00:04My name is Patia and welcome to Hair Me Out.
00:09When I was younger, I always wanted to blend in, but now I love to stand out.
00:15Switching up my hair is one way to achieve that.
00:18I can't wait to get gray Ombre Casimas braids for the very first time.
00:27Hi, my name is Anta.
00:29Hi, my name is Fatoumata.
00:30Welcome to Karmic Kings.
00:39So Patia, how long have you been natural?
00:42I think like five years.
00:44So how do you use and wear your hair?
00:48In like a bun.
00:58Casimas braid is, first of all, the name come from Senegal.
01:02It's a city in Senegal.
01:03Easy to do, easy to wear, maintenance free.
01:07Once you finish, you will be able to style it.
01:10It won't hurt.
01:10You care about your hair lines.
01:12You make sure that it's not going to be tight.
01:14You don't have to take Tylenol when you go home.
01:17It's very flexible.
01:18The reason I stopped getting my hair braided in high school
01:21was because, like, it hurt.
01:23Being in pain for three days just wasn't worth it.
01:26I'm a little scared. Not a lie.
01:28So from the first one, so how do you feel?
01:32Oh, it's good. Yeah.
01:44So Patia, who was the first person to do your hair?
01:47My mom, she used to do it.
01:48She used to, like, wash it in the sink,
01:50and then she would braid it in, like, five or six braids
01:53with barrettes.
01:53But my grandma also did my hair a lot.
01:55She would do it with, like, all these fun styles.
01:57And she'd put, like, ribbons intertwined in the braids.
02:00And she liked doing hair.
02:01So when did you guys start learning how to braid?
02:04And how did you learn how to do hair?
02:05My mom has four girls.
02:07She didn't know how to do hair.
02:09She used to send us to aunts and friends
02:12to get our hair done.
02:14You have to wash their dishes.
02:16You have to clean their house before you get your hair done.
02:18And so I say, I'm tired of that.
02:20I'm going to learn how to do my sister's hair and stay home.
02:23While growing up, I was doing my sibling's hair,
02:28my mom, my aunt.
02:29When I came here in 2003, I was like,
02:32ah, should I do hair?
02:34So 15 years now, I'm still doing it.
02:37I love doing it.
02:39So my mom, I guess, got fed up one day
02:41and decided to take me to her hairstylist, Miss Melba.
02:45Miss Melba would wash and, like, hot iron, hot comb my hair.
02:49Sometimes on special occasions, she would do, like,
02:51the Shirley Temple curl.
02:53But my mom wouldn't let me perm my hair.
02:54So this was, like, our, like, compromise.
02:57At 16, I, like, begged my mother for a perm
03:00against her better judgment and my foolishness.
03:04And she let me get one.
03:05When I first, first went natural, I did braids,
03:08or I did twists for, I think, like, maybe eight months to a year.
03:11And then I got a big chop and I was, like, shocked.
03:15I was like, oh, I like my face.
03:18I went natural, like, right before the big boom.
03:21Like, I wasn't, like, an early, early natural person.
03:24But I, but not, everybody wasn't natural yet.
03:26My friends were like, well, you're gonna have to do your hair
03:28and, like, everybody's gonna see your face
03:30and, like, crazy things.
03:31And then also just the, I didn't know how to care for natural hair.
03:34I was on YouTube like it was, like, my second job.
03:43What is your favorite thing about doing hair?
03:45My favorite part is when a customer comes,
03:49their hair is already damaged.
03:51The edges are all gone, so they come to us for help.
03:55And then if they keep coming for one year, year and a half,
03:59you're gonna see their hair start changing.
04:02Their hair grows.
04:04Most of them, they never see their natural hair.
04:07And once they see it, they're shocked and surprised.
04:09Seeing them being happy, being respectful,
04:13and love themselves when it comes to their hair.
04:15All my clients coming here knows how to matter,
04:18love to do condos.
04:19When I do it, I feel so inspired.
04:23And from the beginning to the end,
04:25I see the client's face looking really happy.
04:28It makes me feel so good, like changing people's life.
04:38I love having natural hair.
04:41My hair is big and I think, especially for other women
04:45that are trying to grow their hair, like length is a big deal.
04:48So I think that it being big and kind of long,
04:51people will come up to me and ask me about it.
04:53I don't know, just takes up space.
04:55Which I like, makes me stand out.
04:57Every time somebody compliments me,
04:58or every time I have a style that I like,
05:00I'm like, oh, this is me.
05:01Like, and it makes me feel really good about who I am,
05:04plus or minus gray hombre braids.
05:15And now we deepen the ends in hot water
05:17to make them softer, more bouncy.
05:21This will seal the ends from getting freezing or unraveling.
05:35I'm going to surprise you.
05:42I love it.
05:45Can I take it, please?
05:47Oh my gosh.
05:50Like I should be in a band.
05:53Thank you so much.
05:54You're welcome.
05:56I love the way my gray hombre braids turned out.
05:59My hair used to be one of my biggest insecurities,
06:02but now it makes me feel great.
06:04I love myself just the way I am,
06:05with my big, complicated, and beautiful hair.
06:08Thanks for joining me on this episode of Hair Me Out.
