Thursday 19 September 2013

African

Hair Crush


Black girl long hair

Black girl long hair
No chemicals, it’s definitely possible!

Black girls and fake fros

Black Girls and Fake Fros ???…
I saw this topic on one of the blogs I follow which was against fake fros and ofcause I had my own opinion about it. Well I generally dont care what people do with their own hair as long as they dont lie about wether it is real or not. The question truly is, what is up with this latest trend of wearing fake fros as black people. Now we all know the boys cant really tell the difference but why do we wear fake afros when we can grow them out ourselves. For those who dont know this is the latest trend in South Africa and this is where the thing about extensions and black hair topics tends to confuse me, Im a black girl with natural hair who weaves 24/7 therefore I certainly cannot ever judge others for wanting an afro. We wear weaves because we do not have straight long hair and even with relaxers our hair generally takes much more to grow to the desired length but even with this reality we still should wonder why the fake afros when we naturally have hair like that? Is this a society issue that we are afraid to embrace our natral beauty or is it that we fear being judged for what we naturally look like that we hide behind weaves an fake tempory afros. Do we fear maintanance or are we too lazy to give ourselves that time and patience for it to be long enough. Im not sure why people like wearing fake afros but defenetly do not want to grow them. Let me know what you guys think.

Jamaican black castor oil

What’s the big hoohaa!?
Jamaican Black Castor Oil is a raw, unrefined form of castor oil. So it is a form of castor oil that has retained most, if not all of its nutritive properties. It is simply a high quality form of castor oil. And this is why JBCO is so highly sought after and wildly popular among women. Its actually the latest trending hair product.
Jamaican black castor oil moisturizes, thickens, softens and makes hair more manageable and it is an excellent way of treating the hair before straightening.
Here are some of the awesome benefits.
Rapid increase of hair growth
Encourages the growth of long eye lashes
Repair dry, damaged or brittle hair
Treat split ends
Thicken the hair
Soften and condition the skin
Treat a dry, itchy scalp
Treat and prevent dandruff
Heal dry and chapped skin
Prevent cysts and lumps from forming in the breasts
Cleanse the skin and clear and tighten pores
Treats acne
Go get em ladies and please update

What is beauty?

What is beauty? What makes a thing beautiful? Why does it move anyone to label it as such?
On a superficial level, I’ve wondered what certain structure of a face or curve of a body makes one beautiful and if I possessed it. I’ve oft wondered about my kind of beauty and whether or not it was beautiful. Sad? Isn’t it? Sadder are the factors we allow to inform us what beauty is or means. Wouldn’t you agree?
And yes, I’ve also tried to understand what was informing my ideas of beauty. I’ve wondered if it was culture, my upbringing, realities of class, or the media? I no longer wonder about these things of course as I have fully come in terms with my kind of beauty, and what I find beautiful in others. The battle of whether or not to refine or change one’s physical beauty is also long conquered.
But I still draw from What Ben Okri says “is what the world sees” when I think of beauty. One can even argue that beauty or the way it has been fed to women has become the ultimate cover up for flaws, emptiness, even wickedness. It has become a kind of power the world sees or prefers to see. The kind the power the world appreciates above all else.”

Oroma Elewa

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Things we forget about natural hair

Things we forget about natural hair
Dry Hair

It’s easy to know when hair is BONE dry and on the brink of snapping… but trouble starts way before that. Stretching hair too far can dry it out, so can sleeping with it uncovered and neglecting to moisturize protective styles. This dryness can lead to the gradual breakage. Make sure that your hair always feels supple with a bit of spring when you pull at the strand. And always seal in water-based products with a butter or oil.

Tangled Hair

It doesn’t have to look like a bird’s nest for your hair to be tangled. As twist outs and braid outs soak up humidity, they shrink and the strands become gnarled. Just be aware of this, and pay attention to whether breakage ensues when you re-style your hair. Stretched styles are a great way to combat tangling.


Thrashed Ends

The ends are the most vulnerable part of the hair, and boy do they take a beating. From combing and brushing — even twisting — ends suffer a lot of mechanical damage. A tell tale sign of thrashed ends are twists or braids that are difficult to seal. If you can’t twist your hair all the way down to the end of the shaft because the ends are too rough and uneven, then you might be due for a trim.

Growth

You might be surprised at this one… but many naturals are simply unaware when their hair grows. Women who struggle to retain length often blame lack of progress on slow growth, when the culprit is actually breakage. To get an idea of how quickly your hair grows, try dyeing a few strands in the front, middle and back with henna. Monitor them every month to see how far down the henna goes. I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how much growth you have on a weekly basis.


Chronic Breakage

If it’s been a few years and your hair hasn’t budged, don’t be so quick to blame it on genetics or slow growth… you might be dealing with chronic breakage.
Protective styling isn’t necessary for everybody, but if your hair is fine and fragile, it might be the best way to guard against breakage.


Mechanical Damage

Blame it on years of our mothers, aunties and hairdressers yanking combs through our hair, but many of us don’t have a proper gauge of what is gentle and what is not. You should never be so rough with your hair that your edges are depleted, your comb is full of hair or your head hurts. Incorporate finger styling and smoothing into your regimen and pay attention to how much broken hair you end up with after a styling session.

Bun love

There is something so pretty about a black girl who can hold a bun with her own hair. This is my natural hair dream.
I love the curls in her hair