Nappy Roots-Loving You When Others Don't Pt. 1

I love my hair. Always have (not always in natural form though....) and always will. I usually respect other people's opinions because everyone has a right to their own views. But caution people: Sometimes your opinions--mostly the uneducated ones--will make you look stupid as hell and others will not like you. Just because you lack confidence doesn't mean I do too nor does it mean you have any right to bring me down into your own personal hell.



"Dang girl....you lookin' a little rough today."

Now I know friends and associates/acquaintances/whatever can joke with one another about things and there will be no problems from doing such. But what happens when that person you know is a complete jackass at times--90% of the time--always being pessimistic and always putting down any and everybody they know or don't know. I ran into one of these individuals a few days ago and he had the audacity to tell me I was looking rough. Now, to someone who's brain is stuck on repeat with these girls (respectable women and hoodrats alike) rocking nothing but straight weaves and relaxed hair-of course I looked rough. A 5'1" cutie with a slim-but-curvy-where-its-right body wearing a well fitting polo, capris, and flip-flops rocking a pony-puff and headband just screams rough right? Yea...ok..*sarcasm*. To these fools who think women who rock natural hair look rough, you are just that---a damn fool. I quickly put him in his place while a customer in his store listened and smirked as I did it. "My sweetheart LOVES my hair natural, thank you very much." Then the fool backed off, apologies and all. He is of no importance for me or any other woman who isn't his girlfriend to be trying to wear our hair fried just to please him and other fools out there. I used to be relaxed, true, and I don't knock those who prefer that route for their hair but it will be a cold day in hell when I let someone "call me out" for not having my hair "done". Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore'.



"Dang....yo hair nappy!"

Not everyone is going to like what you do. Be it the clothes you wear, the school you chose to go to, the major you choose to pursue or not pursue---everyone will not always be in agreeance. Family members are usually the worst ones. Another example--from the same day actually--I went to a family function later that day and yet another ignorant comment about my hair was made. While playing a game of Scrabble with some of the family, one of the cousins decided to touch my ponytail and tell me it was nappy. In the natural world, this word 'nappy' can be taken as both a positive and negative statement. Its kind of a double edged sword because some of us are proud of our nappy roots while others make it out to be the worst thing in the world. That's why fools are so determined to see women with relaxed/straightened hair; they think it makes the girl oh so superbly-irresistibly beautiful. Not. Again, don't get me wrong-straightened looks are great but they are not the only hairstyles that make women beautiful We are beautiful regardless. Shoot, even not having hair is beautiful if your head is shaped for it and sometimes even that doesn't matter. Anyways, as I felt my puff being poked at and squeezed I thought it was my hubby cuz he does that sometimes and he'll say something like 'his puff ball' or 'mine' or something cute and funny lol but after a few seconds of silence I realized it wasn't him and turned around; not only that, I know when my baby is touching my hair :) So when I see its our cousin, he's like "Dang Angie, yo hair is nappy cuz." I looked at him and said, "So? What's your point?" He had this weird look on his face that may have been meant to be funny *I, nor anyone else was laughing* but it read to me to be a look of disgust and question. Seeing this I said, "For the record my hair is not 'nappy', its natural." He said something else but I stopped paying attention. I don't have time for stuff like that. Oh but here's the kicker--he wants to loc his hair. I could have opened a whole new door for that comment he made just based on the fact that he hasn't cut his hair in weeks b/c quite frankly, I could have told him his hair was nappy too. But I don't want to discourage the impressionable ones haha



You have some 'interesting' hair.....
I had a previous encounter before these two incidents, at school, that I meant to discuss but I didn't. There were two guys talking loud as hell in the library--one of those its-people-by-us-I-want-to-sound-important-cuz-I-know-they're-gonna-hear-us-even-tho-its-not-important- convos--and after being at the computer next to me for like an hour, one of the guys decides to tell me I had interesting hair. They were both black, the one with the braids being the one who spoke and the other with some sort of free-style afro thingy (I don't know how to describe it--a non picked-out fro? idk). When I got up to leave is when he said something (why not say something before now?) and at that he points out his boys' hair and says "He has interesting hair too." So I said thanks with a hint of confusion in it and left but I wondered for a sec, what the hell was his point? Was he tryna be funny? He was gonna get a very rude awakening. Was he tryna hook-up me and his boy by using our 'interesting' hair as a common ground? I was str8 gonna laugh in their faces---aint no way in hell, married or not. The way he said it suggested he was tryna be funny but i let it go b/c it just wasn't one of those days and he def. would have gotten his feelings hurt.

