I Love My Hair – Now

Crooklyn’s Troy
– the look on her face here says it all –
photo credit

When my mom had me, it was the seventies and she was all about the Afrocentrism thing. Black Power, Nubian Pride, Mama Africa, yadda yadda yadda… She cut off her perm and grew an afro. She cut her best friend’s shoulder length hair into an afro too, much to the chagrin of her friend’s ultra conservative, ultra traditional West Indian mother. But not before she gave my six-year-old head a matching afro.

After that, I spent most of my time either telling people I wasn’t a boy , feeling sorry for myself because I didn’t have shiny, straight hair like my friends at school (all races, including black), or avoiding cameras at all costs. Pretty traumatic, actually… by kid standards.

Eventually, I did get a perm (against my mother’s will – a story for another day), but by that time, the damage had already been done. To this day I bob-and-weave when anybody pulls out a camera.

Fast forward to last week, when I came across this video –

All I can say is where was this when I was growing up? At the time, I was so desperate to conform to the beauty standards du jour that I didn’t realize my hair was, in fact, beautiful and versatile and a part of me that I should embrace and be proud of. I was just too young to see.

Hindsight is 20/20. Thanks Ma!

And thanks to vinegarandwater for sharing.

What were your childhood hair experiences? How did you feel about your hair growing up?

Those Who Live in Greenhouses

Greenhouse!
Photo Credit

I first heard about the Greenhouse Effect when I watched a Real Queens video on YouTube. I may be mistaken here (and if I am, please forgive my misinformation), but it seems to have originated with this YouTuber. When I asked Professor Google, a lot of links pointed back to either the Real Queens YouTube channel or to a blog of the same name. But there are numerous variations in the method out there. Here are the highlights…

How Does It Work?

The Greenhouse Effect (GHE) is a method for promoting scalp stimulation and hair growth using moisture. The basic premise is to create a warm steamy environment for an extended period of time in order to maximize the moisturizing of the hair.

What Do You Need?

• plastic shower cap or plastic shopping bag
• oil or butter of choice – Jamaican Black Castor Oil is the recommended oil, although EVOO seems to be popular too
• scarf or head-tie
• hat (like the kind you wear in the winter – optional)
• time

What Do You Do?

1. Apply the oil to dry or damp hair
2. Prepare the hair (i.e., twist, braid, bantu knot, etc.) for the next day
3. Cover head with plastic cap
4. Tie scarf over the plastic cap
5. Put on the hat
6. Leave head covered overnight
7. In the morning, style as usual

Sounds an awful lot like something called the Baggy Method, doesn’t it? Both require you to coat your ends with oil. Both require you to cover the hair with plastic. Confusing…

So What’s the Difference?

The main difference I can see is that Baggying aims to improve retention while GHE is believed to result, not only in increased retention, but also in actual growth from the root. This is because the whole head is covered during the process, instead of just the ends.

I found a post on Care 4 Curls that compares the two methods. Read that here. The author made an interesting point: to her, it made little sense to exclude a scalp stimulating step in the method. If the purpose of the method is to encourage growth from the root as opposed to simply strengthening the hair shaft, it would seem necessary to physically stimulate the scalp on a regular basis.

Sooooooo?

I think I’m gonna give this a try and see how it goes. I’ll report back in a few weeks.

Are you using an intense conditioning method, such as baggying or GHE? Which one do you think works better? Why?

CoverGirl Comes Alive with Janelle Monae

I’m always too rushed/lazy/confused in the morning to do much more than wash what needs washing and brush what needs brushing.  If I’m feeling like being especially GLAM, I might put on some lip gloss and mascara.

All this to say that happenings in the makeup world don’t usually make ripples in the water for me.  That is, until I stumbled upon these…

Y’all… gone are the days of the stereotypical “Girl-Next-Door.”  CoverGirl continues to break boundaries by featuring the unique and trend-bucking Janelle Monae, who joins the ranks of the emblematic Queen Latifah, P!nk, and Ellen DeGeneres, as its face.

One of the best quotes I’ve come across from Janelle is:

That’s what I’ve always been fighting for – making sure that people love themselves for who they are, and we don’t pick on people because we’re uncomfortable with ourselves, or who they are. That’s been my message, from when I was young to now. There are lots of young girls out there who are struggling with their identities… afraid of being discriminated against or teased. I take risks and use my imagination so that other people will feel free and take risks. That’s my hope. (source: io9.com)

It’s good to see the brand recognize and celebrate diversity.  Sounds like she’s a perfect fit for their campaign!

In the aftermath of Viola Davis and Gabby Douglas receiving flack and negative comments about their hair, what does this new partnership between Janelle and CoverGirl mean to you?

Setting Goals

Jump hurdles, cross the finish line and meet your goal!
photo credit

There’s a theory that goal setting means creating a plan for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-targeted (or SMART) results. Doing this affects performance by stimulating focus, effort, persistence, and cognition.

Simply put, setting goals make you concentrate on what’s important, learn, and execute the necessary actions to accomplish something. Knowing what you want gives way to learning what to do to make it happen, which facilitates MAKING IT HAPPEN.

Your commitment to natural hair (or anything else in life) doesn’t have to mean setting things in stone. It’s a good idea to think about what the end of the journey will bring you, to help you target more relevant information and fine-tune your regimen and practices. You’ll set goals today that you will reach and then you will set new goals. Or you may think you want to work toward one thing, and then learn things that will result in re-evaluating and resetting your goals. The journey may never come to an end.

