I had a great opportunity to have a chat with one of my favourite PR people Deborah (@chewing_the_fad), from one of my favourite PR companies PurePR London. Here is a snippet from our chit chat on beauty products and hair care.

Have you always been interested in beauty?

My interest in beauty comes from being on the receiving end as an ordinary consumer, and from having a background in journalism and the media’s influence on perceptions of beauty and societal consumption. A large part of my dissertation at university focused on the varying consumer habits across between different races.

Do you give and take recommendations of beauty products?

I take recommendations quite seriously actually, I am always interested in what people are using and why. I follow a handful of great beauty bloggers, some of which have become good friends to. I especially love Khadijat from Dija’s World and Natalie from Beauty Pulse London. Both have worked in the industry know their products and have a clear way of articulating the products to their audience.

What products have been recommended to you recently?

I have combination skin, which means I get typically dry on my cheeks and neck, but produce a lot of oil around my nose and t-zone. Several friends, beauty experts and bloggers have recommended that I use Tea Tree products, in fact a colleague was kind enough to buy me some. I have been using The Body Shop Tea Tree set for over six months now, and my t-zone is definitely more manageable!

What’s your beauty routine?

Daily, I wash my face with either Clean & Clear Exfoliating Face Wash and I’ve also started using Elemis facial wash. After my facial wash and exfoliation, I use The Body Shop Tea Tree range skin toner and mattifying gel.

What do you use on your hair?

My hair thirsty! I have always been told to keep my hair away from water, but on the contrary it grows much faster and feels healthier when washed regularly. When my hair is short like it is now I can afford to use thicker products so I use Toulou Organics Hair Butter, I am a big fan of their products! When my hair starts to grow a bit and I want my curls to have a bit more definition I use Label.M curl cream by Toni & Guy, which is light on my hair and smells delicious.

(Click image to enlarge)

How have things been for you since going natural?

I didn’t over think the whole going natural thing, I just knew I had had enough of extensions and asked my hair dresser to take it off, all off! Getting my big chop was so liberating. I feel like my look matches my personality, whereas when I had a long curly Brazilian I felt that I was trying to look attractive to the rest of the world maybe… and not necessarily myself and my definition of what was attractive was what I thought the world’s definition of what attractive was (I think I’m rambling, but I hope you know what I mean). Since I went natural I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

“I would like the market to be open and inclusive”

I have gone natural before, but this time round things have been a lot easier. Before I found that there wasn’t much natural hair care education available, but this has since changed due to the rise of natural hair blogs and PR companies putting more emphasis on natural hair care products.  Philip Kingsley does a great job with educating about natural hair which is why I love the products, he’s doesn’t specialise in afro hair products, he just incorporates it into his range like a standard, which is exactly what I feel companies should be doing. It doesn’t have to be mainstream and then Black people’s products. I would like the market to be open and inclusive.