What’s up with these overt discriminatory jabs at women who choose to wear their natural crown of curls? An insta video came through on my feed the other night (Jan 26th) via vlogger Taren Guy that revealed a pretty absurd and disheartening comment on the television shopping network QVC. The two Caucasian hosts were advertising a handbag which was being modeled by a woman with curly hair, who soon became the underlying chuckle for their discriminatory joke in seconds.
“Only 4 out of 10 curly haired girls think their hair is beautiful”
The beauty and skin care brand Dove never seize to amaze me when it comes to their beauty campaigns and the Love Your Curls may have hit home for a lot of women. The commercial begins with a statistic stating how ‘Only 4 out of 10 curly haired girls think their hair is beautiful.’ As women of color who struggle with a variety of image or self love conflicts, we know this to be an alarming fact (even thought it may seem like this would be a much larger ratio) as African American women have been ridiculed from the hair on their heads down to our innate curvy figure until this day. What I love even more is how Dove was able to capture the diversity of such a self-esteem issue ranging in age (from 6-11 years old) and ethnic backgrounds as you can see girls of all shades: Black, White, Latina and more likely bi-racial. These little girls talk about how they wish they could have straighter hair instead of their curls because its smoother and prettier when straight. Sounds familiar right? This is not only a issue for our Black and Latina children but of all races and even Caucasian girls (believe or not!). Having naturally curly hair is not only a ‘black’ thing which also means this issue is much larger than the box we have been assigning it to. It’s important to know that girls at a young age absorb what’s within their surroundings so if we as women don’t feel confident about our image, especially in its natural beauty, and love ourselves then how can we teach our daughters, nieces, cousins, and those we care about to do just that? We can’t because the overall change of how one views their self starts with YOU!
When we say careful crafted we mean it, you know, and we really gone the distance to make sure that we are not only meeting the NPA standards but we’re exceeding them with our suppliers and supplier relationships all the way down to supply chain if you will. -Megan Johnson
One thing I love about blogging is that brands trust me to provide some insight about their products. I also try to focus on products with natural, botanical, or organic ingredients (hence the reasoning for the name on my blog ;). I am not saying that you necessarily need ALL natural products to grow healthy hair, however, I like to give my hair, body and skin optimum results and it just seems to be my personal preference. In addition, I am a huge supporter of small businesses and I feel even more empowered when a woman is behind creating the brand which is how I met the Founder/CEO of Pure Alchemy Products Megan Johnson. Coco | Conscious Collective is a natural plan based hair care line is based out of Dallas, Texas and focuses on the integrity of hair care simply due to the ingredients used in all the products (that’s my favorite part about them!). Let’s hear more from the Coco | Conscious Collective founder herself, Megan Johnson, about what inspired the concept and what sets her hair care brand a part from others. Shall we begin…
Welcome to 2015 and I am glad to have you all rolling with the blog from last year up until now! January 1st is known for its optimistic time of setting resolutions or goals. As a natural hair blogger there were a few things I fell short with when it came to my hair care routine and this is the perfect time to reflect and reassess so here are my 2015 Hair Goals:
It’s winter time now which can be a trying season for naturals and their hair. The air is consistently dry so you will have to keep your hair’s moisturizing routine on point to retain healthy strands. Now is the time to switch over to creamier or denser products that have a thick coating and coconut oil can do the trick. It will act as a protective barrier between your hair and the outside elements like the cold wind. I FINALLY got my first jar of coconut oil and this will surely replace my shea butter I usually turn to in the winter. Coconut oil has many purposes from cooking even to beauty and skin care uses. It smells delicious and here a few simple ways to incorporate this oil into your routine this season.
Focus on the Scalp
Whether your scalp is normal or is known to flake up from dandruff, keeping your scalp free from tightness and itchiness starts with focusing on the scalp. Parting your hair and applying an oil or cream to the scalp every 3-4 days can relieve some irritation due to the changing weather and also has antibacterial and antifungal properties which is even better. The coconut oil in a jar has a dense consistency and resembles a pomade but it will melt right on to your scalp once applied.
Hot Oil Treatments
Hot oil treatments are good for any time of the year but during a time like winter you will see incredible results. If your coconut oil comes in the jar form as a posed to the liquid version all you need to do is scoop out some oil into a glass bowl, or measuring cup, and sit it in a bowl of hot water until it melts. I just learned that microwaving coconut oil (or many oils for that matter) will destroy the beneficial properties it has. You can also make a hot oil cocktail by adding drops of your favorite oils with coconut oil (I would use castor oil and peppermint oil), apply the mixture to your scalp and ends of hair, let it sit for for 30-45 minutes, rinse, shampoo and style hair as usual.
