Tag: Natural Hair

Afro Chick’s Pick: Hair Milk & Earrings

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I wanted to show you guys my funky look from this past weekend.  It was inspired by Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk and Deana’s Earrings and Things .  I am always look for earrings to add to my creative collection and I came across her line randomly. They are handmade crochet yarn earrings and she makes them in all colors of the rainbow. Since red is a popular color to my wardrobe you know I had to cop these.

My Hair?  I have been trying to craft the ultimate fro for quite some times so I tend to try new products and spend hours on youtube teaching myself ways to care for my natural hair.  I am no expert, but when people ask me how do I get it this way, I do not hold back on advice.  I used Carol’s Daughter Curl Definer with Murray’s loc gel to do a two strand twist. (disclaimer: I am not TOO fond of Carol’s Daughter Products!!!)  I kept the twist in for three days, due to my strenuous work out schedule but when I took them out for the weekend I like the results but it’s not ALL THAT.   However, my hair was soft and didn’t feel too cakey or dry at all.  Here are more pictures.  Do share your feedback =)

WebMD Food For Healthy Hair: The Afro Chic Remix

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I was doing some research on ways to keep my hair healthy and came across an article on WebMD entitled “Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair”. I’m not sure how accurate this list is but I do incorporate these certain foods in my diet that has in fact played an important role to my hair, surprisingly.

WebMD’s Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair Remixed

  1. Salmon – I eat Salmon at least once, maybe twice a week
  2. Dark Green Vegetables-  The oils are supposed to help produce your body’s natural conditioner
  3. Beans- Yes the poop food, Kidney beans and lentils are a good source of protein and can promote growth
  4. Nuts- The vitamins in these bad boys are to help with hair loss
  5. Poultry- Chicken is clearly in my diet so not to worry, more protein!!!
  6. Eggs- Protein baby!
  7. Oysters- gross, but if you are seafood lover I’d try it!
  8. Low-Fat Dairy Products- The calcium in your glass of milk can help with not only bones but hair growth
  9. Carrots- The vitamin A helps with vision and scalp, I eat them like crazy because I’m blind as a bat

Whether you believe this or not, it is important to be aware with what you put in your mouth because it could affect you hair and skin tremendously. I’ve taken biotin 1000mg and it’s okay, but I don’t like to rely on swallowing pills when I can start changing my diet to benefit my skin and hair. I don’t know about you but a McDouble is not going to be your best bet to that long curly hair you’ve dreamed of.

Twist Outs With Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding (Revisited)

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So, HERE IT IS! I decided that now that my hair is longer than the last time I tried to do twist-outs with Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding, I’d try it again to see what new results I encounter.   This is what my hair looked like using my old Instructions in 2009.

Twist Outs, No Blow Dry

For the second time I bought the sample size jar and followed the instructions on Miss Jessie’s Twist Out 101 Demo.  I washed and conditioned my hair and when soaking wet and I added a light moisturizing hair milk by Bee Mine products, sectioned my hair into 4 parts, and proceeded with my application of the curly pudding. I used the whole jar with nothing left over.I sat under the dryer for an hour, got lazy and went to bed LOL. I woke up the next day and these were my results when I untwisted:

Step 1: I untwisted each individual twist with my fingers.  Usually this would be the last step for me because I sometimes like to wear my hair close to my face but I decided to follow the full instructions and proceed to blow drying my edges for fullness.

Step 2: I blow dried my hair on medium heat, finger fluffed, and added a dab of Bee Mine Hair milk. This was my result:

Overall, I’m satisfied with my results and not to mention my hair smelled so good up until three days later. I wore my hair for a few days in an Afro and noticed that I had more bouncy elongation BUT it the cold and dry air was not agreeing with me and now it’s flat again.  I will definitely revisit this again in the summer since my hair texture LOVES humidity.  I want to know your results, so try it and DO SHARE 🙂

Halle Berry Goes Curly in “Frankie and Alice”

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I’m not sure how I feel about her playing this crazy role as a women fighting with multiple personality disease but I do love the curly fro she has going on in this movie. Check out the trailer for “Frank and Alice”!  Do you think it was a good look for her playing a character with “Identity” issues?

