The Beauty Within

As a natural hair wearer, I LOVE this song and video by Dead Prez! It ranks up there with Indie Arie's "I Am Not My Hair"! Check it out!

Vaseline and Natural Hair

A few weeks ago, I decided to change up my natural hair care regimen. After 3 years of being natural, I returned to my roots and went against that grain and used Vaseline on my my natural hair. Some members of the natural hair community shuns the use of petroleum products on our hair for fear of clogging the scalp or being too greasy.

I grew up getting my hair pressed with a hot straightening comb and getting my scalp slathered with Vaseline. My mom and grandmother STILL use the product on their hair and both have healthy, natural hair.

After a few weeks of experimentation, I am very pleased with the results. I tried to be light handed because when compared to organic coconut oils or other natural oils, Vaseline can be a bit greasy.

Please check out my results video.

Sesame Street: The I Love My Hair Video

I cannot say enough about how much I LOVE this video. I don't care about who produced it as much as I care about the positive message it projects. But the fact that Sesame Street brought it to me, is even better. I'm a child of the 70s and grew up on the teachings of Sesame Street. The I Love My Hair video means so much to me because in 2010, I wear my hair natural and it's ok. It is not a political statement; it is not my trying to be defiant against "The Man". I choose to wear my hair without chemical processes. For those who choose to wear relaxed hair, that is their choice too. I do not judge because I have worn relaxed hair in the past, for years and years. But at this point in my life, I don't think I ever will again.

As with all of programming hours of Sesame Street that I watched as a kid, I am happy to still enjoy Sesame Street at 41!

Natural Hair Twists

I transitioned my Puff À la Curly Fro into some twists. Styling my
natural hair is my greatest challenge. I was very happy with the
twists. I will use anything to hold hair out of the way, including a
clothes pin. Hey, it was handy and it got the job done.

My hair was still very moisturized from the Lisa Akbari products that I used to do her Curly Fro technique but I did mist occasionally with jojoba oil, vegetable glycerine, peppermint oil and water. I was NOT using Carefree Curl Activator, just recycling the bottle.

(If you need to view the video in a larger size, click the video to enlarge.)

Smokin' Hair

I've been so busy but I had to carve out some time to upload some videos that have been lurking in my camcorder for a few weeks now. I'm such a slacker. LOL.

I uploaded a short "Puff" video on YouTube. I wondered whether to make an annotation or not but I immediately received a comment asking if there was something on fire in my video. I laughed so hard becausejI'm so "Rasta" and I was burning an incense. All of a sudden, the smoke started billowing like crazy and who knew my JVC High Definition camera would pick up translucent SMOKE!

When you view the video, just know that no bathrooms were burned or harmed in the making of this video!


Peace!
~Napp

July 4, 2010 | National Afro Day

There is a movement to make July 4th "National Afro Day". An online friend, Mook's Hair has designed a logo to commemorate the day. She is allowing us to use her logo to make iron-on t-shirts! Yay! Thanks girl.

I am so happy to have my family visiting on July 4 and to have this National Afro Day on the horizon. I did not want to be all sad thinking about Steve McNair. I will rock my pink Steve McNair jersey and my Afro! Perfect! I will post pictures.

I've made a YouTube video and in the description box, I announce that I will put together an "Afros on the 4th" video tribute. All interested Afro Rockers can email me their photos and their desired screen name.

Oh, here is the link to Mook's Hair Fotki for 2 Afro logos!

Stay tuned!
~Napp

Post Nappiversary 3

I am just one day beyond celebrating Nappiversary #3. I still love my natural hair and this entire journey.

I confess to still being a product junkie who cannot resist browsing down the hair care aisles in every store that I visit. I'm frequently in rehab but I do see some hope on the horizon.

My latest personal challenge is to use up products that I own before buying more. I'll come back to post the photo of the product moutain that is taking over my husband's music room.

I confess, I don't use most of the things in that mountain and they were purchased on a whim. The last straw was buying a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Eucalyptus liquid soap only to find that I already had a full 32 ounce Peppermint bottle "on the mountaintop"!!!

My husband still can't imagine a soap that can be used for the body AND cleaning the house. He's hilarious. I compare it to baking soda and vinegar. They are both also multipurpose.

The good thing is that the soap is so versatile that it will get used up and it was on sale at Kroger for $10.49 as opposed to being $14.99 at Walgreens. I'm not trying to justify my behavior, just acknowledging. The first step to rehab right? My name is Yolanda and I'm a Product Junkie!

Nappiversary Contest: The Heads Up!

As promised, here's the heads up on my Nappiversary contest. My Nappylicious followers will have a few hours all alone to enter my contest!

Good luck and thanks for your support!

^^^^^^^^^
My Nappiversary contest was a success. I gave away 3 fabulous shower curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond and my fashionista, Poochie, added a vintage purse and scarf duo.

Stay Tuned!

Hello Everyone!

School is finally out and I will be able to get back to blogging on a regular basis! Yay! It was a rough school year for your girl but it's over and not a minute too soon cuz I was about to quit! But not in this economy so I held on and now. . .I'm ready to kick back!!!