When people approach me the wrong way, of course I am gonna say something back. Escpecially when it comes to my hair. I don't go around making comments about you being ugly or judging you in other ways so why do you have carte-blanche to harass me about my hair? I know its gonna keep coming and I expect it and accept it. Doesn't mean I'm gonna like it and it doesn't mean I won't retort. I just know that those of you out there who try to put us natural beauties down better have some comebacks ready b/c when you try to go hard on us, we will cut you deep.

I detest ignorance, don't you?

To Weave Or Not To Weave......

Buen Dia Todos,

During this waiting period to see the changes in my henna sample I've seen nothing. The hair I applied it to is soft and smells great but the color change is subtle. This leads me to believe it will get deeper with time and more applications but I don't know exactly what that would look like on me, on my hair. So..... I have decided to add another sample application to see if any real dramatic color changes occur. The last thing I want is to order tons of henna for my hair only to end up with greatly conditioned hair of a color I don't like lol. The conditioning I want; unapproved color I don't want. Looks like another henna application will occur soon. Very soon.

In other news, after much thought and careful consideration I have decided not to straighten my hair for the rest of the year. *people gasp with shock* I know, I know. It will indeed be a challenge, but I feel that it is time to give my hair a break from pressing combs and flat irons for a while. I want my babies (hair strands) to be comfortable as they are and not have to get tortured every few months. My initial plan was to get it straightened every few months to monitor growth but I feel that doing so will only keep me from my goal length (APL to BSL). Getting my hair straightened has been the norm for my hair since I was little. If it wasn't getting pressed, then it was getting chemical baths (relaxers), and vice versa. I haven't seen my hair in its natural state since I was.....hell I don't really remember, but its been time for a change. I have decided that if I am going to wear it straightened it will be done via some other means. Meaning....rollersets and weave. Up until my visit to that natural hair salon I went to for my teeny-weeny two-strand twists, I hadn't had rollers in my hair since I was a little girl. Now that seems to be my way to go for super tight curls and brushed out straightness.

I've never been a real big weave person mainly because I always had long hair and it was etched in my brain from lack of information and scowls from people close to me that weaves were for super-short haired women, hoodrats, and generally people who thought long silky/wavy/curly/blonde/red/brown hair they weren't born with was the way to go. That was until I found out that wearing weaves is a good way to protect your natural hair from the elements and heat styling, over processing, etc---as long as your natural hair underneath is cared for properly. I was intrigued when I heard this b/c with my hair being APL in the past, few people would question whether or not the hair on my head was mine or not. As long as I have the funds for some great quality hair and someone to do it for me, who knows what the heck they're doing, I will have that sleek look that I'm used to. PLUS, I could experiment with different styles, lengths, and colors without doing major harm to my tresses. Of course from time to time I would leave the weave alone and let my natural hair breathe and be free for a little bit.

I really want to do this. I really do. If and when I do it, pics will be posted.

This summer it is going to be all about protecting what's mine.

Peace

Henna Test Update

Greetings naturals. I just felt like posting but its not going to be anything elaborate. My henna test came out great so far. Just looking at the hennaed hair and the non-hennaed hair lets you know something went right lol. The color difference is obvious but its not auburn red like what was assumed to happen. At least not right now its not. I predict that the auburn color will become more apparent over time and probably after another application of henna. But for now the hair with the henna applied to it is more richer in color, kind of like a deep brown. My un-touched hair sample looks all dull and gross compared to it. That's sad knowing that it came off my head :( but oh well. Its from a brush....collected over time.....BUT I cannot wait until I get to order my henna to do my full head of hair.

I'll have before and after pics of my henna trials later.

Hasta Luego!

Henna Test Part 1

Hello all. I have finally decided to go about doing my first henna test. I was supposed to write about ordering some samples from the Henna For Hair website, which was done back in April (bad I know) but school kept me busy and I forgot to post. Well....I ordered a few samples: two 3g samples of Body Art Quality Henna from Yemen, which is supposed to have a higher dye content than the BAQ from Punjab and Pakistan; two 3g samples of Indigo, to apply after the henna trial treatment to accomplish a jet-black color in case I'm not feeling the deep auburn that the henna is supposed to give my hair; some plastic gloves-henna and indigo are messy, I don't want orange-red-or blue hands lol; and some carrot bags-you know, the plastic cones bags Mehndi artists use to apply mehndi/henna art to your hands, arms, feet, etc. Today I just felt like getting it over with and seeing what this henna could make my hair sample look like. I don't really want to use henna for coloring but that is just one of the perks to going for top-of-the-line deep conditioning. That is why I want to have the option of using indigo to keep my hair from being too bright. From my research, the henna will give people with dark brown hair a deep auburn color and people with hair very dark brown or black a nice auburn glow in the sunlight but pure glossiness in regular lighting.


