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Shaila Tyler is that girl who if they aren’t already modeling you should kick in the butt for not being one. Lucky for her, she’s a signed FORD Model with an awesome head of healthy blonde tresses. Like most of us, it took Shaila a while to fall in love with her hair. She shares the same frustration with hot combs and bristled brushes that every tender-headed girl has.

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Fast-forward to today and Shaila is flexing her curls on social media, and enjoy every moment of her fabulous journey. Since I literally stalk her on Instagram, I figured she’d be a great person to offer you guys advice on bad hair day solutions, natural hair do’s and don’ts, and when she first fell in love with her hair.

Did you always love your hair?

I didn’t care much about hair as a young girl, but I knew no one knew how to detangle it. Everything was painful to me (combs, brushes, braiding), even the heat from a hot comb would get trapped in my hair and burn my scalp. My mom would say “your hair can hold some heat girl”. So, it wasn’t that I didn’t like my hair, I was just frustrated because no one knew what to do with it, including me. Once I reached my teens that’s when I shied away from my curly hair mostly because it wasn’t excepted by my peers (both the African American and Hispanics/Latinos). Also, I didn’t like much attention and with my big hair that’s exactly what I got. I just wanted to be the chill girl in the cut. So, I straightened it alot and during athletics and dance braided it or wore it in a bun and pony allllllll the time. If it wasn’t straight, it wasn’t out!

What’s your bad hair day solution? 

I actually learned that 90% of the confidence exuded when wearing my big wild hair was from my personality. So even on a “bad hair day” I find something to do with it, but equally I just leave it big and crazy! If that option isn’t acceptable  for reason like a conservative work environment, then I get really sleek and editorial and do a high bun packed with volume. Another solution is the forever classic side part slicked back low bun or pony. I now have the length for it. But during my shorter lengths I really just left it. It’s the price you pay for having curly hair, your curls are never exactly the same everyday! NEVER.

Your worst hair moment?

Last summer as I sat at a bar in the Meatpacking district of NY with a photographer friend and a friend from Belgium. They were tourist and of course we wanted to take photos. Well, I leaned back to get the perfect picture view of the guys, and while snapping he says “um, your hair!!” My hair was on FIREEEE from the large votives at the bar. I acted quickly and then ran to the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror pulling out the dead burnt hair. I mean the entire bar smelled like hair! The blessing in disguise was, thanks to my natural I had absolutely no chemicals in my hair, and the fire couldn’t spread as quickly. It wasn’t noticeable but it definitely hurt my soul a bit, as we laughed about it over our next round of drinks.

DO’s & DONT’s of styling natural hair.

Don’t use a lot of product. My hair has been healthiest with minimal product in it. It is a misconception that you need a product for every little step. Most of my daily routines and styling technique consists of Shampoo, Condition,  diffusing my hair, and finishing with natural oils like vitamin E & Argon oil because they don’t have much weight. Do embrace the fact that your hair will not be the same everyday, this will help you with confidence and acceptance as well as frustrations from styling. Do, still blowdry your hair straight every once in awhile, it helps to keep the elasticity in you hair balanced (your hair won’t be to tight or to loose). in doing so, DONT be afraid of the big body blowout like many women in the 60′s & 70′s wore. It keeps a consistency with you natural look in terms of volume and ensures your not burning your hair or loosing flexibility in your strands. Besides, the first wash after a blowdry or flat iron (whichever you use) always has my curls voluminous. DO try styling techniques if your natural isn’t consistent in texture. I know plenty of women that talk of twisting and braiding and other sorts of creative ways to get their curls styled. Play around, it’s FUN hair and see what works for you. Build your character!

Amen to all of that! Chime in via the comments below if you have any natural hair tips or stories for us to share on #RealGirlsRealCurls!

Follow me @gorgeousingrey

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FORD Model Shares Her Secrets For The Perfect Afro!  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com