Frospiration! | Claudia


Let’s get to know you.

Hello peeps! My name is Claudia .K. Giglio. I’m Italian/Burkinabe and Nigerien(Niger).

So where I live is a bit tricky. For the past 4 years I've been based in Shanghai, but I work mostly in Africa. I work in the development/humanitarian sector for NGOs doing short missions. When I get selected for a mission, it's usually in Africa which makes me visit a different country for each mission. Currently, I'm in Dakar, Senegal.

How long have you been a natural?

I've been natural for most of my life. I had 2 relaxers episodes in between that never lasted more than a year. Last time I had a relaxer was in 2006 - if I remember correctly.

Big chop or transition?

A year after my last relaxer, my hair went from shoulder length to a barely existing rat-tail in the space of 8 months...so I just chopped it.

What’s the story behind you going back to your natural roots?

The real reason behind my chop was mainly motivated by 3 factors:
First, my hair was obviously damaged and I couldn't keep on going out, walking down the street and trying to look all cute when my hair was just a mess.

Second factor was financial. I was a student, living in Paris and was always short on cash to not say completely broke but will always find a way to get some money to mess up my hair even more. At a point, it wasn't just viable anymore. The economical factor led me to the third one, which was more of a question. Why me, a mixed African girl, had to go through all these processes to have "socially decent" hair. Why do I have to spend so much money - that I don't even have to take care of it? Isn't there a way for me to just be me with my "normal" hair?

The more I thought about these questions, the more I got angry and uncomfortable because I had no answers. Then I called my hairdresser to make an appointment that same day.
When I got there, she asked what I wanted and I told her to chop it off. She stared at me, asking if I was sure. Of course I wasn't sure! But I couldn't go on with this bun brush of a hair. I couldn't even look at the mirror during the whole time it was chopped.

I left the salon after a deep conditioning treatment and a bandana tied up. At this point I still hadn't looked at myself until the next morning. I finally saw my short, short, short hair and cried my eyes out. I didn't get out of my studio for the next 3 days. Finally had to go out cause I ran out of food, lol. So I did my hair - dressed well and wore some make up(I usually never do but I thought it would distract people from looking at my hair).

I must say that I never received as much compliments from people the way I did that day. It really help to boost my self confidence and gave me a feeling of being beautiful despite any length of hair I have on.

Do you have an idea what your hair type and porosity is?

Nope. I tried at the beginning but then realised that it wasn't possible. I'm mixed. I have different hair types all over my hair, the back is different from the sides, which are different from the crown and the front is another type again.😳

The thing is, I have thick hair with fine strands. Low porosity with tight S pattern that tangles easily especially near the scalp and still quite easy to manage.

What’s your regimen like?

I travel a lot because of my work, sometimes I end up in places where water and products are scarce and not easy to find. My regimen will mostly depend on the availability of water, so it fluctuates during my missions. I would try to still deep condition once a week and wash my hair every 3 weeks with a mix of Apple cider vinegar and baking soda.

On "normal" settings, I would co-wash and deep condition my hair once a week and wash it thoroughly every 2 weeks.

Any hair products you can’t do without?

Deep conditioner with a lot of slip.

What’s your go-to hairstyle? Any fave hairstyle?

I keep it simple. I usually have a wash and go that rarely lives freely out as I tie it up often.

Challenges you face as a natural.

My main challenge is finding products due to work. Sometimes I'm stationed in places where adapted hair products aren't available. It means carrying enough products to make sure they can last for a few months.
Also, it happens that I might be in places where water is scarce or there are some water cuts. These conditions have made me reflect on solutions to waste less water like using a spray bottle whenever possible to get my hair soaked, always turn off the water when applying products to my hair, doing some hairstyles more often etc.

Do you have any hair/styling secret? 😉

Do you know that applying your styling products on soaked hair, helps with definition and long-lasting curls? Well, now you do!

And pay attention to what you eat. Whatever you put inside your body will reflect outside. Take care of your insides and your body will reflect the love you're giving to yourself.

Has going natural changed anything about you?

As I did not get a lot of relaxers, let's say that I'm less stressed in terms of money and the healthiness of my hair. I acquired a lot of knowledge about hair in general and curly hair more specifically. Focusing on the healthiness of my hair has obliged me to take care of my whole self as well.

Do you think you'll ever return to the creamy crack?

Nope!


