As you probably know by now, a few weeks ago I declared war on my time and labor intensive natural hair regimen. Stressed out by the stress itself that simply maintaining my natural hair was causing, (since when does personal grooming cause stress???) I have been on a new natural hair journey...one I hope will lead me to greater simplicity.

It was during this search that I came across the gorgeous Dawn Michelle. A consummate minimalist and graceful model and professional dancer, Dawn Michelle has been cultivating the art of simplifying everything in her life at MinimalistBeauty.com. Though it was her effortless natural hair that drew me in, it was her relaxed approach to life that immediately made me want to interview her.

I bring you the Minimalist Beauty herself...Dawn Michelle:

How long have you been natural? Can you go into detail about your natural hair journey?I've been natural for most of my life although I had a relaxer in high school. I wore a TWA (tiny weeny afro) in college and kept my hair short. I would let it grow out some, then cut it back off again. I've also done a lot with my hair over the years. It has been dyed, in locs, weaved, and at one point texturized which was a mistake. I had my natural hair dyed once again for a dance industrial job in 2008. I cut all of the color out of my hair before beginning to finally grow my hair out chemical free the spring of 2009. Do you have any particular goals for your hair, such as a length goal?I'd love to grow my hair to waist length. My focus is maintaining the health of my hair. When my hair is strong and healthy I am able to retain length.What inspired your general quest for minimalism in your hair routine and in life?I prefer to keep things simple in general. I don't like having a ton of products or an extensive beauty regimen. Being healthy by minimizing stress, eating organic foods, exercise, and drinking lots of water help with how I look and feel. No beauty product can create health, although chemical cosmetics do have a cumulative toxicity on the body over time. The minimalist lifestyle first appealed to me when I decided to pay off $20,000 in credit card and car loan debt. Simplifying my life and my spending as well as changing my perspective towards consumerism made that goal a reality. I had no idea that one goal would change my life as much as it did. My blog Minimalist Beauty was born from having that goal.What is your current regimen? How long does it take you from start to finish? My current hair regimen is pretty simple and done once a week. I deep condition my hair with henna and coconut milk, cleanse my hair with a DIY herbal hair cleanser, then set my curls in about nine braids with aloe vera juice and an oil or shea butter and oil mix. I sometimes use a lotion for my hair, yet it isn't absolutely necessary. It takes me about 2.5 hours to do my hair not including how long I keep my henna treatments in. I'll keep my henna treatments in from 1-3 hours depending on my schedule. To maintain my hair throughout the week I apply hair butter or oil to my hair, create four braids, and cover in satin before going to sleep at night. I do wear my hair loose often but also in updos. If my hair feels dry I will do a light spritz with aloe vera juice then seal in the moisture with a hair butter or an oil.How do you detangle your hair while minimizing breakage in a simple way?I honestly would not be able to detangle my hair with ease if it wasn't for my henna treatments. Henna keeps my hair strong and manageable. Also my herbal hair cleanser contains one or more mucilage herbs which creates an amazing slip for detangling. I apply my herbal hair cleanser in four sections, and keep my hair in those sections to detangle with ease. I use a wide tooth seamless comb to detangle the last few inches of my hair under running water in the shower, then finger detangle the rest of my hair while rinsing out the herbal hair cleanser. I then fully detangle my hair after coating it with oil/butter before braiding my hair to set it. Once in awhile I'll wear a wash-and-go style, yet have found that I always have more tangles than necessary even when smoothing individual curls. I really like using braid outs to keep my hair almost completely tangle free.Why and how did you make the transition from using commercial hair products to "non-chemical" hair care?I've always been more inclined to use natural and organic cosmetic brands. In the past few years I began learning more about product ingredients, and I realized that many natural and organic brands still formulate their products with synthetic chemicals. I have very sensitive skin that reacts very badly to these synthetic ingredients. Seeking out a 100% natural way to have healthy hair has been the best thing I could have ever done. Learning about traditional Ayurvedic hair care was the beginning of my switch to simple herbal hair care. I started with doing henna hair treatments. Nothing else made my hair as smooth, strong, and shiny as henna with long lasting results. Henna has made it easier to grow my hair out than anything else. I've been using henna consistently since March 2010.What advice can you give for finding products that work for your hair, especially non-commercial products?Spending time researching non-commercial products and ingredients will really help the process of finding products that you love. Learn as much as you can about natural ingredients and what each ingredient does. Also learn which ingredients that you hair likes and create a regimen around them. I wrote an article that goes into detail on how to create a chemical free hair care regimen called No More Chemical Hair Care--Part 4--Building A New Regimen. It is actually a four part series on why I went chemical free, and how to find and use simple hair care ingredients. What are your non-commercial favorites?Henna, coconut milk, wheat germ oil, castor oil, shea butter, yucca root, slippery elm, and aloe vera are my absolute favorites.What advice can you give for designing a simple routine with natural hair? Do you think natural, highly textured hair is inherently "high-maintenance"?It's very important to know your hair's porosity/density and moisture/protein or strengthening needs. For example I have normal porosity, fine density, and am always in the need of protein or strengthening. As long as my hair remains strong, it holds moisture with proper moisturizing and sealing, and is easy to detangle. This information has led me to understanding that henna treatments are vital to my regimen. Surprisingly henna treatments make detangling my hair so much easier as well as give my hair a great shine.If your hair strands are thick and strong, yet extremely dry, then moisture is most important. Steaming hair may be your solution for maintaining healthy manageable hair. Others may need to do both protein and moisture treatments to find the proper balance for their hair.I don't believe natural, highly textured hair is inherently "high-maintenance". The healthy hair journey has become more and more popular. We are collectively taking our hair care into our own hands versus just having it done to look good by stylists. As we all learn to understand our hair's needs, and embrace what God gave us, natural highly textured hair will be thought of as normal hair care and low maintenance. We will then know what to do with our hair and just do it. It takes time to care for healthy hair just like someone who wants to be fit. You don't just wake up in the morning strong, toned, and curvy in the right places without eating well and exercising. Healthy hair is no different, it is cared for and cultivated.Do you have any other tips or suggestions concerning "keeping it simple" with natural hair and our overall beauty routines?Our hair is the last component of our bodies to get nutrients. It is so important to eat healthy balanced foods, exercise, and drink water for our overall health. We nurture our hair and our beauty best from the inside out.Thank you Courtney for such a beautiful interview! I wish you and your readers a very healthy hair journey, and the very best of everything that you desire!

***No, thank you Dawn Michelle! Dawn's blog is an incredible resource (it's even relaxing to read!) and I highly recommend it. I will be perusing it myself for more tips on laid-back hair care and beyond. She also has an Etsy store, http://azuha.etsy.com featuring her very artistic, custom jewelry. You can view Dawn Michelle's professional portfolio at http://www.msdawnmichelle.com/Has Dawn inspired you to try the minimalist approach in some area of your life? If you had one question for Dawn, what would you ask her? Please share in the comments section!