Afro Alice Hebdo- Christelle Dossous au Naturel

I discovered Onaturell through a Haitian model with natural hair I interviewed last night and subscribed to their website.  And that’s how I met the face behind the project.  This week, we interviewed Christelle Dossous, CEO of Onaturell.  Read on to get to know more about her and her iniative.

Mwen dekouvri Onaturell pandan mwen tap entevyouwe yon mannken ayisyen ki gen cheve natirel epi mwen tou abone ak sit yo a.  Se konsa, m tapral rankontre ak met sit la epi fe entevyou avel.  Li pi ba pou nou konn plis sou Christelle ak sou Onaturell.

Christelle Dossous

1-  Tell us about you.  Pale nou de wou.

My name is Christelle Dossous. I was born and raised in Haiti. I studied Arabic languages and forensic nursing and now I am currently a medical student. I am the owner of Onaturell  which is brand/ blog. My goal as the owner is to educate people about proper hair care and encourage them to use raw, organic products in their regimen. I have a passion for languages, animals and traveling.

Mwen rele Christelle Dossous.  Mwen fèt epi mwen leve Ayiti.  Mwen etidye lang Arab epi swen enfimyè mediko legal. Kounya a map etidye lamedsin.  Mwen kreye Onaturell ki se yon blog epi yon mak pwodui tou.  Objektif mwen se pou m ede moun konnen koman pou yon pran swen cheve yo ak pwodui ki natirel.  Mwen renmen lang, bèt epi vwayaje anpil.

2-  Tell us about your career as a medical professional.  Pale nou de karyè w nan antanke etidyan nan medsin.

I started Medical school in August 2012 in St Kitts and Nevis and this Dec 2013 I came back to Haiti to continue with my medical studies at UNDH. Medical school is not easy, it’s a lot of dedication and work but I don’t see myself doing anything else. My goal is to be a gynecologist.

M komanse etidye lamedsin nan mwa Dawou 2012 nan peyi St Kitts ak Nevis epi nan mwa desanm ane pase a, mwen deside tounen nan peyi a pou m kontinye ak etid mwen yon an UNDH.  Etidye medsin pa jwet men piske se sa m we m ka fe e m renmen, mwen bay tout mwen menm ladan.  Mwen vle vin yon jinekologis.

3-  When and why did you return natural? Kilè epi koman w te tounen natirel?

I’ve been natural for 4 years now and December 2012 I did my 3^rd  and last big chop. I decided to go natural because I wanted something different at that time. I was going through a lot and I felt like I needed a change of look. I just woke up on day and went to the barber and asked him to Big chop.

Mwen retounen natirel depi 4 an epi denye fwa mwen koupe chevem se te an desanm 2012.  M te retounen natirel paske m te vle fe yon bagay ki diferan le sa a.  M te nan kek peryod difisil e m te anvi chanje louk. M te jis leve yon joue pi mwen al kay kwafè epi m mande l koupe tout cheve yo.

4-   How did people surrounding you react to the change? Koman moun ki pwoch ou te reyaji le w te fin koupe cheve yo?

Everybody around me liked it and honestly I don’t recall anybody having to say something negative about my decision to go natural.

Tout moun te renmen cheve koupe a.  M pa janm vreman gen moun ki fe remak negatif sou chevem.

5-    Who were your supporters? Your hairspirations?  Kiyes ki te konn sipote w? Kiyes ki te enspirasyon w?

Nobody supported me in my decision to go natural because I didn’t tell anybody until I came from the barbershop. The decision was mine. After a while a lot of my friends would tell me how much they loved my hair etc. I think now my number one supporter ever is my boyfriend and I think if I ever permed my hair he will go bananas loool. I didn’t have any hairspirations when I first went natural but now I can say that naptural85 is my hairspiration just because throughout her journey she’s only been using organic products and her results are amazing.

Pesonn pat bezwen sipote m lem te pran desizyon an paske m pat di pesonn sa lem pral koupe cheve m nan.  Se jis apre yon ti tan, zanmim te komanse dim yo renmen cheve m.  Apre koup la, moun ki te sipotem anpil se te menaj mwen e jou m ta remet pemanant, li patap kontan.  Mpat gen moun ki te enspirem lem te fek tounen natirel men kounya mwen renmen @naptural85 sou Youtube paske li itilize pwodui natirel e li jwenn bonjan rezilta.

6-   Are you working on any project related to natural hair?  Eske w gen pwojè ki gen rapo ak cheve natirel?

Yes. Onaturell is my first project related to hair. This project is not only about natural hair .It is for all hair types. My goal is to promote healthy hair so I don’t discriminate.

Onaturell se premye reyalizasyon m nan sans saa.  Non selman, pwodui yo bon pou cheve natirel men pou tout lot cheve tou paske objektif mwen se fe pwomosyon pou cheve ki ansante.

