A Maths subject adviser for grade 4–7 learners in the Cape Winelands region, teaching and facilitating is Lizette’s passion. But so too is her journey to healthy curls – one that rewrote her relationship with beauty and earned her a stint as a ‘The Perfect Hair’ ambassador

Talk to us about your curly girl journey…
A night out dancing in 2012 started my much healthier hair journey. I was having a terrible hair day and decided to wet and roughly dry my hair as I rushed to leave the house – it was far from the sleek, flat-ironed look I was used to and immediately garnered tons of attention. It got me thinking about how I had hated curly hair for such a long time. Like many coloured girls, I let society’s European beauty standards get to me – it was the foundation of an unhealthy relationship with my curls that led to breakage and damage from constant heat styling, colouring and fighting against nature.

What happened next?
I decided to explore my hair and try new things and found a local Facebook group where I got tons of great advice and practical tips. I started joining events and spent a lot of time researching and trying various moisture treatments and techniques.

Curls locked down…
Lockdown arrived around the time I realised my new-found curly hair had me wrapped up in the attention when I still needed to figure out how to get my hair to the healthy state I was so invested in. Also, being defined by my curls by others had me considering how best to balance enjoying my curly hair journey while showing that my beauty ran far deeper than just my hair. I shaved my head and started fresh, it was the best decision ever. My curls grew from the root, free of chemicals and past damage – and the difference was obvious!

A common misconception about having curly hair is…
You can heat style your hair occasionally without it ruining the curl! I promise!

What are you most excited about?
Growth. For a curly girl, shrinkage always holds you back from really seeing significant differencesin your hair, so seeing growth is super exciting!

What are rour top 5 natural hair tips?

1. Comb from the bottom up to gently detangle and reduce breakage. Denman brush (11 row) works wonders for my curls and there are many others available for different curl types.

2. Treatments are essential: TLC and moisture twice a week, no excuses!

3. Don’t use a regular conditioner as a treatment, use specialised products and don’t leave it longer than prescribed. For leave-in, use only leave-in products that are gentle and safe.

4. Use a silk bonnet to protect and lock themoisture in.

5. Shampoo only once a week to encourage the development of natural oils – over-washing strips your hair and scalp of its natural sebum.

By Stefanie Titus-petersen
Photography: Courtesy Images