Recognizable Natural - Tracee Ellis-Ross

I was first introduced to Tracee Ellis Ross as "Joan" on Girlfriends.  I loved that show and really hated when the show ended.  Though Toni was my favorite character (I guess I liked how direct she was.), I really rooted for Joan in all of her relationships.  I think she, like many women, struggled with identifying the type of relationships she truly desired and finding true happiness.  In comparison, on Reed Between the Lines, she's happily married with children.  There seems to be a natural evolution from the former character to the current one.  I'm glad that she is back on mainstream TV, and look forward to seeing how her character develops on the show.

Tracee Ellis Ross is one of the most popular hair crushes for natural ladies.  We love how she wears her natural hair proudly and with confidence. I love the versatility in the styles that she chooses to wear. Check out some of the photos of Ms. Ross below.

Natural Hair And the Return to Hair Grease

Recently, in the Natural Hair community there was been this re-awakening to previously taboo hair products.
When I first went natural there were two items that kept being repeated that I should NOT use (in addition to others):  mineral oil and petroleum.  These products caused buildup on the hair and prevented moisture from getting into the hair, I was told.


Wellllllll, recently, a vlogger that I follow on Youtube, jcokes7 aka Coilyheadchick did a hair grease challenge using primarily Royal Crown hairdressing for 30 days on her twist outs.  Her hair has been beautiful and she reported that it was also very soft & retained moisture.  Even our beloved Curly Nikki, stated in a recent post that 3 weeks ago she has introduced Dax into her routine for dry twistouts. 

What is going on???  Have we been duped??

Well, let's think about it.  Before you were relaxed, what did your mother use on your hair.  If you think back, what was the condition of your hair then?  Pretty healthy hunh?  This sorta goes back to my Expensive vs. Nonexpensive products post during my 1 year recap.  While there are great salon quality products on the market for natural hair, many of them average $20.  In many cases you can get similar results for less money.

Now, I firmly believe in a individual doing what is best for their hair.  So if you have developed an all organic, natural, regimen and it works for your hair then do that.  Because my hair is in a protective style, I haven't tried the hair grease yet, but for about $3 a jar, I plan give the Royal Crown a try once my twists come down.

Chime in!  What products have been working on your hair?  Have you used products with mineral oil or petroleum with success?  Please share your experiences while I prepare to try it on my own hair!

Protective Style - 2 strand twist style part III

You guys, I have to let you know that I am truly enjoying my hair in this protective style.  Don't get me wrong, I love, love my hair when it is loose and I do miss it, but I don't miss the 1 to 2 hour styling sessions!  This is a style that I did to my 2 strand twists a couple of weeks ago.  In the front I did pin curls and in the back I did a twisted low bun.  I thought this was a cute variation of my twists and I got a lot of compliments on it!

Maintenance:  The only thing that I'm doing to maintain my twists is spraying them 3 times weekly with my moisturizing mist.  I spray my scalp about twist a week with an oil mix and then cleanse with an astringent when my scalp is dirty, especially since I work out.  I just wear my satin bonnet at night.

Being Natural as a Teen - Reed Between the Lines

source

I don’t watch a lot of TV.  In fact, because I know watching TV is a great time waster, I try to be cognizant of the amount of time that I sit in front of it.  I only have 2 must watch tv shows and everyone close to me, knows not to even think about calling me during those shows. 

However, when BET started promoting Reed Between the Lines,I thought, let’s see what it’s about.  It appeared to be a family show (check), that showed a successful black family (check), dealing with real life issues (check).  So far so good.  I just hoped that the writing and acting was good too.

On last night’s episode “Let’s Talk About Hair”, the story line focused on Kaci, the teenage daughter and her internal conflict over whether to wear her hair naturally curly when a boy she has a crush on compliments her when she straightens it for a school play.

Source: BET.com

As the story began to play out, I was intrigued to see how this topic would be addressed.  Let’s be honest, many grown women have expressed concerns over how attractive they would be to men if they let their hair grow in its naturally curly state. Though the part of the show where Kaci is seen trying to put relaxer in her hair (in a totally naturally curly household no less) was a little extreme some of the emotions that she expressed were very realistic for a lot of women (whether the change is hair or other things). 