Esperanza Talks Natural (From Parlour Magazine)

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I have always wanted to know how Esperanza Spalding, gets her curls to be so big and perfect.  Earlier this week, she sits down with Parlour Magazine to talk about the products she uses and being natural.  Check out the full article Here

And also if your feeling real curious check out my previous article on the who-abouts of Esperanza Spalding Here

Happy People Products by Nailah Ricco

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She calls herself the HSIC (Head Sista In Charge) but you may know her as Nailah Ricco, a New York City native and aspiring lawyer is making a big statement in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Nialah is the owner of natural hair and body care line called Happy People Products.  By producing products for individuals of color, Nailah’s strives to bring her own happiness to people who enjoy being healthy.  Happy People products are 100% safe and crafted with scents and textures to give each product its individuality.  

Reesa Speaks: Where did you get the name “Happy People Products”?

Nialah: Actually, I got the name Happy People after weeks and weeks of thought. When I made the decision to trademark my business, I was very cautious in selecting a name– primarily because if it bore likeness in anyway to another existing business, it’s trademark would be rejected. I wanted it to be a name that expressed how I felt when I was at my healthiest, and I wanted it to be a name that ALL individuals could identify with when they finally find something (be it earrings or shampoo) that they have been looking for possibly all their lives. I chose “Happy People” because after all…Happy People do make the world go ‘round. (Hopefully).

Some of the products available now on the website www.happypeoplestore.com  include Happiness Bath Wash, Orange Rosemary Bath Salts, honey plum and rosemary body oil.

 

Not only does she cater to the happiness of your hair, body, and skin, but also Happy People includes handmade glass bead earrings.  They are handcrafted to order by Nailah herself, with each pair representing and expression that she wants to share with others.

What’s very unique about this HSIC? She is not only a fellow Hampton University Alumna making a mark in society but also a recent law student in the process of obtaining her Juris Doctorate and receiving her certificate in International Law.  She is working on her law school endeavors as well as paying close attention to developing her own business ventures.

Reesa Speaks values artistic people, and especially the ones that have Natural Hair so when asking her about her own Naturality, I thought that it was only right to give EVERY bit of the advice that she shares to you, I couldn’t possibly hold out on the TRUTH!

Reesa Speaks: What advice that you live can you share for women (and men) with Natural Hair?

Nailah: I can give 5 pieces of advice that I live and die by for Women and Men w/ Natural Hair :

1)   Love your hair! Love yourself! – sounds simple but its really not. Loving yourself and the things that come as a product of your body can be a long journey. Once you love yourself, you will love your hair. Love is unconditional, doesn’t quit, and doesn’t hurt.

2)   Treat your hair like you would your lover – would you fry your lover? Yank your lover around? Would you let your lover behave in a way that is getting out of control? Would you say ugly things about your boo behind his/her back? No. Don’t get fed up and just neglect washing, trimming, pampering or grooming your hair, allowing it to get out of your “control”. And don’t bad talk your hair (Its counter-advice tip #1)!

 3)   Use your head! – There are some things in life that are just not logical. Sometimes we can blame our naïveté, but other times you may be entirely aware of moments when you over-dye your natural hair, you slip up and use some alien-language’d shampoo or you just do something you know you had no business doing. Use your head when it comes to your hair!

4)   Have some self-confidence! – It’s a horrible bi-product of any “ism” you can name, but the truth of the matter is that it is still VERY hard to have natural hair in some arenas of society. Break through! See that as an opportunity to show your self and your natural beauty off. Pick up some self esteem building books, some scented shampoo that makes you feel all that and get back in the game. Be proud, and have some self confidence.

 5)   Knowledge is Power! – one thing I have found is that the more people learn about their hair, the more they are able to use ALL 4 of the other pieces of advice I have listed. Learning about different styles and products, curl patterns and textures, and even the history of women with Natural, beautiful hair has PROVEN to contribute to amazing self-confidence and a loving relationship between you and your hair. You wont be able to stop bragging about all of the historical figures who had natural hair like yours at your next house party, and you will probably mention the textural strength and superiority of a natural curl to your chicas (homies?) next time your getting a mani (pedi?). Who knows, you may even wow your next date with your body of knowledge on your head full of hair ;-).

