I love being a 4C girl. Our hair is so versatile with all of its kinky, coily glory.
I am always on the lookout for a new product to make my curls pop. I have been a longtime fan of DevaCurl, but haven't used it since I've grown all of the relaxer out of my hair for a couple of reasons: the price point and most of the women I saw in their advertising at the start of my natural hair journey (2011) didn't have my hair texture.
When I saw that DevaCurl released five products for "super curly hair," I was intrigued. The line has a no-poo shampoo, conditioner, a leave-in, a cream "curl styler" for definition, and a cream that elongates.
I decided to give the Super Stretch Coconut Curl Elongator a try.
Since I'd given up on creams in favor of gels, I thought this thirty-dollar option would be worth a try since it claims to elongate coily curls and create definition. I personally don't mind my hair's shrinkage, but I know that for many of us shrinkage can deter us from just washing our hair and letting it do its thing.
Before I tried the cream, I washed my hair with the line's No-Poo Decadence Zero Lather Ultra Moisturizing Milk Cleanser and conditioned with my go-to conditioner from Shea Moisture before styling. Moisturized hair is the key to getting my hair to look and feel its best. To keep things consistent, I used their Set It Free Moisture Lock Finishing Spray, that I've had for a while, but didn't really love for my hair type to see how all of the products would work together.
The one thing I loved about the shampoo was that my hair and scalp felt clean even without the lather. I have stayed away from no-poo shampoos because my hair rarely feels clean after washing.
Now that my hair was clean, I got to work smoothing the Super Stretch from root to tip. Since I hadn't used a cream product in nearly two years, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. As I applied the cream, I could immediately see it elongating and defining my curls — with very little product.
It took about thirty minutes to run the product through the eight sections of my hair. Once I finished, I shook my hair out like a Deva stylist taught me and let it air dry.
My reason for taking the time to stretch my curls was to get it into one of the high puffs I spend hours watching YouTubers achieve. I've tried a puff when my hair is stretched with a blow dryer, but I don't like that I can't see any of my natural hair texture. But, when I try to achieve a puff with my hair in a wash and go state, I end up with a baby puff I hate.
Let me tell you something. DevaCurl came through.
My hair had the moisture and elongation it needed to get the perfect puff. I was so pleased, and I received so many compliments. We all know how important it is to find products that work, even if they cost us $30 bucks.
As a 4C girl, I love that DevaCurl added products for my hair type and I see that they're also speaking to us in their marketing.
Featured image by Bianca Lambert/Instagram
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
