Today is the day for a meetup

Bronner Bros' Hair Show is this weekend which warrants the need for a meetup. Lexiwiththecurls and also Adrienne from memyhairandthecity are hosting a meetup tonight here in Atlanta. Creme of Nature is also hosting a TweetUp right before the Bronner Bros' event. I am fortunate to be able to attend both (I won tickets from Adrienne's blog for the Creme of Nature event). I will be attending both events with my baby sister who has been natural all her life. The second event, I will attend with my Zeta mom, Natalie, who has been natural I think at least for a year or two. Stay tuned for pictures and a recap of our night. I will try this mobile blogging out this weekend so we'll see how that goes. You might hear from me more often if it works.

Transitioning into your natural beauty

This year is my year. The pass year was a bummer for me mostly because I spent most of it unemployed. I didn't struggle financially but I did lose out on parts of my life that I am still trying to regain. So this year is the year that I seek out to enjoy myself and further develop myself into the woman that I see in my mind. A woman that is capable of doing anything her heart desires and that won't be stopped by anyone else's doubts. Unfortunately, I am my own worst enemy and I am trying hard to work against the lazy part of me that deters me from tasks I was once excited about. For some reason I can't stick to something for too long leaving tons of unfinished projects scattered along the timeline of my life.

This year, I'm working to put an end to that. I came across this article yesterday about a woman dedicating time for yoga everyday for the next 365 days. No matter what happens that day, she will do yoga. I thought what a wonderful way to force yourself to make time for something you want to do but you probably make an excuse or let it slip your mind or let life interfere. I am in no way ready for a challenge of that magnitude but I would  love to try something like this but not a year, I'll start with 30 days.

I have this dress I want to recreate. I've looked for another one everywhere but haven't found anything close. It's a really simple design and something that could be easily recreated. Today, I'm taking my mom to the fabric store and we are going to search for a pattern and fabric for the dress. For the next 30 days, my task will be to finish this dress. I would love to start creating my own dresses and skirts. I figure it's in my blood - my paternal grandmother was a wonderful seamstress and my mother use to make her own clothes. Let's forget I can't cut a straight line for the life of me.

Transition into your natural beauty is not just about hair. It's about being the person that God created you to be. This will be my first 30 day challenge for myself. Feel free to join me with your own challenge. What do you want to do more? What do you want to add in your daily routine?

Product Junkie, No, Accessories Junkie, Yea

All the hair accessories I've purchased in the last 2 months

I have never liked to buy a whole lot of hair products. I like a simple and easy routine which doesn't require me selecting through 15 conditioners to moisture my hair. However, I have become very obsessed with ACCESSORIES. Headbands, hats, earrings of course - I don't even want to discuss how much money I've spent in the last 3 months of my transition. I have brought an entire new accessory rack of earrings. My headband stock has gone up 110%. I'm running out of room and have decided to dedicate an entire room in my new place to be "my closet". For now I store things where I can and will hopefully be able to find what I need when I need it. 

Are you an accessory junkie like me?

DIY Side Combs for TWA

Some of the headbands that I've brought are over powering for my TWA. While some naturals can rock the hell out of them, I think they swallow my head. I got the idea the other day while going through my hair basket full of accessories and products, I found some side combs that I haven't even used yet. I then remembered that I had some loose pearls stashed somewhere in the closet. Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by beads, scissors, pliers, and a hot glue gun. Today I wore my creation and quickly ran to the store after work to get some more beads and flowers. Here are all my creations. . .

1 month and growing . . . .

Yesterday marked my 1st month of being natural. I can already tell my hair has grown. My wash and go's were not coming out the same way as before. It seemed as if my curls were just stacking up on top of each other not really giving themselves enough space to breathe. I finally feel comfortable enough to wear a headband. I am so super excited! Some naturals with TWA rock headbands with such grace and confidence but my headbands always looked like a phony. Now my TWA and headband are joining forces in my war against drab style. This weekend I even wore my Fro fully picked out. One of my homies told me I looked like Cleoparta Jones and even though my Fro is still in baby form, I felt like I had the biggest baddest Fro in the building. You couldn't tell me nothin'.

Music Mondays: Marvin Gaye's Distant Lover Live

I'm starting a new section on the blog. Okay really a couple of new sections but more on that later in the week. I love music and I think it really can affect your current mood. Music has brighten up my day and it was helped bring tears to my eyes. Anytime I'm having a hard time and I need to escape I turn to music. I actually wanted to be a singer when I was younger but I settle for writing (not really a good singer but I don't think I'm terribly bad). So here is my first song for Music Mondays. It has to be my favorite song of all time. I have a lot of favorite songs but I remember falling in love with this one at such a young age and of course it was THIS version. I've never had a "distant lover" because I don't believe in long distant relationships but I do LOVE the emotion from the crowd and from Mr. Gaye. He's a tremendous singer and I only wish that one time in my life I could have seen him perform. Well enough talking. . . enjoy

Men: Do they really know about natural hair?