 7-   Tell us about Onaturell.  Pale nou de Onaturell

Onaturell started first as a blog/website in September 2013. I had been working on the project for almost 2 years but I didn’t really know how to go about it. I was watching a lot of videos on youtube where a lot of naturalistas focus a lot on product use but not really on educating people on haircare and the science behind it. So I started doing my research, reading books, and gathering information.  Beginning of 2013, while I was still in medical school, I approach a really good friend of mine and told him about the project. He was really interested and told me that I should definitely do it.  We started working on it and in September 2013 we launch the blog/website. It was a lot of work, sleepless nights and I thank all my friends and family that were there to give me their taughts and opinion. My goal with the blog/website is to educate. Every week I try to post tips, pictures on the website/ instagram/ facebook and other information that I believe would help anybody that wanted to have a healthy journey. I also posted a list of recipes that the viewers have access to.

Poud choublak

In November I told my boyfriend if everything works out great with Onaturell and I get positive feedbacks I can probably start selling natural products and my homemade products too. One day while I was in class he texted me and told me that if I decide to make natural products available to people in Haiti he will definitely help me out and that he believes its something that could work. With his support and my family in December I launched the store in Haiti. It is a big accomplishment, I never expected Onaturell to be what is it today. I just thank each and everyone for their amazing support and believing in what I do.

An Septanm 2013, mwen te komanse ak sit/blog Onaturell la.  M tap travay sou yon proje depi dezan men mwen pat konn koman pou m fe pou m reyalizel.  M te konn gade anpil videyo Youtube kote medam ak cheve natirel yo te chita anpil sou pwodui moun ka itilize pou pran swen cheve san yo pa vreman ede moun yon konprann zafe pran swen cheve a epi koman pou w fel.  Nan komansman ane 2013, pandanm tap etidye medsin, mwen te mande yon bon zanmim pou l ede m ak pwoje a e lit e dako.  Nou travay di anpil, pase anpil nuit san nou pa domi…mpap sispann remesye zanmim ak fanmim pou sipo yo ak opinioon yo.  Mwen itilize sit mwen an pou m edike moun yo.  Chak semen, mwen bay kek  konsey ak foto sou sit la, sou instagram ak paj Facebook pou m ede moun konnen koman pou yo gen cheve ki ansante.  Mwen konn poste reset pou cheve tou ke tout moun kapab we.

Nan fen ane pase a, grasa sipo menaj mwen ak fanmim, m te komanse vann pwodui yo ann Ayiti.  Se te yon gwo reyalizasyon pou mwen paske m pat konnen Onaturell t ap rive lwen konsa.  Mwen remesye chak grenn moun ki patisipe nan fe ke Onaturell sal ye jodi a e paske yo te met konfyans nan nou.

8-  What is your hair regimen? Ki woutin ou pou cheve w?

My regimen is very simple. I do a lot of protective styling mostly mini twist and I try to keep them for a week or two. I wash my hair once a month with my Onaturell Citrus mudwash and always rinse with Aloe vera Juice. I do a apple cider vinegar rinse very two weeks and I use my homemade styling cream to moisturize and seal my hair. I do 1 protein treatment every month.

Chanpou Onaturell fè
Mudwash by Onaturell

Woutin mwen senp.  M fe anpil penyen ki pwoteje cheve a tankou de dwet tou piti epi m kite yo pou youn oswa de semen.  M lave cheve m chak mwa ak shanpou Onaturell Citrus la epi mwen rense yo ak ji lalwa.  Mwen rense cheve yo ak vineg pom chak de semen epi mwen itilize bè ke m fè pou cheve yo pou m idrate epi sele idratasyon nan cheve a.  Mwen fe yon tretman pwoteyin chak mwa.

9-  What do you like most about being natural? Sa w plis renmen lefekte w natirel?

I love the versatility

Mwen fè sa m vle ak cheve m.

10-  A message to the existing, upcoming and potential natural hair community? Ki mesaj ou ta renmen voye bay medam ki déjà natirel yo, sa ki souwout pou yo vin natirel ak sa ki yon jou gen dwa retounen natirel yo?

Enjoy your journey as much as possible. Know that this process is an ever learning process. There will be good hair days and bad hair days. It’s just part of the journey and once you learn to accept it you will enjoy being natural. I strongly encourage my naturalistas to use organic raw ingredients in their hair. Check out Onaturell if you really want to include natural products into your regimen.

Amize w otan w kapab ak cheve natirel ou.  Konnen ke wap toujou kontinye ap aprann.  Ap gen jou ki bel, ap gen jou kote cheve a difisil pou jere.  Tout sa fe pati eksperyans lan e kou w fin aprann aksepte cheve w, wap renmen sa.  M ankouraje nou pou nou itilize pwodi natirel nan cheve nou.  Kontakte Onaturell si w vle itilize pwodui natirel nan woutin ou pou cheve w.

 

Afro Alice

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