Texture Perspective is a new series of discussions involving the perspectives of four different women of different hair textures and types. We invite you to meet them and join in the discussion, interacting with these ladies and the rest of the NaturallyCurly community by commenting. If you missed Texture Perspective yesterday, be sure to go back and meet Tracey and Quinn. Now meet another one of the four Texture Perspective ladies, Cassidy.
Cassidy Blackwell: 4A
NaturallyCurly: Please, introduce yourself! Where are you from? Where do you live?
Cassidy Blackwell: I’m the Global Editor of this really awesome website called NaturallyCurly. Have you heard of it? You should definitely check it out. I was born and raised in Minnesota, schooled in St. Louis and live in San Francisco. Oh, and my name is Cassidy Blackwell. Amigos call me Cass, my Nana calls me Quesadilla, and the NC.com fam calls me CB3. Nice to meet you.
NC: What’s your curl story? Have you always loved your hair? Did you just start embracing your curls? Why?
CB: I have actually ALWAYS loved my hair. Even when I had a relaxer. I had some great stylists, and my hair always looked damn good #ifisaysomyself. I never had any breakage and always had long, thick healthy hair. However, one fateful and sunny day I just got sick and tired of the chemical burns, the $150 styling sessions and having to spend 5 hours in a salon. My hair was healthy, but my body and wallet were not, so I decided to give up my beautiful straightened tresses and swooped bangs in favor of what was then the great unknown.
I’ve been rocking my natural curls ever since doing the big chop in 2009. At first, my hair was a bit touch and go. Very dry. Zero to no definition. Kind of helmet-like. So shrunken that it was practically growing back into my follicles. Then I figured out my unique texture and how to make it look good and I’ve loved it ever since! You should also know that my hair is named Lola. She is a showgirl. And whatever she wants, she certainly gets, which mainly consists of regular deep conditioners and fun haircuts.
NC: What’s your approach to curly hair?
CB: Two words: Laissez-faire. I keep my hair well-conditioned and moisturized, and other than that, I just style in wash’n’gos. The more I try to alter my curl pattern or mix it up with creative protective styling, the more frizz, breakage and damage I see. Turns out that I’ve got fine hair and a fragile curl pattern, so I have to keep manipulation to a minimum.
NC: What’s the BEST advice you ever got about your curly hair?
CB: Treat it like a cashmere sweater! Seriously. Echoing what I wrote above, the best thing I can do is to use gentle cleansers and maintain my curls with a ton of care.
NC: What are some of your go to’s — styles, methods, tools, etc?
CB: My Ouidad Double Detangler. Scrunchies and a sleep cap. A super creamy conditioner. Some sort of styler that combines moisture and hold like Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream, Hair Rules Curly Whip, or DevaCurl Heaven in Hair. I like to apply products on soaking wet hair and let air dry. Doing my hair takes a matter of 5-10 minutes.
NC: Tell us about YOU — what makes you unique?
CB: I live in a very eclectic city (San Francisco”>, and beyond that, I’m constantly traveling and engaging with diverse people and cultures. As a result, I live a colorful life and draw my creative inspirations from a lot of different places.
NC: What are you favorite things? What are you passionate about? Nail polish? Fashion? Shoes? Books?
CB: Dresses. I absolutely despise wearing pants and as a result I have a pretty rocking wardrobe filled with all different styles of dresses. I tend to collect them like people collect shoes or art. I love buying them vintage or having them made because they’re one-of-a-kind pieces custom fit to me. Some only get worn once or twice a year, but it’s hard for me to let them go. They’re like a tangible archive of my life. I’m headed home soon to Minnesota and I’m thinking I want to pay a visit to my old debutante dress!
I also love blogging (obvi”> and photography (natch”> and spend a lot of time having fun with both.
NC: What do you do for fun?
CB: Fun fact: I own three grades of professional hula hoops and can do a lot of tricks on them. You know, hooping around my shoulders, around my knees, some moves involve some jumping and tossing. I’ve had to take a bit of time to learn how to do all this stuff over the past few years, but hooping makes me smile, so no complaints!
I also love riding my bike! My bike is named Lady Lavender and she is such a gem. We spend a lot of time zipping up and down the hills of San Francisco. It’s awesome!
NC: What’s going on in your life right now? Moving, relationship, etc?
CB: There’s a lot going on in the world of curl these days, so you can expect that I’ll be on a plane checking it all out!
NC: What is your NaturallyCurly.com username?
CB: cassadie3. I’m not on the forums that much these days, but I do write a bunch so make sure to check out my articles!
Meet the fourth of the four Texture Perspective ladies today!
