She is Cliff San A Jong's favorite model and the photo of Cherelice, a seven year old girl from Suriname, is with more than 30,000 likes and 20,000 shares one of the most popular Black Beauties on Facebook. Curious about who this beautiful model with a beautiful head of frizzy hair is, we asked her mother for an interview. Meet Cherelice, the youngest frizzy hair model who is making waves in the social media world.
How does Cherelice prefer to wear her hair?
She often determines that based on where we go. Because people often want to touch the hair or they make comments. One of them is: your mother certainly does not know how to comb. Or what is wrong with your hair (this question comes back as standard). She likes this hairstyle.
Does she wear her hair loose often?
She wears her hair loose more often. Sometimes for a long time in models with braids with and without beads. Sometimes she wants hairstyles. She also likes different types of balls or two desserts etc. And then again sometimes she just wants to walk like that.
What does she think of her hair?
She loves her hair and likes to comb it, sometimes she doesn't feel like it but then she says can you make a bun. But she really loves it, is not ashamed and even wants to go to school like that (but that is forbidden).
When was the photo taken?
The photo is from 3/4 months ago.
What are Cherelice's hobbies?
She loves to be busy with creative things. She always makes crafts out of cardboard. She also helps my mother decorate cupcakes. She is everywhere where there is something creative. She often turns curls, and likes to pose, all too much herself. And you don't have to say stand like this or that. The moment you take a picture she has enough positions. I teach her to be beautiful on the inside.
What does she want to be?
She wants to be a designer. She already has stacks of drawings of drawn patterns and has a lot of crafts. Beads, stickers, sequins, glitters etc. She makes skirts and tops for herself by hand and decorates them.
She had a sewing machine but it's broken. She wants a real one so we're going to save up for it together. She's going on vacation soon and she wants to learn to sew on mine so she already knows how it works. Today she said: when I have my design office I want a hair salon above it.
And you as a mother: do you have trouble combing her hair?
I have no trouble combing. I also had thick and long hair and my mother really struggled with it. Often aunts and also a neighbor girl helped. So I had to learn to comb it myself at an early age. I really don't make much effort to make her aware of her hair. She likes to watch programs about hair and fashion. Games on the tablet are also about hairstyles and dressing dolls. The only thing I do is wash it every week. And I do my best to take good care of it. I tried a lot of products for a while because it is quite tangled. So to comb it out easily I really had to try something different every time. She has some smooth strands in between and they twist around the rest. So it was a job to find something that fits.
How do you pass on a love of curly hair to your daughter in this day and age when straight hair and weaves like Beyonce's are all the rage?
Beyonce is her sister and Shakira is her cousin. She's been saying that since she was 3. But she loves their fashion and dance moves. She doesn't talk about their hair. Because the two of us often talk about how beautiful her hair is and she hears it on the street. All those compliments. So she's very aware of her hair and I encourage her to be grateful. She asks me: when are you going to stop straightening because it makes your hair look fake.
Sang! So well aware and what do you answer then?
I tell her when I'm a little less busy.
Do you have any advice for mothers with children with so much hair? I would say this to mothers: straightening and waving does not make your children confident and then feel beautiful. It is what you tell and teach your child.
Cherelice loves taking pictures. You don't even have to tell her to pose. She is literally and figuratively a natural!