Featured Friday *Jade*

1. How long have you been natural?

I BCed in January 2010. So 9 months.

2. What made you decide to go natural?

A.      I didn’t enjoy getting relaxers.

B.      I don’t find straight hair attractive.

C.      I didn’t want to be a slave to my hairdresser every couple of weeks for

the rest of eternity.

D.      The chemicals in a relaxer are NASTY and probably carcinogenic.

E.      I wanted to show people that long, straight hair isn’t what made me

beautiful. It’s my eyes, my lips, my nose, my voice, my smile. Hair is

just meant to frame my most beautiful features.

  

3. How long did you transition and what was your routine?
About 9 months. Well I heat damaged some of my new growth. Then I tried a

weave for the first time in my life, but that caused major breakage.

Eventually I grew some cojones and bit the bullet.

4. How did you BC? Self BC, salon or a friend/family member?

I went to my scissor happy stylist at his salon. And he’s clueless about

natural hair. He didn’t detangle properly, used too much heat on my virgin

hair, and he threw some alcohol based gel on my head, thinking he was

doing me a favor by giving me crunchy helmet hair.  But I smiled and

tipped and conditioned and moisturized my hair properly that night.

5. Do you have any hair goals?

Yeah, I want to be able to hide a kitten in my ‘fro. And block people from

seeing the dry-erase board in class.

6. Whats your favorite natural hairstyle and how do you achieve it?

I like making a frohawk out of an old twist out. I just pin up the sides

and walk out the door.

7. How did your perception of beauty change once you went natural?

       It didn’t. I’ve always liked highly textured hair. I was just a sheep and

wanted to fit in when I got a relaxer. But I quickly exhausted the few

manipulations you can do with relaxed hair, and ended up with my hair

hanging limply around my face or thrown into a ponytail. I looked boring.

Now my hair reflects who I am: brave, gravity-defying, confident, sweetly

scented, earthy, creative, flexible, and though people think I’m hard,

I’m just a big softy.

Featured Fridays *Natural Nina*

Life Time Natural

1. Whats your favorite way to style you hair?

Over the 10 years that I have been natural, my hair has seen many styles and colors. My favorite way to style my hair used to be messy updos, when I had locs in my hair. Now that I have done another big chop, I'm anxious to get back to those types of styles when my twa gets a little longer.

2. What are your favorite products?

My favorite products for styling my hair are Knot Today and Kinky Curly Curling Custard from the Kinky Curly line. When I use my Knot Today and KCCC on my twa, I get the best curl definition my hair has ever had. 

3. How do you keep your hair healthy?

Keep my hair healthy by staying away from products that are made from mineral oil, petrollium, and other cheap ingredients that my hair doesn't like. I keep a tight regimen, of weekly deep conditioning treatments, scalp massages 3 times a week with castor or coconut oils,  I sleep in a satin bonnet,  I stay away from all hair weaves, extensions, and braids to prevent traction alopecia, and I drink lots of water.

4. Do you have any hair goals?

My current hair goal is to grow bra strap length healthy hair, and I gave myself a realistic time period of 5 years to reach my goal.

5. Have you ever felt pressured to relax your hair? If so How did you overcome the pressure?

I have been pressured to relax my hair several times over the years, on both a professional and personal level. I overcame the pressure by sticking informing those around me that my natural hair is a natural part of me that will not change. I would be willing to replace the people around me, including my work environment, before I put creamy crack back in my hair. I prefer that people respect my choice, as I respect theirs. It's not my fault if anyone around me is intimidated by my natural stance. My suggestion is to get over it because however I choose to wear my hair, does not make or break anyone else.  We are all naturally beautiful, and I choose to not to hide my beauty with chemicals and fake hair.




Check out Natural Ninas  blog

Featured Fridays *Tara*

1. How long have you been natural?

I have only been natural for two weeks! I’m very “newly natural”. :)

2. What made you decide to go natural?

Many reasons! I’ve had relaxers for most of my life – since third
grade! It’s been so long that I had previously forgotten what my
natural hair texture was, especially since before my relaxers, my hair
was often pressed and curled. I was intensely curious about what my
natural hair would be like, so I decided to find out.

I also looked forward to what I thought was a more low-maintenance way
of keeping my hair. While it’s a new challenge to learn how to style
and care for my natural hair, it’s a huge relief not to run and hide
at the first sign of water!

I’ve also never enjoyed getting relaxers – to me, the process was
downright excruciating, so it was a relief to never have to get them
ever again!

relaxed

3. How long did you transition and what was your routine?

I planned to be a long-term transitioner at first – I was so attached
to my hair that I planned to cut it, inch by inch, until I had grown
my natural hair to approximately the same length. I should have
figured that wouldn’t cut it because I tend to be extremely impulsive.
I ended up transitioning for about six months.

