A Pet Peeve

Normally I don't complain here (...I think) but a particular phrase I see often in natural hair world is irking me.

"Going Natural": a. Deciding to no longer straighten your hair, most often cutting off or growing out the permanently straightened relaxed hair. b. Accepting the kinky, curly, nappy, hair that unaffectedly grows from your head.

This is the phrase we have given to our new category of self-love.
But
Is it just me, or does "going" signify it as some other path, a different one then the one you were born walking? "Going Natural" sounds like you're doing something that
It's an oxymoron. Or rather, I feel quite a bit of us don't realize that the going, while being a forward path is also returning, that this new, thick hair is the same fluffy stuff from childhood. "Going Natural" sounds like you're doing something that didn't happen before.

This is a rant, as I haven't any idea what to call it instead.
Perhaps
"Becoming Natural"?
"Returning to Natural"?
Transcendence? Since we all did, just a little bit.
Restoration?
Hmm. I like Becoming.
What do you think?
Or am I just thinking too hard? Fresa says I do that all the time.

Our Hairstory

I finished the book, Hairstory and wish I had brought it along to school with me to share with my pal Simone and many other girls I meet. This book tells the story of black hair from its cultural message in Africa up to today. Hairstory has taught me many things about what is --surprisingly, to other cultures and races-- a big issue.

I stumbled upon Hairstory on Amazon while searching for a natural hair care book shortly before cutting my hair. While it's not a natural haircare book, the chance to learn about why we face the current hair issues that we do was quite intriguing.

I now know why there is a history of disdain for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (membership was exclusive to the most euro-centric of blacks: light skinned, naturally straight hair), and why some see Madame C. J. Walker as a pillar of black achievement, while others see her as grim picture of our deep-rooted xenocentrism, (which she then got rich from.) I can picture it sitting in my old room now and want it to just appear here.

Soh My Gosh.

I just recieved notice that no one could comment. That makes me a little sad, eh?
I have fixed it now.

The Pretty Woman Debate

I don't have much to say on this, as being absent for a couple of days makes you late on topics. However, Sunshine over at Natural Hair, Natural Products pretty much took the thoughts out of my head. Go take a look.

Imagine seeing zebras walking around wearing fake elephant trunks and thinking that without the elephant trunks they were less attractive?

A Manly Twist-Out

I did my boyfriend's hair last night. I'm not sure what number-letter hair type he has (though I dare say 4b), but his hair is dense and thick. After starting school, and a couple of days of being lazy, I finally sat him down and decided to give his afro a little TLC.

The Backstory

His routine was...nil. Every morning he woke up with his hair totally matted in the back and a little bit on the sides. And then, it basic problem-solution type man-thinking, would begin to pick it out completely dry! Needless to say I found this out and was completely horrified. I know it had to hurt my baby's head. Throughout the day I loved to play with his fro and do random things but my fingers let me know that it was majorly dry, and the Savannah heat was not helping. If his hair didn't do that lovely thing of growing nearly completely vertical, I would say it would probably be frizzy as well. The first day I arrived I promised him I would try a little of my natural hair care routine on it. I've been practicing :)

The Process

The process was probably your basic Sunday all day thing. To start off, I conditioned and clarified his hair by adding a bit of baking soda to Suave Humectant Conditioner. Great stuff! I bought the $3.00 big bottle to last me a while but his hair drank about 1/3 of it that day. Next I sat him down in front of Star Wars: Empires At War to detangle, heh. I parted his hair in four sections and used a wide pick, going row-by-row. This was the hardest part of the whole process, as his hair was, despite his constant picking, very tangled. After rinsing (very carefully I might add, it was as though his hair wanted to be knotted) I applied Le Kair Cholesterol Conditioner and a squeeze of honey as a deep conditioner. This conditioner was a total bargain. It has really great ingredients in a large tub for about two dollars. I let this sit in for about 30 minutes with no heat, and after I rinsed it out I found that his hair, despite being naturally vertical, had very little curl to it until you got to the ends, which were about as kinky as my whole head. I was fascinated. After a light towel pat, I parted his hair in half. By this time the pick was sliding through like a dream. For a leave-in, I used Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil (which is also awesome for two dollars) and a nickel sized amount of shea butter. I then began to twist. Since I was planning to do a twist out, I parted each row with a comb, but then used finger-parting for each twist section. To seal the ends, I had to use beeswax as shea butter would not hold. This part of the process took the longest, as his hair was not long enough for large sections to be twisted at once. I would say there are about 150 twists on his head. The entire process somehow took about 4 hours to do. I didn't take any photos of the twists themselves but they were rather nice.

Before Mon.08.10.09

Note:I wish I had taken before photos that day (Monday), but I hadn't planned to post about it. In these before pictures, it actually looks pretty not-dry, but this is just to show the style it was in, I guess.