  

“You should avoid being with anyone who wants you to change.  Once you start loving yourself it all gets easier.”  -Carla Reed

I felt that Carla Reed (played by Tracee Ellis-Ross) did a great job in talking to her daughter and showing her how loving herself was key to drawing people in her circle who would have an interest in her because of who she was, not someone that she had changed herself for to gain their approval.  Many young women need this message and its key to building a woman’s self worth.  Changing your appearance, interests, and style may get people to have an interest in the fabricated you, but will YOU like the person you had to become to get their “friendship”?   To thine ownself be true is a powerful quote and it rings loudly in a situation like this.  Constantly altering your physicality, likes, and personality can wreak havoc on your self esteem.  It eventually creates a state where you feel like you’re never enough.  Honestly, you won’t even know if you are, because you’ve never let your authentic self shine through.  It’s an issue that unfortunately we see with many young women today. By loving yourself and being true to yourself you may not be Ms. Popularity, but you will be at peace with the woman who looks back at you in the mirror every morning. You might also find, as Kaci did in this episode, that being who you are is all you need to be. (Spoiler alert:  The guy liked her just the same with curly hair.  He’d liked her all the time.  He was just too nervous to approach her before and when they both got cast in the school play it was an easy approach.  Awwww!)

So did you see last night's episode?  What were your thoughts?

Journey to 100 - Wake County Heart Walk - American Heart Association

In September, thousands of individuals gathered in order to honor or remember individuals who have struggled with or lost their battle to heart disease.  I have directly been impacted by heart disease as the majority of my immediate family struggles with hypertension.  So this year, I walked in honor of them as we all strive to live healthier lifestyles and I also walked in honor of Lateshia's son who had open heart surgery in July.  He's doing great!!!  What a blessing!

Let's get walking!

Walkers for as far as the eye can see!

Woolie Bull - Durham Bulls Mascot

Pups walking for heat health!  You know Princess has got to get this dress!!!

This pup was carried during the walk but he was participating in spirit!  Too cute!!!

Protective Styles - Twist Updo

After two weeks of wearing my hair down, I decided to pin it up this week.  You guys know I like to change things up a little bit so I wanted to experiment with the versatility of this style.  It took about 15 minutes to create.


Step 1:  Section hair into 6 sections.  Two on each side, 1 in the bang area & 1 in the rear.
Step 2: Take the rear section and part in half vertically. Twist hair upwards to the crown of head and pin with a bobbypin.
Step 3:  Take 1 of your side sections and part in half vertically.  Twist hair upwards to the crow of head and pin with a bobbypin.  Repeat with other 3 side sections.
Step 4:  Take loose hair on top and tuck & pin down, shaping with your hands.
Step 5:  Take bang area & roll to the right & pin loose ends around bun on top of head.

Check your mirror for loose hairs & pin as necessary.  Your style is complete!  Sleep with satin bonnet & get up and go!


Here are pictures of the alternate views below:

I'll wear this style for a week & then change it up again!  Let me know what you think!

Protective Style - 2 strand twist style

Over the next 8 weeks while I have my hair protected, I will be demonstrating it's versatility by featuring a variety of styles that I'm able to create.  One of my fears is that I'll start to miss my hair in it's loose state.  I'm hoping that by frequently changing my look, I won't get the urge to remove this style.

This was the first style that I decided to try with my new two strand twist protective style.  It took all of 5 minutes to do.  All I did was gather the hair up on my right side and add a few bobby pins to pin it over to the left.  I thought it created a very cute style that while easy to achieve looked very different from the original style.

Here are some other views of the look:

Me doing a presentation at a local community college...Side note:  No matter what others say, natural hair can be very professional!

Let me know what you think!

Recognizable Natural - Annie Ilonzeh

As I gear up my DVR to watch this past Thursday's episode of Charlie's Angels, I decided to make one of the stars my recognizable feature for this week.  I must be honest, the primary reason why I started watching this show is because she's on it and I like to support  #teamnatural.  I really appreciate the fact that she primarily wears her hair in it's natural state on the show. It's only been two episodes but I like the comedy and the creative story lines...it's been able to keep me intrigued so far so thumbs up!

Prior to becoming one of Charlie's girls, Annie had a short stint on General Hospital.  She's also had small roles in these movies:  He's Just Not That Into You, Miss March & Percy Jackson & the Olympians:  The Lightning Thief.  Her TV debut came in 2007 in How I Met Your Mother.  So to be young in Hollywood (4 yrs) and to land a starring role in a primetime series, that's to be commended!  I wish her best in this role and those to come!

Love this curly fro hawk!