So what’s my goal? What am I trying to accomplish? Good question…

Actually, I have two goals.

First, my goal here in cyberspace is to document what I’m going through, how I feel, what I know, and maybe even what I don’t know about natural hair — and possibly some other stuff from time to time. This is with the hope that I can connect with others out there who might be feeling the same way I have, who might be able to learn from me, or who can help me in my learning.

Second, a goal for my hair itself. My journey ends with longer hair. That’s it, plain and simple. However, I’ve come to realize that while the journey ends there, it will take about a zillion steps to cross that finish line. Long hair as a goal may be a bit too broad. Although I’ve already been a natural for some time, I’m wiping the slate clean today.

So let’s revise:

I need to improve my hair’s overall health. I can really zero in on increasing retention and minimizing breakage as an immediate goal. By adopting appropriate hair care habits, as well as finding products that maintain my hair’s health, I will be leaps and bounds closer to achieving my goal. That takes care of SPECIFIC, ACHIEVABLE, and REALISTIC. My timeline will be three months. TIME-TARGET is now set. At then end of that time, I’ll reevaluate to see how much hair I’ve managed to retain and whether my shedding has decreased. MEASURABLE progress/results… check!

Pretty SMART, if I do say so myself…

What are your natural-hair goals? Have they changed since you started your journey?

Love You Like A Lush Song

I never intended to buy anything… I swear!  Honest!

But a friend and I were enticed into Lush, by… well… the Lush-ious smell (and the eclectic music) that was wafting out from the store’s open doors.  I’d passed the St. Catherine & Peel location about a zillion times before but had never gone inside.  Vee was looking at henna and I was just poking around.  And there it was… in all it’s glory… Revive and Balance Treatment (aka R&B) leave-in conditioner.  Can you hear the celestial voices and harps?  Or is that just me?

Empty R&B jar… I need to get more!

Here are the product highlights:

• Handmade by a dude named Dil, who actually works for Lush out of BC and whose face is right on the jar, the majority of the ingredients are natural/organic/fair-trade
• Rich, creamy consistency, a little on the oily side
• Specifically formulated for afro or curly hair, but apparently recommended for all hair types (thin straight hair should probably avoid – see above point)
• Decent overall frizz control
• Very sweet, citrus scent
• Pricey at $20.95 CAD per 100g

I’m in love with this product!  I use it pretty much daily (one jar lasts me about two to three months) and it makes my hair feel amazing.  Since it has glycerin in it, I usually put it in my hair before I get into the shower and leave my head uncovered while I wash my body.  I’ve also been known to put it on wet hair and twist it up for a twist-out-type style (though I don’t tend to actually wear my hair out, but that’s a discussion for another day).  It keeps my hair feeling soft all day and I don’t need to use a lot.  And more than once, I’ve been asked what perfume I’m wearing, only to realize that it was my hair that people were smelling!  Sometimes, if the wind blows just right, I smell my own hair and it just makes me happy.

I love the smell.  I love the consistency.  My hair loves the moisturizing… But that’s just me… Obviously, this may not be everyone’s dream product.

Oh, yeah… Vee heard the harps too.  She also bought a jar of the stuff and fell in love.

Try it yourself and you be the judge.

I highly recommend it.

Tar Slinging

I’m going to reveal a secret that so many do not want to talk about: the majority of black women do not have flowing blond hair!  GASP!

Beautiful Natural Viola Davis
photo credit

There’s been a lot of talk about Viola Davis at the 2012 Academy Awards.  She chose to ditch the wigs that we are accustomed to seeing her and so many other black celebrities wearing and instead opted to wear her hair pretty much the way it grows out of her head… GASP!!

Consequently, this was followed by chatter about whether or not the look was appropriate for the occasion.  There were equal parts mud (or dare I say tar) slinging for her lack of formality and commendation for her bravery.  Brave?  I guess so, but why is doing what comes natural brave?

Particularly prominent was talk show host Wendy Williams, who disapproved loudly of Ms. Davis’ look.  The natural hair community was up-in-arms over her degrading remarks.  While I acknowledge people’s right to an opinion and the freedom to express it, I feel that women in the media (and particularly black women in the media) have a responsibility to champion our image and to pave the way for the world to embrace it in all its forms, whether it be silken haired or kinky and curly.  Ms. Williams doesn’t have to like natural hair, but she certainly should not be knocking others who do.

I did a quick Google Search of Wendy Williams to see what she considers to be appropriate red carpet hair and (surprise, surprise) I found that she pretty much sports one hair style all the time.  C’mon Wendy. Where’s your sense of individual style and imagination?  And there were a few photos that made me question her right to judge anyone’s appearance, ever.

Why is this more beautiful?
photo credit

LJ Knight was featured on BGLH asking the question: Are Nappy Headed Insults Making a Pop Culture Comeback?  The focus of her post was the comments made by Ms. Williams, shining a light on the uncomfortable topic of self-love and acceptance.  LJ’s post is well written and expresses an opinion with which I certainly agree: Ms. Williams’ attack on Ms. Davis’ appearance was uncalled for, as well as a step backwards for promoting distinctively black beauty.