Afro-Latina bloguera Ada Rojas fuses all things style, beauty, travel, and inspiration into her digital destination, AllThingsAda.com. You’ll find the 28-year-old content creator sharing her invaluable gems on her website and across her social media channels, which reach more than 50,000 followers or, as she affectionately refers to them, vecinas.
Whether you’re drawn to her amazing spirit or perfectly sculpted, 3B and 3C curls, she’s authentically delivering takeaways from her journey so that vecinas everywhere can live their most fabulous life. Rojas has tried numerous hair and beauty products and techniques throughout her 8-year blogging career.
One product she swears by: hair gel. “I love hair gel. They work very, very well for my hair,” the Dominican-American entrepreneur says. It’s perfect for slicking your hair back or for achieving defined curls after washing and conditioning your mane, Rojas adds. For those slicked back looks, edge control is a must for her, which is when she turns to Shea Moisture. “I love Shea Moisture; I’ve been using Shea Moisture for years and years and years, even before they were super well-known.”
Rojas spoke with Remezcla on how she manages her hair, her quick, simple hair routine (as well as her more time consuming regimen), and go-to products she picks up at Ulta Beauty to achieve her amazing signature look.
What is your hair type, would you say, and what type of products work best on your hair?
So my hair type is a mix of 3B and 3C, and it really depends a lot on the product. I would say that I personally love the cocktail products. So I will typically do some form of light product that I will use as a leave-in to hydrate the hair, and then to define the hair and extend the style, I will typically apply another product on top. Most of the time it’s a gel. I love hair gel. They work very, very well for my hair.
But if it comes to a butter or a cream, that I can only do by itself because it’s a little heavier. I have fine hair, but it’s very dense, and I have a lot of it. It doesn’t seem like I have fine hair, so I have to be careful with products that tend to be little bit heavier, and I have to use a little less. Otherwise, they tend to weigh down my hair.
So what do you like most about your hair?
I love the versatility of having that short hair. It’s honestly the best part about it. I love, kind of the different forms and shapes it takes on a daily, especially compared to the first day when I washed my hair to the last day when it’s all big and fluffy and even tangled. I just love the different stages of a wash-and-go.
I [also] love the fact that if I feel compelled to switch things up and maybe straighten it, I can do that as well. And my hair, at the end of the day, it’s healthy, and I can go back to wearing it curly without my hair getting damaged. So I really love the versatility of natural hair.
Everyone has a unique hair routine, so can you talk a little bit about yours?
I typically have two, and it always depends on the amount of time that I have on my hands, right? If I know that I have to go somewhere, but I need to wash my hair because it’s really dirty, then I will typically wash it, I’ll apply a good conditioner, and I will pull my hair back into a bun – because I know that I’m not going to have time to do the whole extensive routine. And then the following day, I’ll rinse that out, and I’ll actually style my hair, maybe when I get back home later that day ’cause I’ll have more time. So that’s kind of like my quickie.
When I have my regular time, I’ll wash and circle my hair. I will definitely clarify. If I feel that it has a lot of build-up – I do use product with silicone– I’m very aware of the need to clarify my hair to remove the build-up. But I shampoo, condition, and then I section off my hair so that when I apply the product, it should [spread] evenly, and I don’t have random pieces that are frizzier than the others because I didn’t apply enough product. So I will typically do some type of leave-in conditioner for hydration, and then apply a second product on top. Sometimes it might be a cream, but like I said, most of the time it’s the gel because I love gels.
I definitely cocktail products to extend the washing, because I hate washing my hair. So I typically will only wash it once a week, and that’s it. Sometimes I can go up to nine days with the style, but I tend not to wash my hair that often. And I always re-condition every single wash that I get, so if I have time I will leave the leave the deep conditioner in my hair for half an hour, and then rinse it out and bounce, but definitely deep conditioning is a must for me.
From September 30 to October 20, Ulta Beauty is offering up to 50% off the most loved brands as part of its Gorgeous Hair Event. Every day, they have beauty steals from from several different brands, which makes trying new items more accessible. What products are you excited to try and why?
So I did the mask, the Ouidad [Recovery Melt-Down Extreme Repair] Mask because so many people rave about that hair mask, and I have been dying to try it. It leaves your hair so hydrated and it’s so buttery. It’s just a great hair mask.
And I picked … the [Joico K-Pak Deep-Penetrating Reconstructor], because … there are times where you need some kind of protein treatment to bring your hair back to life. Especially, for me when I straighten my hair, a lot of times I’m like, “Oh my God, I need a protein treatment, so my hair can really be like, boom.” I can really bring the hair back or some type of moisturizing treatment. The protein treatment is phenomenal. It gives your hair so much definition. Your curls are so juicy so when you do your wash-and-go, it’s just beautiful defined curls.
[I also picked] Nioxin, and I’ve actually never used that brand, but I recommend it so much to my girls because my hair stylist put me [on to it]. And Nioxin is for people who have fine hair and want to thicken the hair, and it’s also for people who have hair loss.
I get a lot questions about my hair, a lot of questions about hair loss, and how to make the hair grow back, and how to make it thicker. And because I have fine hair too, but it is thicker, I don’t personally experience that problem all the time, but I know a lot of people who would. So once my hair stylist educated me on this brand, I ran, telling everyone about it, because it does work, and it’s a great brand.
Anything else you want to add?
The hardest part about my hair journey would be the transitioning part because your hair is a completely different texture, and it’s really hard because you look in the mirror, and you feel really ugly. You don’t feel beautiful. But you have to be really, really patient.
I know for many of us, we can’t wait to have those beautiful curls, but the beautiful part about your journey is really the time where you’re just learning how to embrace your hair. And, for me, I know that I have to find different ways to find the beauty in myself. when I did look in the mirror I didn’t look beautiful. So I started to look inward, and I started to see that, “Wow I’m a really kind person and that makes me beautiful. I’m a really loving person and that makes me beautiful. I’m a really courageous and brave person, I’m very ambitious and that makes me beautiful.”
