Donna's Salon Utopia

I have always found PH-balanced shampoos to be the best. As my sister says, they restore the moisture that needs to be restored to your hair. I have started using this kind of shampoo and already I have received comments on how much stronger my hair looks. When I was in my 20s and my hair grew into the middle of my back in a natural state, I was living on PH-balanced shampoo and olive oil. I do not plan to go back to the olive oil, however I am already extremely happy with the PH-balanced shampoo. You can find PH-balanced shampoos at any health food store. Many of these shampoos also have multi-purposes so you can use them for your hands and body.

I am currently very happy with the state of my hair. I have decided to stop experimenting with it and just decided on the adage - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Meaning I have decided to keep my hair the same way I have been wearing it for years now. The good thing about the way I wear my hair is that even though I keep it in a simple natural style, it is extremely cost effective. All I need to do is to make sure I am buying healthy products for it and just wash, comb and go. I wash my hair anywhere between two to three times a week. Since it is extra curly - it is not advisable for me to wash it every day. I also use a leave-in conditioner to help to keep it in good condition. I also have the flexibility of altering my usual hairstyle into different styles. I could blow dry it straight, although I avoid doing this. Heat is not a good thing for natural hair or any hair for that matter. I could also put it into braids and twists just using my natural hair, or exten...

Donna: What started your interest in hair? Zhara: I think for the majority of black women myself included, I've always been obssesed with a major interest in my hair! Lol. My hair has always been a forefront of never ending years of hair dilemmas and styles. Black hair is the most fragile and versatile texture in the world.This has made my hair journey an interesting one from being natural as a child to permed in my teen years with good and bad hair days that brought about emotions and experiences that lay down deep in the soul. A black woman can never escape her personal hair struggles unless she makes peace with it and works with her hair in tune with nature....thankfully going natural has definitley lead me to this path :) Donna: Tell me about your website? Zhara: It's actually more of a community of support and motivation more than a personal website per se. I joined a community online photo blog called fotki.com to document my personal hair journey among thousands of other...