massaging the scalp ( use your hands or scalp massager) a few times a week to aid in this process. Exercise increases blood circulation as well. Don't forget to exercise even during the cold months for your hair and health sake (go to the gym, yoga class, exercise from home etc).



Warm/Hot Weather:
With warm/hot weather we can expect an increase in sunlight, heat, humidity, dryness and more. These are also forces that we must combat annually to be successful along this journey.

1. Embrace your hair:
Frizz is almost inevitable during the warmer months. Fighting it is therefore pointless. Instead we suggest embracing the frizz, "puffiness" and shrinkage that will come during this time. Try to learn how your hair reacts to the weather and work with it, instead of against it.

2. Avoid Heat Styling Products:
Because our hair generally frizzes out during the warmer months, we recommend avoiding heat for straightening our strands (ex. flat ironing, blow drying). The heat will essentially counter the effects of the straightened look and will cause your hair to revert back to a more natural state. Instead, try to do styles that work with the heat such as braid outs, twist outs etc. These styles will minimize the effect of the heat, as they generally maintain the same shape and size for a few days.

3. Protect Your Hair:
As we know, the suns emits Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) rays. Overexposure to these rays can cause negative health effects such as "sunburns, premature skin aging, skin cancer" and more (Reference: www.hc-sc.gc.ca). It can also cause hair protein loss and unwanted changes in hair colour. (Reference: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). We therefore highly recommend protecting the hair especially on the days spent outdoors for long periods of time. Wear a hat, a protective wrap or even a protective style when possible.

All suggestions can be utilized interchangeably with each season. Based on research and personal experience, we find that they worked best pending the season and weather.

We hope that you have found some useful information in this post that will help you on your journey.

Thank you all for continuing to read our posts.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

Dear New Naturalista

Tips/steps to keep in mind for all wishing to return to natural, or who have just started this journey.

1. Self Love:
First things first; let us all be very clear!! Natural hair is beautiful. It is unique, versatile, kinky, coily, curly, loud, proud, fabulous, awesome, amazing and so much more. Therefore, in an attempt to return to natural, one must solemnly declare (or at least understand) this very fact. It is important that you love yourself, or at least embark on the journey to this. As cliche as this sounds, if you need to look in a mirror and remind yourself of this every single day until you believe it, then so be it. We just ask the you at least try to appreciate your beauty as the breath-taking creation that you are. Oh and please don't forget: loving yourself also includes loving your hair.

2. Preparation:
Once you have decided to embark on the journey to self love, it makes it easier to move onto the next step. We believe that anyone who desires to return to natural needs to be prepared for it. Natural hair care takes time, effort, TLC, an open mind, patience, experimentation and much more. It is not okay to simply state that you would like to return to natural without being very prepared to work. Some may deem this journey as hard, others may say it is easy, however to some degree all can agree that it takes consistency and dedication. So please ask yourself, "do I have the time, energy, patience, or an open mind for this?". If so, let's move on to the next step.

3. Research/Knowledge:
We advise those who have cleared the first two steps, to dedicate some time to researching what a natural hair journey is. Feel free to go on Youtube to hear thoughts and experiences of other naturals. If you like to read, then blogs, brochures, pamphlets etc, are a great option as well. Try to gather as much information as you can about what it takes to be successful on this journey. Tip: we suggest figuring out what hair type you have, as this can help tremendously with your journey (you can do this by seeking hair advice from a licensed natural hair stylist). Keep in mind that everyones' experience is different, which may influence their perception and overall beliefs about the process. Essentially at this stage, we urge you to learn. Feel free to also find a friend or subscribe to a YouTube channel for support along the way.

4. Set Realistic Goals:
Once you have completed your research and "knowledge-getting", we suggest setting some realistic goals based on the learned information. An example of a realistic goal, is to achieve around 6 inches of hair growth in one year. An example of an unrealistic goal, is to achieve 12 inches of hair growth in one year. Please also keep in mind that hair growth is not the only goal you can set. Hair health is super important for hair growth also. Other goals can include not using heat for a year, water challenges, eating healthy, exercise challenges etc. Overall, have fun during this step, but remember to be realistic and work hard to achieve your goals.

5. Shopping:
There is so much to be said about this topic. Once you've found a source of information for natural hair, try to put some of those principles into practice (ex. shampoo vs. co-wash, protein treatments, deep conditioning masks etc). All of these unfortunately cannot be done until you go shopping for some products! We suggest buying a few products first. See what works for you by watching how your hair responds to the products. It might take your hair a few months to adjust to the products, so give it some time before deciding to continue use, or changing to another product. Feel free to also check out product reviews online to see what others have said about particular products: this can help with your shopping choices. Happy shopping!

6. Patience:
There are so many more categories that we could add to this list. However, we feel that "patience" covers a multitude. Returning to natural takes patience. You must understand that this process is a journey, and a journey with time. Growth, health, hair elasticity, hair porosity etc all take time to understand. Your hair will grow as you care for it and apply learned information. Be patient, but most of all love the journey.

We hope some of these steps/tips are useful to all who read this post. Please feel free to also comment on this post and share some of your experiences returning to natural. Look out for our next blog to be posted soon.

Thank you all,

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas
Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas
Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas
Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com

What is a Canadian Naturalista?

Here is a breakdown of what we believe to be a Canadian Naturalista.

1. Confident:
A Canadian Naturalista is a confident woman. She wears her kinks and coils in all its beauty, and is unafraid of what the skeptics think. She is poised in her walk and controlled in her talk. This woman holds her head high as her curls beautifully float with the wind and respond to the "pep in her step". She commands attention as she walks into a room and exudes beauty with every step that she makes. A Canadian Naturalista is confident because she recognizes the wealth of her beauty and lives understanding her worth.

2. Strong:
A Canadian Naturalista is a strong woman. She challenges the "system" and defies societal perceptions of beauty. This woman is resilient in her approach to staying true to herself, which in itself, fosters even more strength. She continues to transform the minds of the "on-lookers", and inspires them to believe in the awesomeness of natural beauty. Though often pressured by the demands of a professional workplace, the lack of "straightness" in her tresses, and harsh stares of misunderstood persons, she is still able to wear her hair exactly how she feels. A Canadian Naturalista is strong because she refuses to succumb to external demands of society, but holds her own instead.

3. Inspirational:
A Canadian Naturalista is an inspirational woman. She is fully aware that she has been beautifully created, and walks in this. This woman allows her inward beauty to be expressed externally and motivates others to do the same. The way she styles her curls and rocks her hair is beyond words. She offers hair tips and tricks when she can, while encouraging others to embrace their natural roots as well. A Canadian Naturalista is inspirational because she isn't afraid to showcase her kinks and curls, regardless of the opinions of others.

So much more can be said about a Canadian Naturalista. Here are just a few qualities and character traits that she possesses. Ultimately, this post speaks as a reminder of characteristics we need to maintain. Let us not be ashamed to personify these traits, but instead embrace them as we continue our natural hair journeys.

Thank you all for reading.

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas

Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas

Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas

Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com