My routine was pretty simple: I moisturized with coconut oil and olive
oil. For two of the months, I had braids. When it came to washing, I
left it to my stylist because I was afraid too much manipulation would
cause breakage at the line of demarcation. About a third of my
transition time was spent wearing braids. I planned to wear braids for
longer, but I got too impatient!

4. How did you BC? Self BC, salon or a friend/family member?

I went to my regular hairstylist. It was amazing watching her cut off
my hair. I thought I would be highly upset, but I was really just
excited! I also thought I would have a rough transition period as I
got used to having short hair for the first time, but I loved it
immediately!

Transitioning

5. Do you have any hair goals?

At this point I don’t have any goals, at least not in terms of growth.
I want to learn how to style and care for my natural hair and I’ll be
happy with whatever happens!

6. What’s your favorite natural hairstyle ad how do you achieve it?

At this point, I’m still mastering the wash-n-go. But honestly, I love
playing with my hair and seeing what it does – every day is a new
learning experience. I couldn’t be more excited!

7. How did your perception of beauty change once you went natural?

I have admired natural hair for a very long time – I just didn’t have
the bravery necessary to cut my own hair. However, I think I have an
even deeper appreciation for natural hair and it makes the glaring
lack of diversity in media representation a whole lot more jarring. I
make sure to compliment the fly naturals I see on the street for some
positive reinforcement. :)

Finally Natural :)

Check out Taras blog at http://xoxotara.wordpress.com

3 month update

So these past 2 months I have accomplished a lot in my natural journey. I have met all my hair goals for the month, found some of my holy grail products and been featured in another natural hair blog.

Updated Regimen
wash 1x/week (kinky curly come clean)
deep condition 1x/week ( homemade deep conditioner or tresseme naturals)
henna 1x/month( celebration henna)
cowash 2x/week(suave professionals or tresseme naturals)
bentonite clay 1x/month
moisturize 1/day ( homemade butter blend or shea moisture style milk)


Now for pics

1 week natural

almost 3 months natural

Thats all for now readers

Sorry I've been missing

I know I have been MIA for the past week and some change but I am back and I have updates:)

  For the past week I have been trying to manipulate my hair less so I have been wearing it in protective styles. I  have also been slacking on my vitamins and seen a decrease in hair growth:( I have not been updating my blog as often because I need inspiration for content. Please do not be afraid to drop me an email  ( xnaturalbeautyx0531@gmail.com) or post a comment saying what you would like to read about. This blog is for me but its also for the readers.  Here are some pictures of me and my hair. Hope you enjoy.

Eating with friends

Chillin in the hot tub

Protective style

Scab hair

Transitioning to natural made me more and more curious about the texture that my hair possessed without the addition of chemicals. After waiting several months to rid myself of the limp permed hair I did not think I would have to wait even longer just to see what my true texture was.

Unfortunately this is the reality for naturals who are plagued with scab hair.

Scab hair is a touchy word in the natural hair community. Some believe it is just under processed hair. Some believe it is just dry hair or your natural hair texture and some believe that is doesn't even exits. Those that have experienced the phenomenon of scab hair describe it as hair that has no curl pattern and is dry, unresponsive to products and rebellious. Scab hair is thought to be caused by leftover chemicals from the relaxer that absorb into the scalp and damage the hair follicle. This in turn changes the shape of the hair follicle and the hair that comes out of it. Scab hair is treated by patience and babying the scalp until it fully heals. I myself have dealt with scab hair. Parts of my hair are coily at the root and extremely frizzy and dry at the ends. I do not attribute this to damage because I believe in healthy hair practices and do all I can to prevent damage. I have also noticed that as my hair gets longer the scab hair is less apparent. It could very well be that this is the natural texture of my hair but only time will tell. I am not waiting for my hair texture to change and am happy with and will embrace any texture that my hair is. What I do not want is for newly naturals to be disappointed in their hair texture, assume or hope that it is scab hair, and wait for it to change. Acceptance is key ladies ( and gents)  :)

So whats your opinion on scab hair? Do you believe it is real? Have you experienced it yourself? What advice do you have for naturals dealing with it?

Featured Fridays * Michelle*

1. How long have you been natural?

 1. I've only been natural for about a month now.

2. What made you decide to go natural?

 2. My hair just wasn't feeling strong enough to hold a perm anymore. So i decided to start over the NATURAL way.

3. How long did you transition and what was your routine?

3. I stopped getting perms around November. I decided to cut my hair short as a start as I let more new growth grow out, then eventually I got tired of waiting and cut it off in June.

4. How did you BC? Self BC, salon or a friend/family member?

4. A friend of my family who owns her own salon is the one I trusted to cut my hair..and boy did she waste no time!! lol.

5. How did your perception of beauty change once you went natural?

 5. I viewed beauty so much better. It felt good to just know that your beauty is natural rather worried about if water or anything else is going to ruin your hair. It's a great feeling to know that we people see me, they are looking at the natu[REAL] me!