Probably every natural, every transitioner and woman that thought about about going natural has surely thought about what the opposite sex would say about her decision. I know for one I thought about it. But I wasn't going to allow any negative remarks to deter me from what i wanted to do. 

Hair lingers on the line of being an important quality and something that does cross a man's mind as long as the woman possesses a beautiful smile or personality. I remember when I told the guy in my life I was going natural and he didn't have much to say. Upon later conversations I realized he didnt have any idea of what being natural consisted of. He imagined a unstyled dry fro replacing my straight hair. He assumed women with natural hair refused to style their hair taking it back to the stone age. I quickly informed him of what I planned to do and started showing him women with natural hair and he realized that natural hair is beautiful. He even started pointing out natural women to me while we were out and about. He even made jokes about women on boxes of relaxers and with weaves saying,"Now that's not natural". Unfortunately we didn't work and he never got to see me with my TWA. 

The day before my BC, a guy I'd known for a couple months asked for my number. I laughed. He looked at me puzzled and I started to explain how I was going to cut my hair down to 2 inches indicating where my natural hair started on head. He asked why and I told him I wanted to be natural. He shrugged his shoulders and continue to wait for my number. I felt tension the next time I saw him with my new short do. I know that some guys hate short hair and I didn't want him to obviously reject me because he didn't find me attractive. While he would just be one guy and it would be his opinion, the rejection would hurt. He questioned me about my hair not quite coming out and saying he didn't like it. From what I could gather, he just doesn't like my short hair. He wonders why i didn't wait for it to get long before I cut it and I tried to explain but he didn't listen. All this to say i think that men have no idea what natural hair is. Some are miseducated about what our hair will look like. Some have no idea about the stress of the transition process and reject the idea of the big chop when mentioned.

Men and natural hair remind me of a conversation that I had with one of my guy friends. 

Me: So what should I wear?
Him: That purple skirt.
Me: Purple skirt . . . .I don't have a purple skirt. 
Him: Yea, you do. You wore it for your friend's birthday.
Me: My purple dress . . . .
Him: Dress. Skirt. It's all the same. 
Me: No, a skirt begins at the waist and a dress is a connected top and bottom. 
Him: No, a skirt is short and a dress is long. 

At this point I just threw my hands up and gave up. Men have no idea. So, for those worried about the men in their lives, sit down with them and have a conversation about what they think. Educate them. Wear our natural hair is a pretty new phenomenon and some men haven't been expose to it. Communication may help to wipe away some of the fears that you both have.

The end of the transition and the beginning of a new journey

Despite the doubts I had, I stuck to my guns and big chopped on June 24th. And I have to say, I love it! My life has been so much easier now that I'm completely natural. The end result was much better than the experience unfortunately. I went to a stylist to get my hair cut. I had the choice between doing it myself or going a natural hair salon. I'm a big DIYer but I decided I wanted a professional cut and I for one can't cut a straight line drawn on a piece of paper. I could just imagine the misshapen Fro I would create. I chose to go with my stylist over the natural hair salon because my stylist is also natural and I like her.

And this is where the adventure begins . . . . so I've come to realize that there are several different kinds of naturals. Some that rock their curly, coily texture, those that chose to wear their hair straight and those that mingle between the two. Now when I was natural in high school my hair was always pressed. My hair would of course curl up living in humid GA but I try to keep it straight. When I originally decided to go back to natural, my plan was to wear it straight. Mainly because I was unaware how to wear and care for my natural texture.

My stylist like I said is natural but she is a natural that wears her hair straight. I even think that she had straighten her hair to the point where it doesn't curl anymore. Is that heat damage? I guess. Maybe. So instead of being super excited about my big chop, she tried to discourage me. She could understand why I was doing it and what I was going to do with my 2 inches of coils. She seemed a little disgusted saying, "I couldn't wear an afro". I thinking that's the best part of being natural. I love big 'Fros. Well suffice it to say, I was pissed the entire time she was cutting my hair. I had my girls with me and they tried to cheer me up but this was not the kind of experience I expected. If I would've gone to the natural hair salon, I feel like my big chop would have been celebrated instead of questioned. We live and we learn. I won't be giving her my money anymore which might be the reason she acted with so much guff.

But I'm natural now baby and I'm loving it. I haven't experience too much negativity. It's all out weighted by the compliments I've been receiving.

Doubting myself

My B-day Party. Who knew a month later I would get my last relaxer?

