Life is full of multi-tasking, roles and duties, but it’s also full of opportunities — to better ourselves, work hard and establish things in this world we are passionate about. Sometimes, those opportunities don’t have much to do with one another, but each helps to build a uniqueness about us . That’s proven to be true with our awesome (and well-rounded, might we add), Brand Ambassador, Natasha Howard (aka @longlibralegz on Instagram). Between being a long-time basketball fanatic, model and business professional, Natasha is agreeably a jack of all trades.
“I am employed with Frito Lay where I am a Sales District Leader; basically, my responsibilities are to make sure that my direct reports get the best chips to the shelf so that you can shop for all of your favorite Frito Lay snacks in the grocery store (you can thank me later!),” she said.
I love basketball; it’s my first love. I enjoy playing and now coaching youth and helping them realize that playing sports is vital to success in life. I have a newfound passion for cooking (which I am still working on daily) and also love to model — which is my ultimate passion and how I was able to find Uncle Funky’s Daughter and become a brand ambassador.”
Deciding to embrace our curls isn’t always easy. Sometimes, it takes something special (sometimes not the best scenario) for us to choose what’s best for our hair and ourselves, overall. Despite all the things thrown at her, Natasha still made the ultimate choice of embracing her natural hair, and flaunts it beautifully, today.
“My natural hair journey started in college… (Remember I played basketball.) It was a home game and I had just come out of the game to get a quick breather (most likely I was in foul trouble). When I was on the bench, being lectured by my coach, I kept smelling PERM!!! My friends who were in the stands behind me yelled down, “Tash, we can smell your perm all the way up here!” They were only like two bleachers higher than floor level, and I was embarrassed,” she said. “My ponytail was slicked down and my hair was picture perfect, but that smell bothered me. As the days went on, I just reconsidered what this was doing to my scalp/body and decided that I was going to make a change. That was in 2004.”
Since being fit and athletic are parts of Natasha’s awesome personality, she is still a regular at the gym and works out frequently. The Defunk Hair Refresher Tonic happens to be her favorite UFD product!
“I love this product because since I do work out regularly, frequent bars and hang out around people who are smokers, those odors stick in our hair,” she said. “Defunk is the perfect fix and leaves your hair smelling like Febreze. Its quick and easy, and it works!”
14 years later she has: grown out the relaxer, cut her hair into several bobs, tried color, started all over and did the “big chop”… and now she’s on a quest to grow her hair to “bra strap length.
“I think that going through these change in my entire 20’s was definitely a character builder and helped me remember my way my natural hair was when I was a young girl, but most importantly love it and embrace it.”
Comment below and tell us your stories on why you decided to embrace your curls, naturally!