I will be celebrating my Nappiversary on June 11 and will be having my very first contest! I think the prizes are fantastic. I will be giving my Nappylicious readers & Fotki fam a heads up before I release to the general public on YouTube!

The video is almost ready as I'm doing some post production work as I wait for my Fashionista Poochie of Poochie's Closet to finish a few photos.

Until then. . .stay tuned!

~Napp

The Rainbow Lady sitting in for The Creative Lady

I'm Baaack!!!

Lent

February's Best Days To Trim Hair

My Ends!

I think it is time for another aggressive trim. My puff is very thick and soft but the ends are looking very random if you know what I mean. Kinda like they need to be patted into shape.

 I've felt a couple of hair knots on a few strands too.

I double checked my farmer's almanac for January's  Best Days and today is a good day to trim ends for growth!

I've posted a few new videos on YouTube. In one video, I give away my secret for maintaining my long eyelashes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBIFuVis0Uk

 Yes, they are naturally long but I use an oil mixture to maintain them. I felt compelled to make this video because more often than ever, ladies are asking me if my lashes are real!??? I did not understand why but as I watch tv, there are commercials for Latisse and other lash enhancements, lashes are fashionable. I was blessed to have naturally long lashes. Yay!

Another video that I recently posted is a mixtress recipe that rivals Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdDsPpe0Qrg

I got the recipe from a fellow YouTuber InspiredCoils. My hair really loved the mixture as it gave me a chance to use up some good oils such as  Castor oil, Olive oil and Grapeseed oil and my Eco Styler Olive Oil gel. It was a winner.

While you're on my YouTube channel, please remember to rate and subscribe to my channel. This lets YouTube know that you like seeing natural hair videos and that perhaps we can begin to make the front page of YouTube also.

Thanks and Be Blessed!
~napp

What's Going On?

24 days into a new decade and I am wondering, "What's Going On?" The devastating earthquake in Haiti and the death of Teddy Pendergrass. I really thought that 2009 was rough with the passing of sooo many celebrities and regular people too but 2010 has blown in like a lion.

Hairwise, I've been just chillin'. In other words, being super lazy. I still wear my staple puff. I threaten to twist my hair every weekend but never do. My hair is healthy though.

I deep condition regulary and still sleep on my satin pillowcase.

I've managed to post a few new videos on YouTube so I've not been a complete slacker. Plans are in the works to really crank out some top notch videos in the MMX!

Check out my Scrabble Tile Pendants @ http://www.thecreativelady.etsy.com/
They are totally customizable if you email me your photo.

Check me out on YouTube @  http://www.youtube.com/thecreativelady.

Check me out on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/thecreativelady

There is a wonderful Twitter hair chat every Sunday night. I think it's @ 10 PM Central but I've been late for the past couple of weeks. Use the following hashtag to join in: #naturalhair I love it.

Stay Tuned!

January MMX Best Days To Trim Hair

For MMX, I've decided to start every month with a post of "Best Days" to trim hair. Whether your goal is to trim hair for growth or to decrease growth, I will post the dates here on the first of every month.

If you've followed my posts, you know that I grew up with grandparents who followed the moon to live by. My Big Mama is 90 and healthy and still gets her crops to flourish by following the moon.

Best Days To Trim Hair To Increase Growth:
15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28 and 29

Best Days To Trim Hair To Decrease Growth:
3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 30

Disclaimer: Following moon phases has worked for me and are my experiences.

Happy MMX!

I had to come on to wish all my followers a Happy 2010!

I love the Roman Numeral version of 2010: MMX!

May all of your hair dreams come true!

Share Your Thoughts!

Hello Bloggers!

Come over to my YouTube channel and voice your thoughts. I've uploaded a question to fellow naturals regarding how they react when someone wants to touch their natural hair! It's been quite a popular topic of discussion. Join in! View, Rate and Subscribe too!

Thanks!
~Napp

Your Natural Hair | Can I Touch It?

November's Best Days To Trim Hair

I'm from the country and my grandparents bought an almanac at the start of every new year. They used it to farm by. It must have worked because we were never hungry!

Almanacs follow the moon's position to determine the best days to perform certain tasks for certain outcomes.

Trim hair to increase growth:
November 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30

Trim Hair to decrease growth:
November 2, 5, 6, 9, 14, 15

I've followed almanacs all my life and I've been pleased with the results. I'm sure that if a person cuts his/her hair on the wrong phase, all will be fine but as I try to walk in sync with nature, I love being in balance with nature.

If you decide to use the dates, let me know if you feel it was successful!

Disclaimer: Following moon phases has worked for me and are my experiences.

(click photo to enlarge)

~Napp

Banner Test

Enjoying this lazy Saturday watching the Sanford & Son marathon on TV Land and creating banners! After working all week for someone else, it feels great to just have some personal downtime! I'm equally as excited about the end of Daylight Savings Time! I will put the extra hour to good use.

Although I put together some random elements, what do you think of the banners? How does it look? Be honest! Please share in the comments section!

~Napp