 

  

  

 

After Tues.08.11.09

 

Though it took forever, it was a lot of fun, a definitely worth it. His strong willed hair held onto the curls quite well. I don't have any photos for today, but it is currently the second day and though it's a tad flat (he refused to sleep on his face, ha.) it is still very cute. This was great practice for me and I was glad to help him and his hair.

Peace. Love,

Jadeite

I Just Wanted to Share

That I won a contest!
I never win anything!
The contest was a random selection comment contest on Curly Nikki.
This is fun. I'm getting a new product in the mail; there were two winners so I'm not sure which one I get. I will definitely get back to tell you what I think of it.

Thanks to Nikki.

Love,
Jade

Up and Away

Just wanted to say that I'm packing and headed away for school, so I'm going to be absent for a few days.

Love.
Jade

Fresh Cut!: Photos

I went to the barber today :)
I must say, clippers are very relaxing. I see another reason why men do it.
Hairstyling as therapy should be a law.
After the uneven start, my fro now has a smooth line and looks like a purposeful style.

Front Views

 

Side Views

  

Back View

  

I am loving this. The barber treated me well, fixing up my eyebrows as well.

All for twenty dollars.

$20.

Salon=never again.

  

Peace and Therapeutic Haircuts.

Jade

Fresh Cut!

I just wanted to share with you all that I just came from the barber shop, getting my short little 'fro nice and round. I have some even-ing out to do, and some relaxed ends to get rid of. Mr. Joe Red also treated me to a very cute round shape-up in the front and back. This fro is fierce, if I do say so myself. Now that it has shape, it can grow properly, and I can treat it like its own style and not a transitional phase of waiting for longer hair.
Whoever said a fro stops the admiration was lying to me and to themselves. I got more compliments today than I ever did in a week of relaxed hair.
I am too excited! And I can't wait to leave for school this Saturday.
Hope to post pics soon!

Mwah!
Jade

Snappshot: Monique Coleman

Not much to say. Love this look on her. On anyone, such a beautiful fro.
So Natural: Monique Coleman

The Quest for Hair That Moves

Right now (2:42 pm Eastern Time), on BET there's a competition show running called "Tears, Shears, and Beauty." In the show, women and men of various hairstyle groups parade down the runway showcasing the, er, work and talent of each hairstylist. I have nothing against these stylists, making their living, etc, but for me, the creativity seems to be lacking, as no stylists has figured out a way to show off what comes naturally to us.

While there are some short cuts, each group has a dance to do, which results in a lot of twisting and flipping of long brown, black-red, white, blonde and even orange weaves: all, in the quest for hair that moves, straight.

Now, I know there are competitions like this all the time, but to witness it, and to witness how seriously these stylists and groups take themselves and their work, it makes me sad. Can you truly be proud of your uncanny ability to sew some bleached blonde indian "virgin hand-sewn weft" hair onto another person's head? And can another, as the client hold their head high with something on top that is not theirs?

Hm. I didn't notice any stylists even mentioning natural.

Maybe they don't think there is a way.
All of us who wore relaxers and weaves have been guilty of this, and a year or two ago this show may have even captivated me. 
The quest for hair that moves has ingrained in us even further, that our sisters will hold onto their blonde wigs at all costs.

Love.
Jade

PS. I should note that I am not as against weaves as I am relaxers. I know the uses of weaves as protective styling. But..why bone straight? Why blonde?
Why the addiction? These women won't leave the house unless their weave is up to date, spending hundreds of dollars to hide a piece of themselves.
It's like plastic surgery. Without the surgery.

Street Chic

I stumbled upon Elle website's Street Chic Daily. I love a good outfit as much as the next girl, so I decided to scroll through the days and see what Elle thinks is dapper. Many of the snapshots showcased my style to the B (for "Bohemia", as the fashion ladies and lads say), and I also noted that all the brown girls shown flaunted their natural texture to complete the look. If they, and Elle, think curls and whorls are en vogue, then the rest of us can too.

Natural for Less

With my days as a truly broke student now less than a week away, I decided to do research on the natural way of haircare. My mother and I chatted poolside about what I'd need and where I'd find it. I am already off to a start with shea butter. I had a hard time convincing her that mashed banana and honey make great conditioner, and that apple cider vinegar has great clarifying properties. (I wonder how many more "foods" have multiple uses?) I made a shopping list on my fingers:

1. Honey: Deep Conditioning
   
2. Apple Cider Vinegar: Clarifying
   
3. Coconut Oil: Moisturizing
   
4. Baking Soda: Cleansing
   
5. Jojoba Oil: Moisturizing
   
6. Bananas: Deep Conditioning
   
7. Brown Sugar: Exfoliating
8. Eggs: Conditioner
9. Peppermint Oil: Revitalizing
10. Olive Oil
    

This list is getting too long for my budget! I am very new to no longer buying ready-made shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizers. Anyone have any ideas? What else should I add to the list?
And where can I find Jojoba oil?!