A Natural You Should Know

If you missed the Emmy's last week, the Best New Artist Award went to the beautiful Esperanza Spalding. Ms. Spalding is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, who album titled "Chamber Music Society" is a must have for all you music lovers. "Chamber Music Society" is a beautiful hypnotic infusion of classical music, with a pinch of funk, sprinkle of neo-soul, and a finish of jazz. Esperanza has the spirit of Billie Holiday and acumen of Stevie Wonder. If her music was not captivating enough, we must also pay homage to her boldness to rock an elegant Afro in front of millions. While she is the first woman to win best new artist for a jazz album in the Best New Artist category (she beat out Justin Beiber y'all), she may be the first and only woman of color to rock her natural with fierceness. Yes, I loved every moment of her humble acceptance speech and gracious apologies to Justin Beiber fans everywhere. If winning the coveted award was not enough, Justin Beiber telling her how much he loved her hair was shocking and confirmed what I already knew, Natural Hair is beautiful and our presence in the world is making others stand up and take notice that highly textured hair is not going away easily. Thank you Esperanza for rocking your fro for the world to see!!! If you have not had the opportunity to hear some of her music, go over to her website: http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/.

Meet the Cuticle

In hair care, you will find no one more important than the cuticle. Because I want to educate the entire world on Afro-textured hair, I feel it is my duty to introduce to you the cuticle.

The Hair shaft has three parts: The cuticle, the cortex and Medulla.

The Cuticle is the first line of defense when it comes to retaining your hair's growth.

The Cuticle protects the cortex and the Medulla. You may ask, why does the cortex and Medulla need so much protection? Well, it is simple. The cortex and medulla are responsible for the hairs ability to hold moisture (porosity), elasticity, color, texture and strength of hair strand.

As you see the cuticle is a very busy man and without him we would be bald.

So when people ask you about your hair care, tell them that the cuticle is vital and the goal to hair retention is to keep the cuticle intact so that the cortex and medulla are safe from harm. How is this done?

1. Always choose a shampoo that has a pH between 5-6

2. Always use conditioner after shampooing the hair

3. Never comb your hair while it is dry ( especially if your natural)

4. Never brush your hair with a hard bristle brush

5. Avoid too tight braids and styles that put to much weight on the hair follicle

6. Wear your hair in protective styles to avoid too much manipulation from combs, your hands, brushes and the everyday elements ( wind, sun, pollution).

Follow these simple steps and I promise you, that you will see more hair retention!!!!

I am so Obsessed

Ok, I have to tell you that I am soooooooo obsessed with Hi im currentlyobsessed.tumblr.com. Just google it and you will see the most gorgeous natural women from all shades of the color spectrum to the various types of kinky, curly and wavy hair types. I luv being natural....

LuvMeNatural: I'm Back....

LuvMeNatural: I'm Back....

Confessions of a former Product Junkie (PJ)

When I began this natural journey in 2009, I was astonished and amazed at the amount of knowledge that was in cyber space. Blogs, Youtube videos and websites touted and pushed endless products that I should try in order to make my hair healthy. Two years later, my closets are full of endless bottles of shampoo's, conditioners, oils, deep conditioners, moisturizers and my own concoctions. Some are still full, while others are down to the last drop. I refuse to throw them away, even if I never use it again. Why you may ask? Because it is something exciting about opening up your closet and seeing bottles of hair care products at your disposal. Like your own Sally's beauty supply store. While it is fun to see, you then realize that you are a certified Product Junkie or PJ. You buy because so and so said that it made their hair feel like butter. But, when you tried this miracle product, it made your hair stiffer than hay. No fun. I say all this because I want you all to know that less is more when it comes to natural hair. It is fun to buy the latest products, but if you have found your perfect combinations of products, stick with them. I heard one of my favorite you tube Naturalista say that the way to retain healthy hair is to keep a simple and consistent regime. Yes, you will need to stay out of the shampoo isle for a few months, but i tell you in the end it will be well worth it. My own hair has thanked me for sticking to a few tried and true products. I have retained length and minimized my split ends. Therefore, consistency and simplicity is the key that unlocks healthy hair.