Keep the Ends Moisturized
Slather on a bit of coconut oil to the ends of hair while wet or dry. If my hair is dry I like to mist my hands with my spray bottle of water and dampen the ends of my hair before applying the oil for extra sealing powers.
*Take precaution using coconut oil on wet hair and immediately going outside into the cold. Because of its consistency in the cold weather the oil will harden and make hair stiff so keep in mind when styling your hair. It hasn’t happened to me but I found this cool fact out from some other naturals:0
I am currently using the Vitamin Shoppe Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil but you can easily find the oil at any health or grocery store. Opting for the unrefined version keeps all the coconut oil nutrients in the final product so your skin and hair can benefit from all of its properties. However, if you have any nut allergies than you may want to steer clear of an oil like this and try of a plant based oil. Your hair will enjoy every moment of it!
It’s the season to give and I have a few items that would be perfect for a curl friend or a beauty maven! Ditch the gift cards this Christmas and I will help you to make some wise hair and beauty gift choices this year.
Huetiful Hair& Facial Steamer
Purchase at www.behuetiful.com
Price: $116.95
Hydrated hair is key to surviving the winter without having dry brittle and broken hair strands. The Huetiful Steamer delivers just that and vaporizes water into steam that will help deep conditioners to penetrate the inner layers of the hair cuticle. Its also a 2-in-1 device that acts as a facial steamer, has a one year replacement warranty (for the clumsy and accident prone like myself), and is made for ALL hair types whether fine course, kinky or straight.
This article via NaturallyCurly.com gives some insight as to how to differentiate harmful and necessary alcohols in hair products. Just like bacteria not all strains are harmful.
“Instead of asking “Is alcohol bad for my hair?”, it’s probably better to ask “Are alcohols bad for my hair?” Alcohol is not one chemical but a whole family of chemicals with very different properties and very different effects on your hair. You might have heard that alcohol is bad for your hair. As with so many other things, it’s not so simple. It depends on what type of alcohol we are talking about. An alcohol that would be used in a holding spray is probably not going to be great for your hair. However, even these alcohols serve a purpose. Some alcohols are completely the opposite. They are actually “fatty” alcohols that add moisture to the hair by pulling in moisture from the air (they’re called hygroscopic). They also help to thicken products are are not harmful to your hair.
A good friend of mine, who’s like my big bro, has been working on his creative projects, like photography to designing, ever since I met him my freshman year at Penn State. Now after a concept change and a few years of bugging my homeboy Wale, founder of Riveriswild, and trying to squeeze details out of him about the clothing brand, it finally dropped this year!
“Check out these three hair super foods!
AVOCADO: No surprise here, right? The fruit can be eaten and used on your hair as a protein mask. When eaten, it works wonders at alleviating facial redness and irritation. It is also anti-inflammatory because of the Omega-9 fats, which help repair a dry scalp.
BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES: Have you heard of this one? This molasses contains 14 percent of our RDI of copper, an important trace mineral whose peptides help rebuild the skin structure that supports healthy hair. All you need is one serving size, which is two tablespoons.
WALNUTS: Walnuts contain an incredibly high amount of omega-3 fatty acids and they’re rich in biotin and vitamin E. Keep a little baggy of nuts with you when you snack on throughout the day.
What superfoods do you eat”? –Blog.curlbox.com
I was browsing on the Madewell site and came across this cool blog post and automatically thought about all of you curlies. As if the awesome curly-haired model wasn’t enough to stop me in my tracks, this simple style tip was just as attention grabbing. Its time to whip the sweaters out of storage and play up your knitted wear with an untucked button-down like the image above!
‘”We lived in super-lightweight shirts and tanks last summer, loving their practical breeziness and the decidedly less practical occasional flash of skin. But those are precisely the things we’re now trying to avoid—and with cooler temperatures come more layers and, with them, layering tricks.
Crewneck sweaters and button-downs worn together have a decidedly proper vibe, but we’re loving a less expected combination: wearing a button-down underneath the sweater and letting it show. That’s the key: shirttails untucked, the collar points tucked in, a cuff peeking out from a pushed-up sleeve. It’s functional in its own right: warm, surprisingly lengthening and more interesting than wearing just one piece by itself. Makes sense that we caught on to it in our new store’s neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where bucking tradition is tradition.
The pairing feels a little “prep school after dark,” but that’s why we love it. It says, “Stuffiness? Rules? Me? No way.” We give it an A+.
Bianca is wearing a Madewell Chevron Crop Sweater, Flannel Trapeze Shirt, Quilted Shirttail Skirt, Intermission Clutch and Keaton Oxford.
Shop our sweaters here and our button-down shirts here“. –Madewell.com
I love everything about this look and will have to remember this the next time I sport a sweater.