When it comes to hair talk among women of color, we all know that you can come out of a “you should go natural” hair conversation with a few wounds and a possible missing hand or black eye, as this is something serious in our random circles of beauty talk. Nevertheless, this does not stop new natural beauty writer and blogger, Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik aka Afrobella! She has a site chock full of beauty and natural hair product reviews, everyday inspirations, and Afrobella's of the week, which are all intertwined with some juicy in-depth conversations about what's going on within our communities. She takes a moment to chat with us about everything natural, everything beautiful, and all shades of beautiful!
Natural Hair: Curls Milkshake. My hair literally soaks this stuff in. My curls drink this milkshake up like it needs it. I'm at the very end of my jar and I'm seriously anxious about running out before I get more!
Skin: Skinceuticals face wash. It's the most gentle, effective face wash in my current arsenal. I use that to wash my face every night, and I ex-foliate with Dove ex-foliating wash. Both get two thumbs up from me.
Face: The current secret to my daily confidence and beauty is Philosophy The Supernatural Airbrush Canvas. My color is rich. Together with the poreless, flawless, tinted SPF moisturizer, my skin looks practically perfect.
ymib: How do you see the current state of beauty within the Female Nubian community & media, and what do we need more / less of?
Afrobella: Black women are fashion trend setters. We are gorgeous and strong and have so much to offer. But in my humble opinion, too many beautiful Nubian women don't display their natural beauty. I personally would like to see more women wearing natural hairstyles, and less women undergoing chemical straighteners and using weaves and wigs.
ymib: What do you love & enjoy most about afrobella.com and how would you like to see it grow?
Afrobella: Oh, what a great question. I love the platform that I've created here, that I can state my opinions and experiences, and be rewarded with tremendous feedback from women all over the world. I enjoy the comments the most. Nothing feels better than coming home to an in-box of dialog from an international array of strong minded afrobellas. There is so much more that I can write about, food and recipes, fashion, politics... but because I try to remain beauty-centric I always have to return to that part of the site. Some weeks, I fear that I've strayed too far into music and away from beauty. Then I have to return to product reviews to re-center myself, kind of. I can see this site becoming a full-time thing for me in the future, and I would love for there to be an Afrobella column in a national beauty magazine, like Vibe Vixen, Essence, Ebony... or heck, even a traditionally Caucasian magazine like Bust, Marie Claire, or Jane. Like I say, all shades of beautiful...and natural beauty isn't represented nearly enough.
ymib: Which celebrities do you feel represent the definition of what afrobella.com is all about or inspired from?
Afrobella: Ideally, an afrobella is an all-natural black beauty. So many celebrities nowadays wear weaves, or wigs it's hard to tell who's 100% natural or not. The women who come most immediately to mind are Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone, Angela Davis, Alek Wek, India Arie, and Jill Scott. Sometimes it is hard to say... so many famous afrobellas eventually wind up straightening their hair or abandoning the natural style.
ymib: What has been the worst product you have used on your natural hair?
Afrobella: Luster's Pink Oil. Without a doubt. The smell makes me sick, and it's just a terrible product for natural hair, in my opinion.
ymib: Can you summarize your feeling you had on your first day of being au natural?
Afrobella: Towards the end of my transition, I would take up to four-month-long gaps in straightening my hair. But when I finally did the big chop and knew that I was never, ever going to touch chemicals to my scalp again, I felt so free. Knowing that I didn't have to worry about getting my hair wet or my scalp sweaty, knowing that I would never have a chemical burn or scab on my scalp again felt amazing. It took a long time for me to learn how to work with my natural hair, but when I did, I really fellt in love with it. For me, the reason I went natural was to have healthy hair that was all mine. So I instantly felt better when I made that conscious decision to never turn back.
ymib: What are some of your favorite resources(sites, blogs, magazines, books, etc.) referencing beauty for Nubian women that you just couldn't live without?
Afrobella: Motown Girl is the best! Anita Grant's Ingredient Junkie blog is essential reading as well. I adore 55 Secret Street, and I often turn to The Makeup Girl blog for makeup advice. It's a lot harder to think of magazines, because I really believe that natural black beauty is ignored by mainstream magazines. Someone please prove me wrong and introduce me to a new publication! I often read the Nappturality forum, as well as Long Hair Care Forums. I'm a bit of a lurker, and am very erratic about posting on forums. But I always read them!
Purse: Well, besides the obvious wallet, cell phone, detachable car radio, and car keys... I have this little pouch that is crammed to capacity with lip gloss. Literally, I have eighteen different lip glosses on me at any time of the day. I'm not sure if that's wonderful or sad.
Home Beauty Stash: My light-up Conair magnifying mirror that stands proudly on my dresser. Seriously, I don't know what I did without it.
Closet / Wardrobe: Comfy tops and cute flat shoes. My feet are flat as a board, so I don't even try to torture myself with heels. I rock flats every day, all day, and it doesn't make me any less stylish. Trust me!
ymib: What natural beauty have you interviewed, and what inspired you most about her, and what natural woman would you like to interview and why?
Afrobella: I admire the get-up-and-go Afrobellas, like Motown Girl, Anita Grant, and Lisa Price -- the inventor of Carol's Daughter. Their business acumen is truly admirable, and I had great interviews with all of them. The natural beauties that I'd like to someday interview... wow. India Arie, Jill Scott, I'd have to come with my A game to interview Angela Davis, because I know she's complained in the past about being reduced to a hairstyle. But it's such an iconic and important hairstyle! Maya Angelou. Oprah. I'd like to interview and be interviewed by Oprah. And I'd like to get her to go natural. That's my dream.
Afrobella: Lately I've been adding hemp oil or honey to many of my pre-existing conditioners and leave-in products. I'm not as much of a mixtress as the women I've interviewed -- hats off to them for leading the way! I also clarify with apple cider vinegar.
Afrobella: I think too many Nubian women are afraid of their natural beauty. History has conditioned us to adhere to Caucasian standards of beauty -- using chemicals to straighten our hair, colored contacts to alter our eyes, bleach to lighten our skin. Nubian women need to know that they are beautiful without those things, and we need to reinforce each other's beauty, not tear each other down. I see way too much of that.
I'm honored that my site has become so popular so quickly. I see Afrobella as a journey, and it delights me that so many people are already on board. I find my inspiration from my readers, and from other beautiful, confident, natural women -- like the readers of You Make It Beautiful. There are more and more of us every day! Visit Afrobella Now!
