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.)

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!

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?

Pre-Poo Process

Since becoming natural, I have maintained healthy hair. I have not noticed hair breakage or any other hair issues. I am a confessed product junkie but I do have certain hair regimen that remain unchanged: the Pre-Poo Process.



Pre Poo is short for pre-shampoo. I like to pre-poo if I've used various products on my hair that may have contained silicones which can cause build-up on the hair shaft. If I don't use a natural cleanser like baking soda or bentonite clay to cleanse my hair, I will use a regular shampoo that may contain SLS (sodium laurel sulfates). In attempt to combat any drying effects of the SLS shampoo, I like to coat my hair with an oil such as Amla oil or EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). I heat the oil in a microwaveable dish for a few seconds and transfer it into a small bottle which allows me to pour easily.

Once the oil is applied and is coated over my strands, I will apply a layer or two of plastic wrap to hold in the heat. I then apply a thick towel on top of that in order to hold in heat. You could use a heat cap or hooded dryer to speed up the process but I like to use this time to do household chores or read a few pages of a book or magazine.

When the time has passed and it is time to rinse, it is important to add the shampoo to your hair BEFORE adding water. Oil and water do not mix. Adding the shampoo first breaks down the oil on the hair shaft before the water is added. I like to apply the shampoo once or twice; it just depends on what my hair feels like. I follow up with a conditioner and voila! I'm ready for styling. I don't do a deep conditioner at this point but I suppose you could if your hair needs it.


Until later. . .

~Nappylicious

Getting The Good Stuff: Mississipi Water

I love watching videos on YouTube. Saturday I watched a video by familygoingnatural from New Orleans (her whole family are natural hair wearers) and she talked about how good Mississippi water was to her hair. She is absolutely correct. When I first moved to Tennessee, my hair acted a plum fool when I washed it and I was permed! It was only after I went home again that I realized how soft the water at home is. The water has bubbles in even before you add any product and you only need a little shampoo to get a good lather going.





I decided to make a video response to her video of my recycling a Coca Cola bottle to get a little water. Since I was in the country, I decided to get it straight out the outside hydrant! Fun Fun Fun! I had water splashing all over me. I will use the water in my apple cider vinegar (ACV) mixes and any other mixtress mix that I concoct. I only brought back that 20 ounce bottle so it will have to be small batches!

ACV Rinse

• 50/50 ACV & Water to be used as a final rinse for scalp and hair. I like to use warm water. This is a natural hair and scalp clarifyer.

Moody Hair: I've Named Her Sheree

Why is my hair so moody? When I wake up in the morning to style my hair, it is all "blah". As the day goes by, she (I'm naming her Sheree) starts to look great! By the time I get home and take it down, the hair style is fierce! But I'm not going anyplace! I've tried wearing a puff at night and unleashing in the morning in attempt to get a fierce Afro in the morning but Sheree is too slick for that and does NOT cooperate. Even when I twist at night, I can wear a chunky fro but again, Sheree does not wake up and be fierce until later.

I've also noticed that when I put product in my hair, such my Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme, it is nothing special instantly but as the day goes by, my hair is really pretty and looks moisturized. I've tried to be sure to "emulsify" the product when I apply it to warm it up but I get the same results: Fabulous hair late in the day! Or on a Saturday morning! Does anyone else have moody hair?

Always Organic

I make no bones about being a country girl from Mississippi. Though as a kid, I longed for the flash of the city. I wanted to vanish from the place where the sun leaned on you no matter where you went under the shade tree. I wanted to throw my hands up anytime my beloved Big Mama planted her vegetable garden on Good Fridays and say that it would matter. Fast forward 35 years and I finally get it!

What my Big Mama and Big Daddy did back then is all the rage right now: Organic! Say what?! Organic? We were always Organic but it was called living in the country! Now while I refused to drink milk from a cow that walked around the pasture, fresh tomatoes, greens, peas, butter beans and field corn were always available. My grandparents farmed, fished & harvested by the moon. At the beginning of each year, they always bought the Farmer's Almanac and The Lady's Birthday Almanac. In there, the moon phases determined the best time to plant crops and even when to trim your hair for growth. To this day, I still use the moon as a guide. Give it a try and see if you notice a difference!

~tcl

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Peace!

To Tuck or Not To Tuck: That Was The Question

Ok, I've twisted my hair for the night and I didn't know whether to tuck my ends or not. I've seen Lisa Akbari and her method on YouTube for the curly afro.

After viewing her results video again, that helped me to make the decision to tuck the ends. She pretty much summed up exactly what I was wondering about.

