When YouTube launched in 2005, it seemed like a great idea at the time, but few could have predicted it would explode into the fame and cash-generating juggernaut it is today. Among the few was Jessica Lewis, a stay-at-home mom whose husband is on active duty in the United States Air Force.
Lewis is the creator and founder of MahoganyCurls, a blog that caters to the natural hair space that has exploded in the African American community. If you are thinking of or have already made the decision to go natural, her blog is a good place to start. She started out in 2009 and today her tutorials are dominating social media platforms. Her YouTube channel has nearly 250,000 subscribers, about 300,000 people like her Facebook page, and more than 100,000 people are on her Instagram.
“I decided to upload videos documenting my natural hair journey and I created a YouTube channel,” Lewis says. “I basically did it so I could document my journey, see like the dos and don’ts of wearing natural hair since I was a newly natural. From there, you know people started following me. I also did it to help others just in case they were interested in learning about natural hair and you know it eventually just grew.”
These days an increasing number of women of color are realizing the benefits of wearing natural hair. Some of them either got burned after putting the wrong chemicals in their hair, or damaged their hair by putting in too much relaxer, are terrified that they may end up losing their hair, or just simply embracing the exhilarating freedom of wearing their hair chemical or relaxer free.
Lewis says, “I think a lot of women are realizing that it is great to have your own natural hair. It’s also
healthier and they want to embrace what grows out of their scalp naturally. It’s a new you, a new person, you’re starting over. As far as it being a new trend, it looks beautiful, it’s great and everyone has different textures. Bottom line, there’s a lot of variety with natural hair.”RELATED: Natural Hair is Big Business For Black Entrepreneurs
Lewis says she relaxed her hair for the last time in 2008 and since then she hasn’t looked back. Not long after she started wearing her hair “natural” she began her blog.
“I never wore a wig or weave but being a military mom with my husband stationed in Germany there weren’t a lot of natural hair stylists or stylists period for my type of hair. I used to order my relaxer online and I got sick and tired of doing that and that’s when I decided to go natural. I just figured it would be easier and after reading a few blogs and talking with different people I knew I was embarking on the right path.”
As a blogger, credibility is key. Your word has to be your bond. Without seeming sincere, it’s a tall order to expect people to either follow you or hang on to your every word.
“People like what I do, the information that I give them. My main objective is to help people and I have people that tell me I inspire them and its really nice to hear things like that,” Lewis says.
She tells BE, that she tries to stay consistent with her recommendations and doesn’t push products she hasn’t either already tried out herself or with which she isn’t familiar.
“I use products that have organic ingredients, they don’t have to be 100% organic, but I try to use products that don’t have silicone or sulphates because silicone can weigh your hair down or if you have curly hair sulphates can dry your hair out.”
Lewis, who is originally from Georgia, was based in Colorado Springs and is now headed to California. So does being constantly on the move hamper her brand?
“No. That’s the beauty of having a brand online. You can just go anywhere and it will follow you,” she says. “Now I can even go overseas and there’s people that follow me in different countries. I can continue to do what I’m always doing and I’m at the point in my business when I’m tens of thousands every year.”
As for a product she swears by Lewis says SheaMoisture is the way to go. “I try to tell people to use products that works for them. But I’ve been using SheaMoisture for three years and they are really great products.”