For some reason last week I was having a hard time sticking to my decision to big chop this Thursday. It has been a week or so since I took my kinky twist out and I was back to my roller set routine. This time things were so much easier for me. I'm not sure if it was due to renewed patience or the new purchased headbands. I was able to finally rock my roller set for more then 3 days. I actually wore it for 6 days which is close to my normal wash day. My excitement over been able to manage my hair could of cause me to start doubting myself and my decision.
For the entire week, I sat and debate about whether or not I would still big chop at the end of June. I thought about how short my hair would be and then the reaction of my coworkers. I work in a very conservative office and I am so sensitive to the stares and comments. Putting off my BC until August seemed do-able again (It was my original BC day - 6 months transitioning). I started thinking, "why rush it?" After I washed my hair on Thursday, I decided to flat iron my hair for the last time before I was completely natural. It was me saying goodbye to my hair. Then I started to think, "hey if I can flat iron it like this then when I go to the beach, I can still manage my hair - no need to cut it."

I guess I need to rewind a bit. This weekend I'm going to MIA (South Beach). Definitely would like to go swimming while I'm there. But I could not imagine how I would care for my hair once it was wet. Can't really tote a hairdryer on an airplane. So I thought that BCing would be the best choice. And it still is because my natural hair was curly again once I went outside in the humidity.

All this to say, that my thoughts on what other people would think and what other people were telling me were getting in the way of what I wanted to do. Never should you let what people think stop you from doing something positive for you. So 3 more days of transitioning and by the end of the week I'll be natural. Yeah Babay!

Renewed faith in Glamour.com?

I am so super excited right now. For the longest I’ve had a subscription to Glamour Magazine. My friends would make fun of me for quoting their beauty, hair or love tips which I did as soon as I finished each month’s issue.  After being a little disappointed in them yesterday, today they renew my faith in them.

                                               I definitely feel his excitement. And he's just so adorable.


They are featuring a new blogger in their beauty department - Andrea Arterbery.Andrea is not only the first African American blogger I’ve seen on Glamour.com but she’s also natural! In one of her first articles, she talks about protecting her hair against heat – blow drying and flat ironing. I’m not sure if she wears her hair straight most of the time or curly (I'm leaning towards straight since she says she'll do anything to keep it straight) but none the less, I’m excited to see a woman on the blog that will address more things that will pertain to African American woman and hopefully natural woman. Make sure to check her out on Glamour.com and she has her own blog at The Glamazons.

Where are "the trashy black girls"?

The blogosphere has been splattered with talk about American Apparel's Dress Code. The conversation even reached Glamour.com, which has three blogs I’ve been subscribing to for the past year and a half. Slaves to Fashion, Girls in the Beauty Department and Vitamin G, gives tips for fashion, beauty and health along with all the latest news in their perspective areas. I was disappointed however to see what Glamour choose to focus on in their article on American Apparel. Instead of discussing the “trashy black girls” statement, they were appalled at the fact that employees couldn’t wear bangs. Like really? Bangs? I honestly didn’t need them to do a feature dedicated to the “trashy black girls” statement but could’ve at least mentioned it. While I shouldn’t be upset that a predominately white magazine would understand the significance American Apparel’s dress code had on the black community, I feel they could have at least touched on the subject. As one of their faithful readers, I felt excluded and overlooked. It a blatantly  racist driven statement which to me goes beyond the dress code. It hits the customers too. 

Twist out corporate style and my sister

Here are some pictures of a hairstyle I did for work the other day. I put the top half of my hair in a ponytail. Then the bottom I pinned up in a french roll. It was really simple and easy to do. And the other picture is my adorable sister. She's been natural all her life and usually wears her hair straight. I encouraged her to wear her hair curly and I absolutely love it (I think she does too).

Twist Out and Shout

I decided to do a twist out on my kinky twist. They were starting to get fuzzy and my relaxed hair was making a break from the twist. Here is the finished result . . .
I will post more pictures later! 

Loving this new growth

I really love having my hair in kinky twist because I am able to monitor my growth easily.So far my hair has grown almost 3/4 inches in a month. WOW! I knew my hair grew fast but geez. I'm excited though. I don't really dwell on growth but the faster my hair grows the more styling options I'll have.

Oh and I've been trying to find ways to hide the new growth. I found this wonderful headband that had tons of people confused as to what I did to my hair. It's just a headband folks!

This is another style that I did. I loved it but weave on my skin (and apparently forehead) makes me itch.

Loving this journey!

Big Chop Fever and the new 50 day challenge

I've spent the last few days . . . ok who am I kidding I've spent the last few months, watching videos and looking at woman enjoying their BC. I have caught the fever. Right now I'm only 3 months into my transition and 20-something-days into my 100 day challenge. The idea of being completely natural is so exciting that I'm ready to make the leap. I'm trying to remain patient . . . . at least until the end of the month.