I have not been to a professional hair salon in over a year. Even then, it was a "shape up" of my afro by a natural lady at Walmart! Yes, Walmart. Initially, I was not happy because I thought that she cut too much off. But in the end, it was a beautiful shape. I probably need a trim but I am afraid to trust just anybody in my locks. Some people can get scissor happy and I might need some bail money from y'all!

Taking notes from back when I was permed, the stylist styled my hair. I may have gone in for a wash and set but it was really the styling part that was essential to the process. I get that now and will apply that to my own natural hair. I guess I was caught up in the fact that yes I'm natural and my doesn't require chemicals, it still has to be styled. My style of choice has been the puff but again, as my hair has grown, it needs more styling versatility. I think the appearance of the lack of styling is what puts some people off about natural hair. They think that you cut off your relaxed hair to wear a big ole kinky matted afro. Hey, if that's your preference, Rock On! I love all the options that natural hair brings. There are days when I miss that big ole Maxwell-Sexy-Kinky. . .oh, I'm getting off the subject. Sorry. I got caught up. I just heard Pretty Wings and wanted to fly away!

I will tuck my ends and hopefully make a new YouTube video of my results.

Stay Tuned!

tcl

I'm 40 and Nappylicious!

I turned 40 today! The Calvary did not show up. Nor the band of gypsies to cart me away. It was a rather peaceful and quiet day. With the way life is now, I am excited to have reached 40. Every year after this will be celebratory. I am grateful. Grateful to be alive to still have an opportunity to pursue my passion: writing and creating.

Oh yeah, this is s'posed to be about hair! Well, I DC'd my hair overnight with Taliah Waajid's conditioner. When I rinsed it out, my hair was so soft and spiral-y. I just did a wash n go since I was thinking about twisting later.

My hair is just like a child. I've realized that it has to be trained. Back in the day when my aunt Laura used to wear that Farrah Fawcett bouncy hair, she was wearing a press and curl. When she went to the beauty shop, the man would use the Marcel barrel irons on it and curl it in the same pattern every time. He would not comb the curls out and it would be tight. But in a few days, her hair would be bouncy and Farrah-like. She would roll her hair in the same pattern every night and do that thing where you comb your hair all to the back with a wide tooth comb and push up! One would think that she was combing all the curls out but she wouldn't! I have to find a pix to post it later.

When she finally relaxed her hair, it was just a straight and stringy mess! Who knew it would turn out like that since her hair always looked so full and voluminous. We have the same kind of hair.

I've realized that I cannot regularly wear a wash and go because my ends will be a HAM! All tangled up. I have to comb my hair out to the ends. I am guess that it's because I have fine hair and strands must wrap around each other. My hair shrinks like nobody's business.

Weird but back when I was permed, my hair accepted the oil/grease products better than the creams. Even now, some creams like Miss Jessie's just "sits" on my hair unless I emulsify first! New word. Emulsify = rub the product in my hands first to warm it up. I have had much better hair results using this technique. And for my fine hair, I've learned the hard way NOT to be heavy handed because it doesn't take that much product.

Something else that I have discovered. If I don't detangle my hair, I will not be a happy camper when it is dry. It is best when my hair is wet or still damp. After that, forget about it!

Last week, I was a total hair bum and just did a wash and go. While my hair was cute in those puffs and was big and fluffy when dry, on wash day, I had a tangled bird's nest on my head. I wanted to cut it off. No lie. Luckily, I could only find my dressmaker shears and not my hair shears. I took my time and used lots and lots of conditioner and finally got the tangles out. I had to break out the big guns. I used a combo of Taliah Waajid's conditioner that gives me great slip AND KCCC's Knot Today. I thought I wasn't going to make it but I finally got the tangles out and surprisingly, still had some hair on my head. Whew!

In the next few days, I will be checking on my new hair revelations and report the progress. I will continue to sleep on my satin pillow case. This is about the most consistent thing I do every night. I will also twist my hair. Though I'm sleeping on satin and don't tie my hair up every night, I think my hair still has to be in some kind of "training" pattern in order to look styled. When my hair was shorter, I could get away with just sleeping on the satin pillowcase but now that it is growing longer, I need to protect the ends from tangles.

Styling has been my biggest downfall since being natural. I can co-wash and deep condition and henna my hair and all the good stuff. But when it comes to styling, I fall flat. I never learned to braid but I'm learning. My parts always look jacked up. I get frustrated and end up with a puff. A cute puff but still just a puff. Hmmm. . . I really think that nightly twists will help me in that department.

I do not proclaim to be an expert. I'm still learning my hair and how to care for it in it's natural state.
Stay Tuned!