Nicole Patterson is not only a well recognized health Guru and Athletic Trainer, but she is a bold woman of all trades, especially when it comes to health. She’s done the work starting with her education, graduating from Baylor University, B.S. Science in Athletic Training, and graduating with a strong ideal and passion for assisting others in achieving and maintaining a healthy, peaceful lifestyle from the inside and out.
Research driven, filled with compassion, and motivated are just a few words to describe her. One thing women take pride in is our hair, especially in the black community. Nicole decided after years of research to craft her own hair care product and brand entitled “Mane Temptations,” which is formulated to absorb into the hair, allowing it to heal and repair from previous damage by working from the inside on out.
Nicole Patterson’s formula is something that we’ve all been needing, especially during this time of health and balance. FEMI Magazine spoke to the CEO about her journey and the humble beginnings of merely being a Boss and helping those in need.
Where did the name Mane Temptation come about? Is there a background story?
“Mane” symbolizes hair, and “Temptation” symbolizes what it desires. When I started the brand, the desire I focused on was “nice-looking” hair due to Mane Temptation’s hair extension line. This name resonated with me the most because I created custom wigs, clip-ins and provided other hair extension solutions. Though the brand’s focus has shifted, that concept still holds today with the addition of and focus on being our all-natural hair care product line. We believe while it is a desire to have hair that looks nice, our mane’s temptation is to be healthy and robust, which is our goal at Mane Temptation.
With your history of being an athletic trainer, have you found any pros and cons balancing business?
Pro: Thankfully, with the current company that I work for, I have time throughout the beginning of the day to work on things regarding my business since most of our athletic events and practices are in the evening. This is not typical of most athletic training jobs; however, I use it to focus on my personal life and business tasks throughout the week.
Cons:
Athletic trainers wear many hats, as do business owners, but I think this serves as both a pro and a con because while I have learned to manage multiple tasks or complete various duties at once, as a business owner, I can’t just go with the flow of things. In the sports world, there are a lot of last-minute changes so whatever happens, happens; however, I have learned that owning a business requires more structure and discipline than in athletic training, which has caused me to begin to shift my mindset and create daily or weekly routines to keep track of business tasks.
With creating a product to cater to natural hair, what was the first product you thought of?
The natural hair movement has symbolized African American women and men paying homage to and accepting their beautiful hair as it is; however, natural hair is hair that grows from the scalp that hasn’t been altered or chemically treated. Natural hair comes in all forms where it is straight, wavy, curly/coily, no matter the ethnic background. With that being said, Mane Temptation doesn’t cater only to African American hair. Our products were created to encourage and promote growth for both men and women with all hair types. We understand that each hair type requires different amounts of nutrients, so we include the instructions on how to use our products based on your hair type on our product label.
The very first product created was an all-natural moisturizer that would not only add moisture to my hair but not disrupt my endocrine system. This was an essential beginning for Mane Temptation products as I created products to heal my own body at the time. To this day, I still use this multi-use moisturizer, now named “First Work,” as a pre-poo, leave-in, detangler, styler, and even skin moisturizer.
Within enduring your journey of dealing with such a life-changing experience as Grave disease, how has it changed you?
Grave’s Disease was a life and death situation that changed how I viewed health and relationships and my mindset. I had to begin to understand my body so that I hadn’t before and recognize anything that could trigger an adverse reaction. Through that experience, I learned to change how I allowed people into my space and what I allowed to bother me. I couldn’t let the actions of others trigger me the way they used to, I couldn’t push myself beyond measure, and I had to learn when I was tired when to say no, because everything we subject ourselves to can be a form of stress for the body, and stress has a significant effect on hormones. This time of my life also affected my spiritual life. I grew up in the church, but at this point in my life, I learned how to depend on God because I had no one else to rely on regarding my health. Learning to control my mindset and emotions prepared me for the life of ministry and the things that God requires through His word.
While providing education for those interested in getting healthier and more robust, what are the concepts you mainly focus on?
My most significant focus regarding hair care and health is the idea that hair care is health care that we must begin to learn and understand how what we put on our hair affects our health, and what ingredients will best benefit our hair without causing detriment to our health. Similarly, with food, whatever we introduce into and on our body affects our health. We understand this concept when we go on diets and exercise because we want to improve our health. Another aspect of improving our health is understanding and changing what we expose ourselves to; while we can’t change the air we breathe, we can and must be intentional about the ingredient in the products we use.
You have a background in sports medicine, how has it helped provide better results in business?
Being an athletic trainer means possessing the ability to think outside of the box to solve a problem. For example, a runner’s leg may hurt, but the portion may not be the root of the pain. Among other job duties, athletic trainers find the source of the pain or the issue. This thought that by treating or strengthening another area of your body, you could correct the problem was intriguing because, in American culture, we are taught to focus on “the problems” and not necessarily the root of the problem.
To solve these problems and get to the root of the issue, much research is necessary for athletic training and as a business owner in the hair care industry. Study and application not only help me in everyday life but in my business as well. I began research for my bodily health while in college, focusing on hair health and products. The skills that I learned to apply to musculoskeletal injuries I applied to my wellness. Through my research, I was able to identify ingredients in the hair care products that I was using that could cause adverse health effects. This was the start of looking into solutions, including elements that would improve my hair health and benefit my body. In the athletic training program, I was taught that what I know “now” is not enough, but that I must continuously be learning so that my care does not become black & white but that it evolves with what research shows is best.
Be sure to connect with Nicole Patterson by visiting her website at https://www.manetemptation.com/!
Credit for picture of Nicole: Shear Xellence
Credit for product picture: Halley Garrus
