Apology Accepted?

The now-infamous quote:

Why would you save afro hair? I mean, you can’t weave in afro hair… you can’t… You don’t never see us at the hair place goin’…

“Look here, what I need is… (giggle)… I need those curly, nappy, beaded…”

I mean that’s just.. that just seems nasty…

That was Sheryl Underwood’s reaction to hearing that Supermodel-turned-Hostess Heidi Klum keeps all the hair she cuts off her two sons’ heads. For those who don’t know, the father of Heidi’s children is international singing sensation Seal.

Heidi and Seal, with their four children
Image Credit

Martin’s Dream

Five Score

August 28, 1963
At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
Image Credit

Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream.  He had a dream for his children, for my grandmother’s children, for me and for my children.

…A dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed,

‘We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.’

I have a dream . . .

At the Lincoln Memorial, in the year of the Centennial Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the significance of the occasion was highlighted by carefully and not-so-coincidentally chosen words.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that day…

Hair Crush: Carly Cushnie

Punky funky!
Image Credit

I’m in love with the faux-hawk, fohawk, frohawk, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve got tons of pictures of the zillion variations on this style pinned to my personal Pinterest shrine to all things nappy, and I never get bored or tired of it. Looks good dressed up for a formal occasion, or dressed down for coffee with friends.  It’s cool and edgy and chic and stylish and… oh, am I gushing?

How We See Us vs. How Others See Us

I came across a post by The Good Curl that spoke about the “Brown Paper” syndrome that still seems to be prevalent in the Afro Canadian/Afro Caribbean/Afro American community.  She was not impressed with India Arie’s new album cover, claiming that her skin-tone did not seem to be as dark as it naturally is and challenging India’s foothold on self-acceptance.   She was questioning how black people see each other and themselves.

Just for fun, I did a Google Image Search and found what I like to call “The Many Shades of India.”  Here is just a handful below.  How many can you count?  It’s more than fair to say that the power of lighting is astounding…

The Many Shades of India
Photo Credit

My response to The Good Curl was that it is often hard for others to see you the way you see yourself.

Pin-head!

Before Mark Zuckerberg’s entrance to the social network scene, there was Hi5, Friendster and ICQ.  MySpace even ruled the roost for a minute.  When Facebook finally eclipsed all the others, everyone I know jumped on the band-wagon.

I resisted.

Twitter came along.  Many people I know started tweeting.

Still, I resisted.

Humble Pinning Beginning

I had no idea!
Image Credit

Then one day in 2011 my brother showed me the latest and greatest in social bookmarking, mood boarding, self-indulgence, vicarious living, virtual hoarding, time-wasting, or whatever you want to call it.

Bro: “You haven’t heard about Pinterest?”
Me: “Wassat?”

He laughed and fired off an invitation to the invitation-only site.  “Prepare to lose hours and hours of your time!”

The Power of Suggestion

My niece’s amazing hair under a birthday hat

I have a niece.

She is confident and self-assured, fearless and strong. She is a happy and beautiful child, obsessed with Christmas. She is smart and funny and speaks two languages. She is three years old and already knows everything there is to know about everything.

Her Daddy and Papa asked me what to do with her hair… which is some amazing hair, if you ask me. More than once, I have promised to shave it off and make myself a wig with it… which could still happen, by the way. But I digress.

Hair Crush: Whitney Naptural85 White

A little while ago, I talked about one of my favorite YouTubers, Whitney (aka, Naptural85). She had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Read that here and watch a video showing off her new family. I gushed (a mini-gush) about how great she was. How smart and funny. How knowledgeable.

Well, she’s all of those things. But have you seen her hair? I mean… have you seen it?

Napturally Beautiful Naptural85!
Photo Credit

G’on Brush Your Brushes Off

Shocking but true:

What’s trapped in YOUR bristles?

Your brush needs attention similar to what you give your hair. No matter what kind of brush you use, whether it be one with synthetic, metal, or boar bristles, it’s important to clean it on a regular basis.

You spend hours and hours deep conditioning your hair, co-washing it, clarifying it. You use essential oils like peppermint and tea tree to cleanse the scalp and stimulate blood flow. You understand that clean hair means growth. You do these things on a strict schedule to prevent unsightly buildup.

So why would you undo all of your effort by using a dirty brush?

This Is Not a New Year’s Resolution

Happy 2013!

With a new year come new aspirations, new bucket list items, new hopes, new dreams. I won’t use the word resolution, because we all know what tends to happen with those!  However, knowing about the importance of goal-setting and focus, I’m looking forward to the new challenges in store for me in the coming year.

Hair Journal: Wash Day

photo credit: l’il ol’ me!

So today is wash day. Well, if I’m honest, yesterday was actually wash day, but I was too lazy to do it. I don’t know why. It’s not like I have tons of thick, unruly hair or anything.

I. Am. Just. Lazy.