Hi there, I’m Quentin, the creator and founder of FROtorial! I have a thing for problem-solving,  especially problems others overlook. I have a technical background, with a few patents and a few other revenue generating apps under my belt, but you’re probably wondering why created FROtorial:

I grew up in a household where hair was pretty important. My dad was worked for a hair company and mom a former model. Our bathroom was always stocked with the latest hair products! That’s when I first started to notice major beauty companies seemed to de-prioritize the needs of people of color. Even though we had big name products, more often than not, they didn’t work well and my mom ended up buying smaller niche products. As I got older I started to see my friends in college and family at home, transitioning from the big name chemical-based products to smaller, more natural products. After talking to a few friends, I quickly realized that because everyone has different hair types and porosity levels, finding the right product for their hair was more challenging than it seemed. Also many of these smaller products were tough to find.
 

Interestingly enough, I had friends that mastered their natural hair routine, while others had no idea where to start. The inability to find and access brands that met our needs seemed like a problem we should have solved already.  I thought there had to be a better way.

FROtorial was born and created a safe space for people to talk, learn and shop for their hair and skin.

For my middle school, high school, and college years my hair was severely heat damaged, I would be in the Dominican salon every week getting a roller set and then having it blow dried.  I always wanted my hair to be straight because my mom and aunts from my Ecuadorian side had long straight “good” hair. Naturally, my hair is very dry and prone to split ends so you can imagine the negative effects excessive heat had on my hair.  My mother became privy to the natural hair movement and was actually the one who recommended that I stop straightening my hair. My natural hair journey started in 2015 by growing out my natural hair slowly and cutting off the damaged hair. It wasn’t until about 2017 that my natural curls started to take form due to bleaching and coloring my hair often with the fear of boredom on mind.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some days where I can’t stand my hair but it has all been a process for me- learning to love and nourish my crown.

FROtorial has given me those affirmations I needed on those rough hair days by communicating with women on their own perspective hair journeys.  It has also provided a platform for me to connect with other kinky and curly girls for advice on hair routines, tutorials, and products. I’m always looking for new ways to try and engage FROtorial users by increasing retention and utilization. I want your FROtorial experience to be nothing short of amazing.

My name is Katyana, and I am the Digital Marketing Intern at FROtorial! My natural hair journey began on April 28, 2018, when I decided to get what the natural hair community refers to as the “big chop.” Over the course of this year, the most exciting part of my recreational life has been dedicating time and love into each ringlet of my curly crown. It took me a very long time to love and accept that my curls are a crown. I did not love them the same way I do know because I was not raised to love them. Being of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, it is very common for my kinky curly hair to be seen as messy or unruly. It was a ritual to go to my Perth Amboy Dominican beauty salons to achieve the ultimate look of perfect, flowing straight hair.

My hair is very high maintenance and straightening it every two weeks seemed to be the only solution to what my grandfather called, “my bird’s nest.” I began to grow very tired of straightening my hair but grew even more envious that my curls did not look as great as the bloggers I would watch on social media. Eventually, I took that envious energy and used it to motivate my own natural hair journey.

This year alone has been extremely successful and has opened the door to many opportunities, including FROtorial! Through documenting my own journey, I found the FROtorial app and was extremely eager to become a part of the team in any way I could possibly help. I loved their message, “Made for Us, by Us,” and immediately, I knew they understood the struggle. The platform provides other people who are learning to embrace their natural roots the tools necessary to achieve ultimate success in their journey by allowing each user to share their tips, tricks, product recommendations, and most importantly, the app allows users to ask all the specific questions that they need answered to empower their journey.

Hey I’m Krystal and I’m a proud Jamerican woman! I was born and raised in Central Jersey and I graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in Mass Communication and Political Science with a track in Strategic Public Relations (say that three times fast).

If you’re not familiar with Central Jersey, and yes it does exist, you wouldn’t know that there are only a handful of salons that cater to textured or natural black hair. And to be honest, I have yet to visit any of them, I travel more than 25 miles when it’s time to visit a natural salon.

Growing up I always had a “headful of hair” and happened to love the natural state of my hair. I say that because I remember being about 7 or 8 years old and my mom making me get my hair permed. My little 7 or 8 year old “woke” self was in love with the idea of curls. However, that shortly changed because I became infatuated with images of European beauty standards that were all around me. Everything from television shows to magazine covers at the store, helped construct my warped idea of beauty.

When I became a pre-teen my mom was no longer perming my hair to make it manageable, but she did allow me to visit the local Dominican doobie spot for the infamous blow-out. At my first visit my cousin literally told me that I was going to cry from the heat from the blow dryer. I can still hear it now, “Krystal it’s going to be hot, don’t you dare cry in here...”. Can you imagine? Oh and to top it off, during my sticky, sweaty track years in high school, I loved to flat iron my hair at 450 degrees every single day in hopes of one day being Becky Bolt with the good hair. Neither of these dreams came true as I was never fast enough or my hair never seemed to be straight enough.

Flash forward to reality I LOVE MY NATURAL HAIR! It took me years to understand and embrace my texture, porosity, and everything that comes with this crown. And I’m still learning. Enter FROtorial! I’m overjoyed to be the Partner Relations lead here! I look forward to helping build a community for people who are starting or are well on their way with their natural hair journey. We need more spaces where vulnerability is encouraged and we can find strength in each other. FROtorial is the perfect stage to share these stories.