 Nialah is a goregous woman with such a powerful statement for herself.  I can only see greatness in her future!  While perfecting her own talents and attributes, Nialah Ricco encourages all your African American business owners to “Follow your dreams, even I they may be fleeting.”

For more information on Happy People Products visit the website www.happypeoplestore.com

Swimming for Natural Chics

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Natural hair women can swim too! I have recently been in and out of the pool these past few weeks and wanted to  a shampoo to use to get rid of the chlorine that seemed to be lurking.  The shampoo for natural hair swimmers award goes to “Infusium 23”.  Equipped with the leave in conditioner, shampoo, and my usual brand Ion’s anti-chlorine leave in conditioner spray, your hair will be looking good and feeling healthy without the stress.  Although you don’t need all three I found the leave-in conditioner and shampoo to work just as good and will be purchasing a bottle to last me.

It’s also important to use a swim cap periodically because you can’t rely on just shampoo and conditioner to save your hair.

(Ion anti-chlorine leave in conditioner spray)

The Ion swimmer’s products are great because I trust them with my dyed hair.  Also these products are not just designed for natural hair, but if you have chemically treated hair these products will work best for you as well.

So ladies, don’t shy away from the swimming pool on your vacation.  Grab some products and enjoy the sun 🙂

American Apparel rules Straight Hair OUT!

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So earlier this week we discussed Six Flags not wanting black women with locks to represent their company, now we have American Apparel not wanting black women with STRAIGHT hair.  So really, what do you really want from us?!

            Current and former American Apparel employees wrote to www.gawker.com addressing their concerns from their experiences with hiring and firing policing that expressed discriminatory and racial profiling at its best.  Hiring managers were telling employees to only accept applications from people who look a certain way, from their hair down to the pair of shoes they wore that day.  Yes, it is true that you should look presentable when applying for a job, but what EXACTLY does American Apparel look for in a black prospect:

“none of the trashy kind that comes in, we don’t want that. We’re not trying to sell our clothes to them. Try to find some of these classy black girls, with nice hair, you know?”

These following instructions were given to an AA employee by their manager explaining what kind of black woman that they are looking for.  Now here’s the good part, you are probably thinking the black chick with the nappy hair wouldn’t make the cut, but in actuality the managers were referring “nice hair” to the women who didn’t straighten their hair.  The district manager thought it was more presentable to have less raunchy piercings, less weave,but more authenticity and natural hair because of its “Full Body Head to Toe” Policy. The owner of American Apparel himself, Dov Charney, says he prefers that Afro over the straight hair to his company.  But it seems to me he also prefers his models with their legs wide open and nipples showing, oxy-MORON!  I think that is an odd preference to have, but I’m not surprised because there are certain models and looks in other stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister that lowkey rule out certain looks. So there you have it, not only are black women with natural hair discriminated upon but so are the ones who choose to wear their hair straight.  I honestly don’t think this corporate world or distinctive race (I shall not say) understand the dynamics of a black woman and their hair.  We are our hair and when one takes it as far as messing with our means of living, oh there will be serious problems.  I commend these American Apparel employees for voicing their opinions on this issues and I hope that a lawsuit or some FIRING action gets done about this ridiculous hiring process.  So much for wearing overpriced spandex!

 HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT AMERICAN APPAREL’S POLICIES?

View full article here-à http://gawker.com/5560215/american-apparels-new-standard-no-uglies-allowed

Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk

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It works! It works! Finally a Carol’s Daughter that I can say works for me.  Her products are usually really drying and boring on my hair but the “Hair Milk” line really does define my curls.  It comes in a Shampoo, Conditioner, and curl booster.  I want to know you guys review on this one because I think I might have found a favorite product from Carol’s Daughter. Pics coming soon!

You Want to Go Natural?

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I have been getting alot of questions and comments about going natural and I always ask first, what do YOU want to do?  I chopped all of my hair off 2 years ago and started from scratch but there are other ways of riding yourself from the toxins and chemicals to bring back your natural glow.  My question this week is which would you prefer: Transitioning or The Big Chop?

What is transitioning? Getting rid of all those chemicals, stopping the creamy crack nursing your hair back to natural health slowly, without chopping it all off.