Natural Hair Diary: Dr. Bisa, Lifestyle Expert

In the latest installment of our Natural Hair Diary series, Afrobella.com’s Patrice Greil Yursik profiles Dr. Bisa, a lifestyle expert and author with a cute crop of soft, mahogany curls.

Natural Woman: Dr. Bisa

Age: 38

City: Atlanta

Occupation: Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Lifestyle Expert

Hair Journey: “I was about to enter 5th grade, when my mom decided to tame my kinks with a Jheri curl,” says Bisa. “In the midst of the process, something went terribly wrong. I ended up with the Jheri, but no curls! My hair was slicked back straight… I felt like a boy.” The failed Jheri curl led Bisa to experiment with chemicals and heat to straighten her hair.

In 2005, she went natural by accident. “When my hairstylist went on maternity leave, I didn’t trust anyone else to texturize my hair, so I decided to wait until she returned to work. I noticed my hair was curling up quite well on its own, without the texturizer!” Not quite sold, she vacillated between relaxed and natural hair until 2010, when she finally underwent the big chop. “I was tired of looking in the mirror at a stranger,” she says. “The real Bisa is soft and curly with a little roughness around the edges. And men love my look! I can’t help but think, “Was my hair ever the real issue in the first place?”

Favorite Products: Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo ($12, kinky-curly.com), Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner ($12, kinky-curly.com), Eco Styling Gel with Olive Oil ($6.49, amazon.com), Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier ($7, naturalhair.org)

Hair Icons: Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, India Arie

Advice to Aspiring Naturals: “Respect your heritage and free your hair! You’ll never know what your hair can do until you give it a chance.”