So I'm going to Miami at the end of the month and I am the most ocean loving woman that Georgia could birth. I started to contemplate how I would enjoy the ocean and the pool without ruining my kinky twist which are already in a state of disrepair. I got frustrated and decided not to get my hair wet. Not to swim and truly enjoy my vacation. How boring is that? So I decided to just bring an end to my 100 day challenge. Instead of fighting my desire, I'll give in this time.

Next week I'm going to do a twist out on my kinky twist. On June 24th, I plan on finishing my transitioning journey and BC. Stay tuned.

Permission to be nappy

I shouldn't have to ask for your approval
I shouldn't have to ask for you to understand
I shouldn't have to ask for you to appreciate who I am

Why do you think there's only one measure of beauty?
Why do you think to that I have to conform?
Why do I have to fight to be the way I was born?

I don't need the negative comments
Nor the nasty stares
I don't need your permission to be happy
because for your opinion - I just don't care

Nappy is what I was
Nappy is what I am
Nappy is what I'll be

I don't need your permission to be nappy
I don't need your permission to be me

Embracing my curls

When I first begin to ponder becoming natural, I did not intend to wear my hair in its natural state. Growing up my hair was always thick and long. My memories of my hair were spending countless hours detangling and styling my massive locs. Back in the 90’s there weren’t many people around that knew how to care for natural hair. I remember the look of stylists upon first meeting them. The look of shock and the gasp that they would have on their face – the look of disgust that they would have to style this huge fro on this little black girl.

But for some reason that didn’t bother me. I enjoyed my hair even at a young age. I loved my hair. I just didn’t like the combing – I use to be very tender headed but quickly got over that with the mis-styling from my numerous hair braiders. My hair is very coily, like my mother’s, and some people thought that starting at the root to comb it was the best way to tackle it. I would go home with a beautiful style but a sore head. My mother seemed to be the only one that knew how to care for my hair – because it was her hair on my head. She had her own bouts with her natural hair. She has relaxed two times only to come back to her coily hair.

Looking back I realized I only relaxed because I didn’t know how to enjoy my hair once I was older. So for those that say it’s self hate – IT’S NOT SELF HATE!! High school was upon me and I wanted a more grown-up style. I tried wearing bangs because I had a phobia over my forehead and the humidity would send them running right back up to my scalp. So I relaxed to end my war with humidity.

So now, I’m here. I’ve had my fun with my relaxer and I’ve had my fights with my relaxer. After experiencing so much breakage and dry hair, I decided to go back to plan A. My natural hair never did me wrong and it was much healthier than my current situation. Plus all my thick hair was gone. So I planned on flat iron my hair – a ton of my friends currently do this now. Will I wear my hair straight once I’m natural – occasionally yes. But since entering the natural world, and learning about all the styles and products. I only wish that in 2000 I had the knowledge I have now then. I am glad to say I’m embracing my curls. I’m embracing me, and my heritage – past, present, and future.

Modeling world is not color blind

Essence recently featured a short documentary on their blog following a young black model struggling to become apart of Fashion Week. I think it's an interesting story that shows the under appreciation of black beauty in the fashion world.

100 Day Hair Challenge

After 2 months and some change of transitioning my frustration became overwhelming. For the first couple of months, I tried twist outs and roller sets. I fell in love with my roller sets but they were too high maintenance for my lifestyle. So I decided to get kinky twist to help manage my wonderful new growth. Around the time that I decided to make this decision, I was inspired by BlackOnyz77and her 100 day challenge. She did her 100 day challenge to give her hair a break from styling and give it a chance to grow. There are many different rules and ways to do the challenge.You can try braids, twists, sew ins, and wigs are great styles to use during the challenge. Here are some guidelines that you should follow during the challenge:

• No heat
• Moisturize daily
• Deep condition weekly
• Protect your hair at night with a satin scarf.

The 100 day challenge is a great way to countdown to your BC or just to give you and your hair a break from styling. There are many more rules you can add to personalize your challenge such as guidelines that focus on your diet or exercising through during the 100 days.  No matter what you do, as long as you follow the basic rules you will be on your way to growing healthy happy hair!

Day 9 of the 100 day challenge

So far I'm on day 9 of 100 and at the end of my challenge I will BC (big chop). Well technically I will BC on August 25, 2010 which is a couple of weeks after the 100 day challenge. Wearing the same style everyday can be boring for those of us that are use to the versatility of our hair. There are many options to styling braids and twist. I have become an avid youtuber since I decided to go natural and there are several videos that offer different tutorials for styling braids and kinky twist.

BlackOnyx77 Pompadour with Short Bob
I love this video because she gives a solution to conceal the spaces in a braided pompadour.

BlackOnyx77 Kinky Puff
This a super easy style that I have used several times since getting my twist. 

BlackOnyx77 Frohawk
I have yet to master this style but if you are able to do it send me a picture! 

arr1216's Kinky Twist Styles
She offers many styles for twist that can be used on braids as well. This is only video 1 of 3.