I can't wait :) The true results shall be in by Friday--to see how deep it starts to get I mean. I will rinse it out in a few minutes, take a few pictures, and I shall return with part 2. I promise.

The henna sample, my hair sample from my brush, and the little bowl I mixed in.

I mixed the sample with orange juice. More details later Now we wait.......

Lovely Lengths

Greetings fellow Naturals! Its been a while.....almost three months to be exact.....and I have lots to share. First I want to fill you guys in on what has changed since my last post. I had just taken out my kinky twists and washed and conditioned with Burts Bees. I decided that straightening my hair on my own wasn't going to be very productive in the future since straightening it this time arround turned out very weird...really harsh. My hair looked normal in some areas but at the ends it looked like hell. Literally. So..I opted to twist my own hair and wear it in a wash-n-go ponytail. That didn't last too, too long because the Easter holiday was rolling around and I wanted to look presentable in the way that I was most comfortable: a wrap. Now I didn't go back to perms (yuck) but since I needed to start treating my hair better I to get it straightened to really get to those icky split ends. My new hair care specialist (hey Auntie!! lol) showed me the difference between healthy ends and unhealthy ends when I explained to her my previous traumatic experiences with scissor-happy stylists. My hair ended up shorter than I expected once she started trimming and shaping my tresses. I wanted to cry at first but then I told myself that it would definitely grow back and this time it would be longer and stronger. My hair came to my neck, midway I believe. It wasn't that bad to see since I had been there before. I was determined to keep eating right and keep taking my biotin supplements along with caring for my hair the right way.

After a few weeks of keeping my straightened locks, I decided to try a new product while doing more two-strand twists. Let me tell you, Organic Root Stimulator Lock and Twist Gel is the best there is! No petroleum or harsh chemicals, mineral oil, etc. Its basically all natural and it gives you the best looking and feeling twists and twist-outs you will ever see or have. I would wash and condition my hair and get to twisting. 2 to 2 1/2 hours later I was all twisted up. I took them out the next day to rock a cute, curly twist-out and loved it! So did everyone else. My husband really loved it. I kept that look going for as long as I could until I had to redo it. Then the middle of last month we had a wedding to attend and the curliness of the twist-out could not be manipulated enough to my liking soooo....I opted to flat-iron it out (after washing and deep conditioning of course) to see how much length (if any) had been retained. My hair was looking good. Not much too much shedding and not that many tangles. My ends always give me hell coming out of a natural style to a pressed look (I'm not super skilled at that yet....give me time lol) so my ends had to be manipulated to at least look healthy even though touching my hair told a different story......

So, I kept up with my DIY wrap for about 2 weeks until I let my cousin (another miracle worker in the fam, hey girl!) hook me up for some family festivities. And thats where I am today kiddies. A week after wash, condish, press, and iron, my hair is smooooove lolz. I plan on getting my second round of end-clipping sometime in the near future. Its amazing how much my hair has grown since the last clipping (almost two months ago) and I see my hair being back to the length that I'm used to (APL-arm pit length) in the next few months and even longer by the end of the year. I can't end this post without adding that my newfound hair healthiness is not only a result of clipping damaged ends and moisturizing and such, but it is also blossoming because of my lifestyle change of switching to vegetarianism. After a weird encounter around Easter, I stopped eating the remaining animals that I was so fond of. No more chicken, no more lamb, no rabbit, no ham, no steak, turkey....I can go on forever. I am officially a full fledged veggie-head and there is no going back. I drink chocolate whey protein shakes to supplement what I'm not getting from the aminals (I know its animals bay, that parts for u ;) haha) and I am also taking Omega 3, 6, 9 pills and a very potent multivitamin. I've never felt better. I still have my biotin supplements, so I will continue to take those until they're all gone; after I do more research to make sure I'm not overdoing it I may decide to continue.

That is all for now people. I have more things to tend to.
Ciao!