Do you ladies remember the Original Moxie products I RAVED about a while back? Well, I had the pleasure to interview Rachel, the owner of the line. I am very excited about sharing this post with you all and I hope you enjoy!
Read Rachel's hair and business story below.
1. Rachel, please tell us a little bit about you and your awesome hair care line, Original Moxie.
Original Moxie is a full line of natural hair care products for all hair types - from straight and fine to kinky and thick. As you noted in your YT review, the entire line is chock full of potent botanicals, herbs, and butters - when you use our products, we want it to feel like a trip to the spa for you and your hair. There's a lot that makes our products stand out from the pack, but I attribute the superior quality and effectiveness to our unique product development process, which begins and ends with real people - not salons and supermodels.
3. Do you have a current hair regimen that you stick to and do you use your own products?
(do you use heat, natural products, ect...)
I use only Original Moxie on my hair and haven't used heat styling for a very looong time - years, probably. Mostly because it dried out my hair, but also because it took so much time! (I have a LOT of hair). I wash once a week with Get Clean!TM, my no-foam shampoo, and do some sort of leave-in conditioner and oil treatment every day. Lately, with the growth of my business, I am all about quick, low-maintenance styles that still look professional. I'm very excited about the 'Moxie Steam Set TM' method, which we will be debuting on YT in a week or so. It's basically a way to pre-treat your hair before you shower, let the products and the moisture do the heavy lifting, and then just set it with a little product. Very quick, very easy, and my curls always look hydrated and frizz-free. When I have a little extra time, I finger twist my hair, with Shape Shifter TM Re-forming Creme, and let it air dry. The Shape Shifter TM stretches out my curls and gives me more length along with excellent curl definition and hold. 
4. How would you classify your hair (type wise)? What products work best to manage and maintain your curls?
Using the Original Moxie 3-D System TM, I have Thick/Fine, Dry, Very Curly hair. It would correspond to a 3-C with the Andre Walker system. Because my hair is naturally on the dry side, I find I always need a combination of an oil-based product (like Hair BlingTM or EmollienceTM) and a creme or gel (like Shape ShifterTM or Lux LocksTM) in order to look my best. The cream or gel provides hydration and moisture, while the oil prevents product build-up and adds shine.
5. How long have you been a curly girl? Did you BC or transition? Either way, tell us a little about your hair journey thus far.
I have been a curly girl since I read Lorraine Massey's book 'Curly Girl' in about 2007. That book changed my life and inspired me to start my own hair care line! I transitioned slowly, rather than with a 'big chop'. I had mostly been using a very mild relaxer to texturize my hair, so there wasn't a huge difference at first between the new growth and the relaxed ends. It has been a very long journey for me, since I began hating my hair at the tender age of 5. I grew up in a very 'preppy', conservative town and wanted to look just like all my friends, who had bone straight, feathered hair. Highschool and college were hard too, since all the boys seemed to prefer girls with hair that was silky and straight. People asked all the time if I brushed my hair (yes - dangit!), why I didn't just relax it, etc. Finally I did relax my hair and found that I got many more complements with the straight look than with my natural curls. It wasn't until I started grad school at a historically black university in Baltimore (Morgan State) and was surrounded by amazingly gorgeous, sexy, confident women with naturally curly hair that I realized that my natural curls could actually be an asset. So that was my big 'Aha' moment, but it still took me many years before I was ready to say goodbye to the creamy crack and truly embrace the real me.
6. What makes you love your kinks, curls and coils?
It helps that my husband appreciates my hair - the bigger and wilder the better, as far as he is concerned! But I also love that my hair sets me apart from the crowd and shows of my personal style. Even when I don't feel spunky, my hair does! Most of all, I love that my hair connects me to other women (and men) of many different ethnicities. We are all sisters in a very real way. If I had been born with straight hair, I would have missed out on so much and never would have started this company!
8. Where can we find you and your product line on the web (or stores)?
Original Moxie products are available on our website, originalmoxie.com, and at salons and high end markets in Southeast Michigan, where our company is based. We're slowly expanding to salons in other parts of the U.S., and hope to have some 'anchor' salons in large metropolitan areas like Atlanta, New York and L.A. within a year.
9. What advice do you have for women who want to venture out and start their own businesses?
Believe in your product and in yourself, work hard and pay attention to the details. Owning your own business may look glamorous, but the truth is that you have to do everything, from making the product, to cleaning the floors when you first start out. You'll have days (and nights) when you think 'why am I doing this?'. But just sticking with it day after day is half the battle. 
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