UK Curly Girl Feature of the week - EmzPower

1) What does EmzPower do?

      

I’m a personal trainer at Clapham Soho gym (South London, UK) 

 2) What made you get into personal training?

Both of my brothers are personal trainers, so after I injured my knee and couldn’t really dance anymore (I used to dance professionally) my eldest brother taught me how to strength train. This actually helped with the rehabilitation of my injured knee and led me into my new career path of personal training because I loved lifting so much. It was and has always been about teaching ladies what was taught to me, how to be strong and feel confident through training.

 3) What is your goal for the future?

I recently started power lifting, so I definitely will be competing at some point in the near future. Apart from that if I’m honest, I don’t particularly have a plan. All I know is that I want to continue growing in this field, creating awareness of the new generation of strong females that are emerging now and promoting other ladies to jump on board this lifestyle.

4) Have you always wanted to embrace your natural curls?

I've never really known how to care for my hair properly until as of recent. When I was younger, my mum used to give me a good old wash and condition every Sunday night before school the next day. I would wear my hair down for a few days and up in a ponytail for the rest of the week. No leave-in products were used! Lol! I was definetly a walking frizz ball!

As I got older, I changed my hair style literally everyday! Straight, curly, up, slick downs, braids, you name it! And then I found hair dye and it was game over! I had to do a "big chop" as they call it when I was about 18/19 because my curls no longer existed after dying it so many times.

So to actually answer your question, I think I started embracing my natural curls PROPERLY at the start of this year although I was taking better care of it before that. I think it’s the same for most curly girls, we have never really appreciated the blessing that we have been given. So many people would say to me “People pay big money to get hair like yours” and it’s only now that I’m older that I understand the truth in that statement.

5) What is your current hair routine? 

I wash my hair about once a week, deep condition at least once but as of recent sometimes twice! My bleached hair needs all the moisture it can get. Then apply leave-in conditioner, styling cream and then an oil. I've realised that moisturising butters work really well in my hair so I've started adding those into my routine (In place of the styling cream).

6) What are your favourite hair products?

Well, I have a few! Firstly, I love 'Kinky Curly Knot Today' (I think everyone does). Literally just glides through my hair leaving it so soft and easy to handle. Secondly, my 'Keracare Hydrating Shampoo', which I'm sure is sulfate free (Don't quote me on that). It literally lathers up but also feels as though it conditions and moisturises my hair more than other shampoos. Lastly, I'm loving 'Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme'. The reviews were not so good when I bought the product but it works reallly well in my hair and keeps my wash and go fresh for atleast 4 days which keeps me happy.

7) Do you go to a hair stylist/salon? 

I’ve been going to the same hairdressers since I was little! Willie Smarts (in Clapham Common) I don’t think they are curly experts but I’ve never had a bad cut. They always cut my hair when it’s curly and cut layers so it has a lovely shape, which is important with curly hair otherwise it can look rather flat.

You can follow Emz and her journey on social media here, 

Instagram @emzpower Twitter @emzylulu