Any advice for your natural sisters out there?

It's a process. Indulge in the uneasiness of the journey and accept the mistakes, because it will deepen the knowledge on yourself. The more you fight it, the more you struggle. Nothing gets perfectly done the first time nor the second or third. Bear with it and give yourself much love!

How do we keep in touch with you? 

Instagram: @claudia.k.giglio
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How to Moisturize Hair Properly(When Not Protective Styling)


Imagine this scenario: Take some amount of leave in conditioner, rub it all over hair, then seal with oil.

And that's all for moisturizing? Really?

Getting as much moisture as possible is really important for the well being of our hair. Most people go about the wrong way when they add moisture to their hair.

This post is focused on moisturizing hair when it isn’t in protective style but running wild and free.

Try this the next time you’re moisturizing:


  1.  Section, section, and section: Dividing your hair into smaller sections is key. Moisturizing hair in smaller sections gets more moisture to the strands than doing so in bigger sections. You could section it into 4 parts or more.
  2. Take down each section, one at a time, and apply the conditioner from root to tip, concentrating on the ends.
  3. Please don’t be stingy with the conditioner, be generous and distribute it evenly by combing hair after applying.
  4. Now it’s time to seal in all that moisture, to prevent the moisture from evaporating from the hair shaft. Use your preferred oil or butter to seal in.
Tip: You could put the conditioner in a spray bottle mixed with a little water, for easier application.
Hair Care My Regimen Natural Hair
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Natural Hair Tip #19

PROTEIN CONDITIONING


Doing a protein treatment to your hair? Protein conditioning makes the hair harder and is usually accompanied by deep conditioning to soften hair.  Usually, protein conditioner is added to hair,  hair is put under a shower cap for some minutes, then rinsed out before a deep conditioner is added to conclude the process.

To spend less time doing both, just mix the protein conditioner with the deep conditioner and apply at once!
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How To Wash Natural Hair In Less Than An Hour


Warning: 😆In this post, the time accounted for is when one's hand is occupied with their hair. Time utilized for deep conditioning under a shower top isn't included(that takes at least 30 minutes, that is already more than half the time used for a shorter washday). Assumptions are that your hair has been detangled and is now in twists. Twists are usually 6 - 8, not more than that. Additionally, time spent washing hair may rely upon how filthy one's hair is.

As with most naturals, washday ain’t something I anticipate. I’m yet to meet a naturalista that’s always anticipating a washday.  😓 I dread it every time. From detangling, putting hair in sizable twists,  to shampooing and deep conditioning. Tedious!

I'm generally open to new thoughts on the most proficient method to make my washday shorter and voila!  A few months back I was washing my hair when I thought to myself: Instead of washing and rinsing each twist twice, why not shampoo the whole hair first, then do a second washing to each twist to save time?

Now, let me just let you know how my ancient washday went down:
  1.  I take one twist, apply shampoo, scrub and rinse it out.
  2. Apply a second round of shampoo, scrub and rinse out again.
  3. Then take the next twist and repeat step 1 & 2. So if I had 8 twists, I would have shampooed 16 times and rinsed 16 times!
  4. Then apply a deep conditioner to each twist by unraveling it, combing through and retwisting it.
  5. At least 30 minutes under a shower cap to let the deep conditioner do its work.
  6.  Rinse hair.
I'm not sure of the time spent in this method but I'm guessing 1 hour+ - 2 hours.

Now, to my latest tweaked method:
  1. Apply shampoo all over my hair, lightly scrub to remove most of the dirt and rinse out - 5 minutes.
  2. Take each twist, apply a second round of shampoo and scrub. - 10 minutes
  3. At this point, I don’t rinse out until I’m done shampooing and scrubbing all the sections of my hair.
  4. Rinse out shampoo from all the twists at once. - 5 minutes. So if I had 8 twists, I would have shampooed 9 times and rinsed out just twice! Amazeballs!
  5. Then apply a deep conditioner to each twist by unraveling it, combing through and retwisting it - 25 minutes.
  6. At least 30 minutes under a shower cap to let the deep conditioner do its work.
  7. Rinse hair - 10 minutes
The difference in time-saving is so clear! Not only is my time saved but also energy expended.

Hope you try this on your next washday. It may not be less than an hour but it will definitely save you some time. Also if you have a tip for making washday shorter, holla in the comment section.

Keep ‘fro-ing
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